No Weaseling Out of It: Mink on the Brink with Dr. Jessica Healy

Mink have long played the role of villain in literature - the 'horrible, vicious animal' that would murder a coop full of chickens for sport. In the stories of the First Nations people of the Pacific northwest, the mink is a trickster character. For decades, mink garments have been used as status symbols. As an invasive species in Europe, mink imported from the US for the fur trade and escaped into the wild are responsible for the decline of several native European species. But what do we really know about this highly intelligent little aquatic carnivore? Come hear Austin College Biology Professor and Mammalogist Dr. Jessica Healy makes the case that mink ought to be respected, not feared.

Dr. Jessica Healy, PhD is an Associate Professor of Biology at Austin College in Sherman, TX. Originally from Iowa, Dr. Healy attended Colorado State University for graduate school, receiving a PhD in Zoology in 2010. Dr. Healy primarily studies the physiological ecology of hibernating species like ground squirrels, but as a Mammalogist has an interest in the natural history and ecology of all mammals.

Photo By Needsmoreritalin - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0