Mink vs. rabbit
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Lisa Millbank
Jan 21, 2012, 1:20:20 AM1/21/12
to Mid-valley Nature
Warning: the attached pictures are disturbing (but
not gory)
At about 3:30 today I walked over to the Corvallis
BMX track for a break from work (at Co-op), to get some pictures of the
spectacular flooding at the Marys/Willamette confluence. I walked to the
bike bridge and then headed back down toward a flooded grove of tall cottonwoods
in the park, when I heard terrible screams coming from just inside the
trees. It was an EASTERN COTTONTAIL in the water, and I ran toward it,
thinking it had gotten itself stuck in some submerged debris and needed
help. Just as I was trying to assess how I was going to wade in and rescue
the rabbit, I noticed that there was another animal involved. The rabbit
started to swim toward the grass I was standing on, and an AMERICAN MINK trailed
behind it, jaws locked on the rabbit's back end and unwilling to release its
grip. Once the rabbit dragged itself and the mink out of the water at my
feet, it continued to scream (a truly heartbreaking sound) while the mink tried
to shift its position from the rear to the neck so that it could bite through
the spine or back of the skull to make the kill. Once it had secured a
grip on the rabbit's nape, the mink began to drag the rabbit back into the
water, while the rabbit fought a losing battle to keep its head above
water. The mink towed the rabbit out of sight, and a few more screams from
within the partially-submerged brush were the last sounds I heard from
them.
It was hard to stand by and watch the panicked, screaming rabbit being killed slowly. But, it was also a privilege to watch a mink hunting, and to see the tenacity and strength for which weasels are famous, as it killed prey much larger than itself.
Besides the mammal drama, the BLACK PHOEBE was in a slough that was draining right through the BMX track, with some of the jumps protruding as little islands in a lake. A PIED-BILLED GREBE was diving in the lower part of the flooded parking lot. And a BALD EAGLE was flying south in the distance. Not too bad for a workday break!
It was hard to stand by and watch the panicked, screaming rabbit being killed slowly. But, it was also a privilege to watch a mink hunting, and to see the tenacity and strength for which weasels are famous, as it killed prey much larger than itself.
Besides the mammal drama, the BLACK PHOEBE was in a slough that was draining right through the BMX track, with some of the jumps protruding as little islands in a lake. A PIED-BILLED GREBE was diving in the lower part of the flooded parking lot. And a BALD EAGLE was flying south in the distance. Not too bad for a workday break!
Lisa
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