European minks relocated to Saaremaa produce offspring
The critically endangered European mink has established a foothold on Saaremaa. This year has provided conclusive evidence that the animals relocated to the island have successfully reproduced.
Footage filmed by chance along the bank of a river on Saaremaa brought smiles to the faces of the zoologists relocating European mink, as it confirmed that the animals have successfully reproduced in the wild on the island. It may have happened before, but there had been no proof.
"This is the first conclusive evidence. We've seen females together with males along the rivers in the spring before, but we've never found any litters. If the animals are able to reproduce in the wild, it shows that Saaremaa has areas with high-quality habitat. It gives us confidence that this work has not been in vain. There are places on Saaremaa where the animals can survive and where there is sufficient suitable habitat," said Martin Silts.
This spring, female European mink from Tallinn Zoo gave birth to 22 kits on Saaremaa. After teaching them how to survive independently, the mothers were returned to the zoo. The young mink are now able to fend for themselves.
"Because these females are excellent mothers, it makes sense to release their offspring. Young animals are more adaptable in the wild, better at finding suitable habitat and have a higher chance of survival than adults. The kits will be released back along Saaremaa's rivers," Silts said.
The reason conservationists want to establish European mink on Saaremaa as well as Hiiumaa is that neither island has the species' main predator and competitor, the American mink. That gives the endangered European species a chance to survive on Estonia's islands. Even so, the survival and adaptation rate of released mink in the wild remains fairly low.
"We have no other choice. On the mainland, every river is full of American mink. There are 110 animals at Tallinn Zoo, Hiiumaa has a small population and from the very beginning the plan was also to establish a population on Saaremaa. It simply provides greater security. If something were to happen somewhere — an outbreak of disease or some other disaster that wiped out one population — we'd still have animals elsewhere that could be used to restore it," Silts said.
--
Editor: Marcus Turovski, Johanna Alvin
