Wildlife in Moray: American Mink at Burghead

This American Mink was spotted amongst the rocks nears the Burghead lookout point.

The predator, photographed by Northern Scot reader Hazel Thomson, can be seen with a fish in its mouth.

Mink coats were once highly fashionable. This demand led to the non-native species from North America being introduced to fur farms in the UK from 1929 onwards.

Over the years escapees from the farms found their way into the wild, as did those released by animal rights activists during the 1990s.

American mink have now spread through throughout the UK, with the exception of the far north of Scotland and some of the islands.

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