A brown baby mink is expected to spend the next month in the care of wildlife workers after it was found crying and alone.
Metchosin’s Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre (Wild ARC) said workers tried to find the mink’s den or another one with similar-aged babies, but were unable to and took the furry creature into their care.
“Without these essential factors to try and reintroduce or foster the baby mink with another family, it meant she was truly orphaned and a long-term rehabilitation plan had to be made to raise her at Wild ARC,” assistant manager Tara Thom said in a release.
The goal for now is to build up the mink’s strength with a specialized diet and reduce her contact with humans so her chances of succeeding in the wild are highest.
Luckily, she won’t have to do it alone. Not long after taking the baby mink in, Wild ARC heard of another orphaned mink in Merville and arranged for it to be transported to their Metchosin centre. Wild ARC said the two are hitting it off and will be getting moved through different enclosures together to introduce them to different skills like foraging and climbing.
“They both still have some growing to do, but we’re hopeful they will be ready for a second chance at life in the wild in a little over a month,” Thom said.
READ ALSO: An abandoned fawn doesn’t mean it’s orphaned, reminds Greater Victoria wildlife expert
More information about Wild ARC’s work and how to report sick, injured or orphaned wild animals can be found at spca.bc.ca.
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