MINK – An Invasive Species On The Water Of Leith
For the second month in a row, we have had mink appearing on the Water of Leith. During the end of August and the beginning of September a mink appeared, in the territory between Dean Village and Craiglockhart Dell. It only stayed until 5th Sept before moving on. In the third week of October, a mink appeared between Murrayfield and Gorgie Road, before heading upstream to the Water of Leith visitor centre on the 23rd/24th October.
Published Mink Photos
I decided to publish photos that I took of the mink on Fri 24th and I was inundated with people telling me to report the sightings to the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative. Whilst I understood everyones sentiment, it is a fact that mink are not controlled in central Scotland, in the way they are, in northern Scotland, by the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI). This initiative is widely advertised as the place to report mink sightings BUT only for sightings in northern Scotland. There is nowhere on Nature Scot’s website that states where you should report mink sightings in central Scotland.
What to do when you spot mink
I have advised people in the past, to report mink sightings, in central Scotland to the local river management team, in your local area. For the Water of Leith, it would be the Water of Leith Conservation Trust. The conservation officer at the Trust can collate these sightings and report to The Wildlife Information Centre (TWIC) and also discuss/plan with other groups in the wider Forth Rivers Trust area.
Over the last 5 years, mink have only appeared on the Water of Leith every 12-18 months or so. On each occasion, I have reported the sightings to the Water of Leith Conservation Trust. This time I decided to contact Nature Scot Scotland’s Nature Agency directly, to find out whether anything has changed, in terms of reporting mink, since I last saw them.
What do Nature Scot suggest
I got a very speedy & helpful reply from one of Nature Scot’s area officers this week who confirmed that:
1. the SISI project covers northern Scotland only, and there is not a comparable project in the south of Scotland
2. Forth Rivers Trust, in central Scotland, used to run a project to control invasive species but this has come to an end but they do still accept records of different invasive species, including mink – report form on their website – Forth Rivers Trust Report Form – click here
3. The Wildlife Information Centre (TWIC) also collates information on invasive species – however, by reporting to the Water of Leith Conservation Trust, their figures also get passed to TWIC.
In conclusion, Nature Scot confirms that the reporting system has not changed & there is still no control management of mink in central Scotland. The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative is not the place to report mink sightings in central Scotland. Whilst this is still the case, it does not mean that we shouldn’t report mink sightings in central Scotland. It is important to report effectively & by that I mean, reporting through the right channels (eg Water of Leith Conservation Trust), so that the right information gets to the right people (eg Forth Rivers Trust & TWIC). This way conservation decisions can be assessed correctly, funding can be applied for & plans of action implimented.
And finally….
There was a slight irony to the photos below. When I first spotted this mink, it was running between some boulders on the Water of Leith, with a grey squirrel in its mouth…..Invasive species killing invasive species!
CLICK ANY PHOTO BELOW TO ENLARGE
