Overview
- A Sonoma County resident reported finding what they thought was a baby otter in a yard and animal-control officers identified the animal as a baby American mink.
- The animal-control officer removed the mink from the property after finding it near the resident’s dog and posted about the encounter on the agency’s social media account.
- Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue in Petaluma accepted custody of the mink and will care for it until it is healthy and ready to be returned to a nearby riverbank habitat.
- Minks and otters are both members of the mustelid family, which helps explain why members of the public often misidentify small wild carnivores.
- Officials said there were no injuries and described the episode as a routine human-wildlife encounter that agencies commonly handle and publicize via social posts.