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Scientists Try to Save Endangered European Mink by Killing its Rivals

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Somewhere along the upper Aragón River, between the jagged peaks of the Pyrenees and a hydropower dam, conservations will release 10 or 12 captive-born European minks next week into a mink’s idea of heaven: a pristine patch of Spanish wilderness with 150 kilometers of waterways. The hope is they will start a new population and help save the European mink, a critically endangered species whose population in Spain is down to 500. But in an ironic twist, protecting the furry, dark-brown carnivore requires killing its main competitor, the equally winsome American mink. A similar reintroduction effort a decade ago flopped because it failed to root out the American mink population; this time the Spanish team is betting on an elaborate system of floating traps to capture the predators. European mink were widespread a century ago, living along rivers and streams and preying on voles, amphibians, crayfish, and fish. Today, only a few thousand remain in Spain, France, and the Danube delta. In Russia, sightings have become so rare that most scientists think the species is on the brink of extinction there.

Added on the 16/08/2017 21:33:03 - Copyright : Wochit

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