{"id":927433,"date":"2026-07-11T08:30:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T08:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/927433\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T08:30:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T08:30:16","slug":"rare-baby-american-mink-rescued-in-healdsburg-after-being-mistaken-for-an-otter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/927433\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare baby American mink rescued in Healdsburg after being mistaken for an otter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A baby American mink found alone in a Healdsburg yard is being cared for at <a href=\"https:\/\/scwildliferescue.org\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue<\/a> and may be released back into the wild in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p>The mink was found June 27 near the Russian River, where it had wandered into a yard with dogs, according to Brian Whipple, director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/sonomacounty.gov\/health-and-human-services\/health-services\/divisions\/public-health\/animal-services\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sonoma County Animal Services<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The resident called animal services after finding the small animal and initially mistook it for a baby otter. Animal Control Officer Anthony Faas responded after hours, safely captured the animal and contacted wildlife experts for guidance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s kind of an interesting one,\u201d Whipple said. \u201cAt first we thought it was an otter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>American minks are semi-aquatic mammals in the mustelid family, which also includes weasels, otters and ferrets. They typically live near streams, rivers, wetlands and other waterways, where they hunt fish, frogs, crayfish and other small prey. Although minks are native to Sonoma County, they are rarely seen locally.<\/p>\n<p>Because wildlife rescue facilities were closed for the night and after consulting with experts, Faas took the mink home in a covered carrier to keep it in a warm, dark place until it could be taken to Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue in Petaluma the following morning, Whipple said.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"mng-gallery-initialized mng-gallery-slider\">\n<li data-index=\"1\" class=\"mng-ge mng-gallery-active\" id=\"mng-ge-0\" aria-hidden=\"false\" tabindex=\"0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Two baby American minks rest together at Sonoma County Wildlife...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.pressdemocrat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/TPD-L-mink-071026-01_46dcc8.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Two baby American minks rest together at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue on July 10, 2026 after being rescued separately and paired as foster siblings. The minks will be raised with minimal human contact and prepared for release back into the wild. (Courtesy of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"2\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sonoma County Animal Services Officer Anthony Faas holds a rescued...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.pressdemocrat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/TPD-L-mink-071026-01.jpg?w=600\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Sonoma County Animal Services Officer Anthony Faas holds a rescued baby American mink after safely capturing it June 27, 2026 in a Healdsburg yard near the Russian River. The animal was later transferred to Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, where it is being rehabilitated for release back into the wild. (Courtesy of Sonoma County Animal Services\/Facebook)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"3\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sonoma County Animal Services Officer Anthony Faas holds a rescued...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.pressdemocrat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/TPD-L-mink-071026-02.jpg?w=600\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>Sonoma County Animal Services Officer Anthony Faas holds a rescued baby American mink after safely capturing it June 27, 2026 in a Healdsburg yard near the Russian River. The animal was later transferred to Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, where it is being rehabilitated for release back into the wild. (Courtesy of Sonoma County Animal Services\/Facebook)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-index=\"4\" class=\"mng-ge\" id=\"mng-ge-3\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A baby American mink is recovering at Sonoma County Wildlife...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.pressdemocrat.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/TPD-L-mink-071026-03.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/>\n<p>A baby American mink is recovering at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue after it was found alone in a Healdsburg yard near the Russian River on June 27, 2026. The rare animal is expected to be released back into the wild after rehabilitation. (Courtesy of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue\/Facebook)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 4<\/p>\n<p>Two baby American minks rest together at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue on July 10, 2026 after being rescued separately and paired as foster siblings. The minks will be raised with minimal human contact and prepared for release back into the wild. (Courtesy of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Faas was advised not to feed the animal overnight until it could be properly identified, according to Doris Duncan, executive director of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue.<\/p>\n<p>The mink, which weighed about 20 grams, appeared healthy at first but was dehydrated and had fleas when it arrived at the rescue facility, Duncan said. Staff placed it in an incubator, provided fluids and began specialized care.<\/p>\n<p>Duncan said feeding the mink the wrong kind of formula could have caused digestive problems and worsened its dehydration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it\u2019s healthy, the best thing we can do is just wait till we get into our hospital,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cYou like to warm them up, do an assessment, give them fluids and get them hydrated, and then start introducing the proper formula for a mink.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wildlife rescue staff determined that immediately returning the mink to the place where it was found was not appropriate because of its condition. They also learned another mink of about the same age had recently arrived at the facility.<\/p>\n<p>The two young animals were placed together and will be raised with minimal human contact so they retain the instincts needed to survive in the wild, Duncan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe stay away from them. We don\u2019t engage with them,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cWe keep them as wild as they can, so they\u2019re dependent on their own instincts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Staff will gradually introduce natural materials, water and prey such as minnows as part of their preparation for release. The minks will need to demonstrate that they can swim and hunt before being returned to the Healdsburg area, likely in a couple of months.<\/p>\n<p>American minks are native to the region but are not often seen in Sonoma County, Duncan said. Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue receives about one mink a year, while Whipple said Animal Services had not encountered one during his roughly 13 years with the agency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s definitely rare to have in this area,\u201d Whipple said.<\/p>\n<p>Whipple and Duncan said people who find wild animals should avoid touching, feeding or attempting to care for them. Handling wildlife can injure the person or animal and can interfere with efforts to reunite young animals with their parents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet the experts kind of handle those things,\u201d Whipple said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want people to get injured in any way, or the animal to get injured.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Residents who encounter injured, orphaned or otherwise distressed wildlife should contact Sonoma County Animal Services or a licensed wildlife rescue organization so trained professionals can assess the animal and provide appropriate care.<\/p>\n<p>You can reach Staff Writer Isabel Beer at isabel.beer@pressdemocrat.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A baby American mink found alone in a Healdsburg yard is being cared for at Sonoma County Wildlife&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":927434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[27],"tags":[374096,374100,225982,374097,1585,27951,159,15185,374098,374099,67,132,68,837,31652],"class_list":["post-927433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-american-mink","tag-baby-mink","tag-california-wildlife","tag-mink","tag-north-bay","tag-northern-california","tag-science","tag-sonoma-county","tag-sonoma-county-animal-services","tag-sonoma-county-wildlife-rescue","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-rescue"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=927433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/927433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/927434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=927433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=927433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=927433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}