Eat the animal. What does a mink eat in the wild and in captivity? Mink nutrition in captivity

To live, every living creature simply needs to eat, receiving all the necessary organic substances, such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Gastronomic preferences and the need to search for food made animals mobile creatures.

In addition to the fact that nutrition is an important component of metabolism, it is also one of the main conditions for the existence of the animal world, a factor that determines the distribution of individual species and entire populations. Therefore, animals are in constant search of food. Some of them are particularly gluttonous, while others are quite abstinent. But be that as it may, without food they will simply die. So which of them is the most gluttonous? And how much can they eat in one day?

Saturnia polyphema butterfly caterpillar

Larva of the Saturnia polyphema butterfly (lat. Antheraea polyphemus) is a bright green caterpillar, which allows it to be invisible in the foliage. She is a resident of North America. One of the most voracious creatures living on the planet.

Having been born, it immediately begins to eat foliage in huge quantities and with incredible speed. This activity lasts only 2 days, but during this time the caterpillar manages to eat 86 times its own weight in foliage.

Moles

Moles (lat. Talpidae) are small mammals that live underground and are constantly searching for food.

They probably only don't eat when they sleep. Their daily food intake is several times their own weight. If this animal does not eat once within eight hours, it will die.

hummingbird bee

Hummingbird-bee (lat. Mellisuga helenae) – the name of this bird speaks for itself.

This baby (its weight is about 1.6 g), in order to survive, must eat all the time: per day it consumes about 2 grams of flower nectar, i.e. the amount of food consumed is slightly more than its own weight. Hovering over a flower, she makes 90 wing beats per second.

Tiny shrew

Tiny shrew (lat. Sorex minutissimus) - a small mammal from the genus shrew (lat. Sorex). This tiny animal (from 1.5 to 4 g) lives an active life. In order for her body to recover, she has to go to bed 87 times a day and the same number of times she has to go in search of food.

Their daily food intake is more than 10 grams, and in cold weather, in order not to freeze, the total is more - about 30 grams. Interestingly, the body temperature of the shrew is more than 40 °C, which is considered one of the highest temperatures among mammals.

Elephant

Elephants (lat. Elephantidae) – which must maintain their weight at all times.

And for this they need to eat more than 250-300 kg of plant food per day. However, this is only 1/10-1/20 of the elephant's own weight. Although by human standards this is an impressive amount of food.

Bactrian camel

Bactrian camel (lat. Camelus bactrianus) is an exclusively herbivore.

Its diet consists of 33 of the 50 main types of desert vegetation. Throughout the day he constantly eats, chewing his food thoroughly. Camels themselves weigh on average from 650 to 800 kg (males up to 1000 kg), and they eat up to 40 kg of vegetation per day.

Moloch, or the prickly devil

(lat. Moloch horridus) is a small lizard (up to 22 cm in length) from the agamidae family.

This is an insectivorous reptile that feeds mainly on foraging ants (lat. Iridomyrmex flavipes). Moloch catches ants with the help of a sticky tongue: it is capable of eating approximately 20-60 ants in one minute. In a day he is able to eat several thousand ants, and in one meal - about 1000-1500 foragers.

Crocodile

Crocodiles (lat. Crocodilia) are large predatory reptiles that can easily eat any animal that comes close to the body of water in which they live. The exceptions are elephants, hippos and rhinoceroses, which due to their size have no natural enemies.

However, crocodiles most often feed on fish, birds, small vertebrates, frogs and carrion. At one time, this reptile can swallow up to 23% of its own weight. Up to 60% of the food consumed by a crocodile turns into fat, which allows it to starve for a long time. It can survive without food from 1 to 1.5 years.

Python

Pythons (lat. Pythonidae) are large non-venomous snakes (from 0.5 to 10 m) that swallow their prey whole and then digest it for weeks.

Pythons feed on birds, monkeys, young leopards, reptiles, rodents, small ungulates, and domestic animals. In general, all those animals that he is capable of swallowing. There have been recorded cases of pythons attacking humans (for example, in Malaysia). They can live without food for up to 1.5 years.

Interestingly, only domestic animals can overeat, but this does not happen with wild animals. With the onset of a feeling of satiety, wild animals will never go in search of food; in extreme cases, they will hide it in reserve.

Weasel is the smallest representative of the order of carnivores. The weasel is very reminiscent of an ermine, but is distinguished by its small size and shorter, and most importantly, monochromatic tail - it does not have a black tassel on its tail. In summer fur, the top of the weasel is brownish-brown and the bottom is pure white.

• Where does the weasel live?

The weasel is found in Europe, Northern Asia and North America. Lives in fields and forests, in mountainous and lowland areas, without avoiding populated areas. It lives under stones, in hollows, in ruins, in burrows, barns, etc. Weasels often form colonies. The nest is lined with dry grass, moss, leaves of chestnuts and ferns.

• How long does a weasel live?

Weasel lives, according to various sources, 17, 20, 30 years; strong males sometimes live up to 60 years (as a rule, animals of the same size as weasels live no more than 8 years).

• What does a weasel eat?

The weasel is very dexterous and agile, runs fast, climbs and swims well, is distinguished by great courage and aggressiveness and is a dangerous enemy for all small animals; Its food consists of house mice, field and forest mice, rats, moles, young rabbits, hamsters, chickens, pigeons, as well as lizards, copperheads, snakes, even vipers, frogs, and insects. In places where it is not pursued, the weasel hunts both day and night. By exterminating mice, it brings great benefit, which, in any case, outweighs the harm it sometimes brings to chicken coops. Weasels sometimes successfully fight off even relatively large birds of prey (for example, kites).

Meeting with a weasel

By mid-April, the bright rays of the sun melted the remaining snow in the forest, and flooding began in the floodplain of the Oka River. In areas that were not flooded with water, fresh young greenery was already making its way through last year’s withered grass. Here and there one could see golden-green spots of one of the primroses - the spring clear.

Its shiny round leaves are shaped like hooves, so it is not surprising that the popular name of this flower is hooves. Chistyak loves damp, damp places - it grows along the banks of rivers, streams, near meadow lakes and swamps, in damp places of deciduous forests. The bright yellow flowers are closely related to buttercups, and like them, due to their toxicity, they are not eaten by animals.

The entire shore of one of the lakes where I went was dotted with mouse holes. Very soon it will be hidden by a motley carpet of meadow grasses, but for now there is still little grass, and the burrows are clearly visible. Stopping, I began to listen to see if any bird would squeak in the coastal bushes. After all, on the edge of the spill you can already see bluethroats and yellow wagtails looking for food. And suddenly a loud, piercing, grinding screech was heard very close by, as if someone had accidentally been stepped on! Out of the corner of my eye I saw a small long body from the side, darting into one of the holes. It was a caress. Apparently, she never expected to see a man next to her and squealed in fear.

Weasels are quite common in our country, but due to their small size, it is not often possible to see them. The length of this animal is only from 11 to 26 cm, the tail is from 2 to 8 cm. And even if you accidentally encounter a weasel, you don’t have time to really look at it - it’s so fast. It flashed - and she was gone. However, many animals respond primarily to movement. Therefore, if you don’t move, you can sometimes watch some animal. This is what happened with this weasel. I didn’t move, and the weasel appeared again from the hole, only from a completely different one. After sticking her head out for 2-3 seconds, she disappeared. For the next half hour, all the weasel did was appear from one hole, then from another, then a couple of meters from me, or even 20-30. All the holes were connected to each other by underground passages, so it was impossible to determine in advance where her muzzle would appear next time. Sometimes the weasel even stood up on its hind legs and vigilantly looked around the surroundings.

Some of the weasel's holes were flooded by the beginning of the flood, and then the weasel jumped out of there wet. Of course, she was not playing hide and seek with me at all, as it might have seemed from the outside; the weasel was hunting. On the surface she looked out for small birds, and in underground passages she looked for mice and shrews. The miniature size of this predator allows it to overtake its victims right in their own holes! In addition to mice and birds, weasels can hunt frogs and insects. In winter, weasels chase rodents under the snow. At this time of year, the animal wears a snow-white coat, and in summer its color is two-colored - the top and paws are brown, and the bottom is white. During breeding, the female weasel builds a ball-shaped nest out of grass. There are from 4 to 8 cubs in the litter.

Villagers don't like affection. Firstly, like a ferret, she carries chickens. And secondly, it “tickles” cows that are huge compared to her, making them “scared and sweating.” That's what it is!

VIDEO Laska is a brutal killer. The smallest predator

The weasel was caught next to a mouse nest in potato tops. Even sitting in the bank, she did not lose her hunting instinct. Of course she was released back.

The small Luwak animal, also known as the musang or palm civet, belongs to the civet family. are the main habitat of musangs, but their distribution area is quite diverse. The main distribution area of ​​luwak is Africa, South and Southeast Asia, including the Philippines and Indonesia. The Luwak animal, with a body weight of 1 to 15 kg, resembles a marten or ferret in appearance, its body length varies from 30 cm to 1 meter. Luwak are active mainly at night. The Luwak animal is often the target of hunters who want to get not only the valuable civet fur, but also edible meat.

Nutrition

The Luwak animal lives in trees and is a small predator, but the basis of its diet is not only meat, but also various insects, as well as fruits, nuts and other plant components, including coffee tree beans. Musangs carefully select the ripest and most intact coffee beans thanks to their sense of smell, which allows them to find aromatic and tasty coffee beans.

Production of elite coffee

The Luwak animal eats so much coffee beans that it cannot digest them. When coffee beans enter the Luwak body, they ferment, which subsequently affects the taste of the beans. In the stomach of the animal, the process of digestion of the pulp of coffee fruits occurs, and the coffee seeds are excreted naturally, acquiring a slightly changed appearance. They are collected, thoroughly cleaned and washed to remove Luwak droppings. After this, coffee plantation workers dry the coffee beans in the sun - so they are lightly roasted. After such actions, the sale of coffee begins, on which a luwak is often depicted - an animal that “produces” an elite product.

Research results show that such coffee is safe for consumers, since after careful processing of the beans, there are practically no pathogenic bacteria in them, and subsequent roasting of the beans kills the remaining ones.

The production of such coffee requires a lot of manual work, takes a lot of time and effort, so it is produced in small quantities. The rarity and high cost of coffee is a consequence of the destruction of the Luwak's natural habitat, which causes a decrease in their numbers.

Until some time, palm civets were considered dangerous pests that ate all the ripe fruits, so they were exterminated by Indonesian farmers. However, as it turned out, it was in vain, since with the help of these small animals one can earn a lot of money in the production of elite coffee called Kopi Luwak, which has become the most expensive to date.

A little history

When Indonesia was a Dutch colonial possession, local farmers were increasingly taxed in the form of coffee beans, which were highly valued by the local population. Then Indonesian farmers noticed that coffee beans from musang excrement were practically indigestible, so they began to carefully clean them and ship them to the Netherlands. However, coffee made from these beans turned out to be so aromatic and tasty that it began to gain popularity outside Indonesia. This is how the original technology for producing Kopi Luwak coffee was born, which today is considered the rarest and most unusual. Many coffee lovers describe it as an aromatic drink that has a caramel flavor with a hint of chocolate. Whether you try this coffee or not is up to you!

Another story, or "sad report".
This animal began to annoy us in the late nineties, that is, about fifteen years ago. Previously, these animals simply did not exist. And when they appeared, no one could determine which of the known species of the rodent order they belonged to. There was no doubt that these were rodents, because their manifestation of love for onions, peas, beets, and potatoes growing in vegetable gardens knew no boundaries! Seeing and examining the robber turned out to be not easy, since he leads a nocturnal lifestyle. And if anyone managed to see it in the early morning hour, then the speed of movement of the beast did not make it possible to accurately determine either its size or shape. Over time, its descriptions were supplemented by the qualitative adjective “black” and the noun “beast”. Subsequently, the adjective underwent a change in gender, “black”, and the noun “beast” was replaced by the word “bitch”.
I will not cite other combinations of strong words, although I sincerely understand the people from whose lips these phrases burst out from the bottom of their hearts.
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The hostess planted cabbage. She watered, nurtured, and one morning it turned out that this beast had gnawed a good third of the young, established seedlings. And it’s okay, I ate it! I cut off the tops and threw them away! I didn't like the cabbage! How to save the harvest? We made various fences, low barriers from branches, pieces of cellophane, and covered the seedlings with grass. It helped, but you always have to remember that part of the harvest will be destroyed. The beast does not touch the heads of cabbage.

This animal loves peas more. It eats the top entirely, leaving stumps like this.
This year, almost all the peas in my garden suffered.

When potato tubers appear, the “black” one tears the bush and makes gnaws on the tubers.
This photo is from last year. This animal took a fancy to the garden bed and gnawed a good half of the grown potatoes. He performs approximately the same tricks with beets. You pull the beet, but it’s empty inside! The first year we grew potatoes using the “under hay” technology, we laid all the blame on the mice. Yes, there were descriptions on the Internet that with this technology mice begin to build nests, use free straw and hay, multiply rapidly, and cause irreparable damage to the beds. I don't agree with this opinion. Out of five potato beds, only one was damaged and mice had nothing to do with it!
Field mice in gardens are a ubiquitous phenomenon, and the presence or absence of hay in the garden is not the cause of mass reproduction. Outbreaks of reproduction occur in certain years associated with climatic and weather phenomena. The diet of mice is somewhat different; they prefer grain. This winter, many gardeners in our community lost their tulips and lilies. Ate the mice! In harsh winters, many mice attack country houses, finding food there. Very often in the spring, acorns sprout in our beds, although the nearest oak tree is thirty meters from the edge of our plot. And here, the mice are trying - dragging supplies for the winter into their holes.
And here's another photo:

After the potatoes (the ones the animal gnawed), they planted onions. And one spring, when we arrived in the garden, we discovered that on an area of ​​one square meter, the tops of the onions had been cut off. In the photo you can see a bunch of onions sticking out of the hole; I didn’t have the strength to deliver the product to the pantry (probably from gluttony). Mice have smaller burrows. And who will say after this that this is the work of mice?
Over the course of a decade of being next to the robber, we managed to study the habits of the animal and even get a good look at it and find out what it looks like. What do we know about him?
1.Loves to eat! (I have already listed the diet).
2.Afraid of water. He fell into a bathtub dug in at ground level, filled with water, and drowned.
3. Digs holes.
4.Walks along the same paths that lead from the hole to the food beds, which should be taken into account when catching.
5. Aggressive. In life-threatening situations, he rushes to the target of the threat. In this case, the habits are similar to those of rats. Likewise, a rat, pinned in a corner, can rush at a person in search of salvation.
6.The only enemy of the animal is dogs. A pack of country dogs quite effectively found food in the form of a “black beast”. Can cats cope with this beast? The question is not clear. Considering the aggressiveness and size of the animal, not every cat can handle it. The size of an adult animal can be compared to a rat.
7.The beast is smart, cunning and careful.
8.He goes out for a feast in the evening, when the heat subsides, and feasts until the morning, at the same time filling his pantries with food supplies.
9. The fight against “black” is carried out by catching with bait.
10.Can't stand the heat of the day. An animal caught in a cage and not destroyed dies in the sun during the day.
So who is it? And how to fight him?
In the nineties, when the whole country was falling apart, there were rumors that at the Kazan Veterinary Institute crossbreeding of various animals was carried out for harvesting skins, and that some of these hybrids escaped. Veterinarians refuted this version, but no one really said what kind of new species of rodent had appeared in the surrounding gardens of Kazan, and most importantly, how to fight it. There have been claims that this is a southern animal, and it is strange how it got to our region. There were assurances that health services could remove it from our gardens.

I find several telephone numbers of various organizations involved in sanitary disinfection treatment of gardens and ponds. I call and explain the situation.
- A! This mutant!!! Sorry, but we only deal with mice, rats, and mosquitoes.
In another organization, I was offered conventional methods of rodent control. Whether these methods will be effective with the “black beast” is another matter.
The third call in terms of obtaining detailed information turned out to be more productive, although it was also unsuccessful
At the other end of the line a polite female voice was heard, who turned out to be the director of a rodent control establishment.
- Do you use biological control agents? - I asked.
- What do you have in mind?
- I know that in the Soviet years, at plant protection stations, grain was infected with some kind of mouse plague, in a word, a disease. An infected mouse passed the disease on to its entire family. An effective remedy!
- No. Biological agents are prohibited! Especially when working with the population! We use only toxic chemicals.
- What is the treatment of gardens?
- A team of our workers comes to your gardening partnership and places poisoned baits along the perimeter of the entire site. In addition, we provide each gardener with bags of processed grain, that is, you will have the opportunity to process your personal plots and buildings yourself. Distribution through the chairman, or garden board. It's up to you to decide. It is better to do the treatment in autumn or spring.
- Price?
- Six kopecks per square meter. Many partnerships have concluded an agreement with us for several years now, and are very satisfied. Calculate the area of ​​your partnership, the number of plots and you will understand that it is not expensive.
- So what to do with this mutant?
- I can’t give any guarantees. Perhaps they are like mice, they will eat poison and die. Need to try!
- Personally, I’ve already tried it at my site. The poisoned grain remains untouched!
- I can’t help you with anything else. Think about it, if you decide to use our services, call.
Yes, there is something to think about.
In 2010, these animals disappeared. It was abnormally hot and they apparently hid in their burrows, and caused minimal damage, completely invisible to the human eye. But then the weather changed and signs of the animal’s presence appeared again.
His wife met him on the path when a robber with his mouth full was returning from a neighbor's cabbage plantation.
Subsequently, I was never able to get clear descriptions of what the “black” one looks like or what sounds it makes. I understood only one thing - he looked aggressive, the size of a cat: “Oh-oooo-so!” Fishermen usually use this gesture to show the size of the eye of the caught fish.
The robber's new place of residence has been discovered - under an old car van, which we use as a shed.
Well, we need to watch. And the very next evening, when the family left for the city and I stayed at the dacha overnight, luck smiled at me. The photo hunt has borne fruit.
Here he is, the prankster! He stood on his hind legs. To get a better look at me, I froze and, trying not to move without looking, pointed the lens in his direction and took several “blind” shots.

Quite by chance, in a telephone conversation with a cousin living in the Nizhny Novgorod region, I find out that they, too, have a strange animal. People call him “karbysh”, but his color is different - his back is brown and his chest is black.
I ask: “How long have you been fighting with him?”
- About four years ago I appeared.
So, the beast’s name is “karbysh”! I surf the Internet and find the information I need:
“They say that karbysh is a cross between a mole and a rat or even a gopher. There are rumors that there was a farm in the Nizhny Novgorod region with these animals, they allegedly bred them for their skins. They, like moles, are highly valued. Not many people have seen karbysh live - it leads a nocturnal lifestyle. The karbysh's burrow goes several meters deep. Gardeners often find reserves of rodents in the ground, in which one can find selected potatoes and fresh berries.”

Yes, and here people attribute the birth of a new species of rodent to humans. Is it really?
I don't presume to judge. Or maybe this is really a mutant born under the influence of radiation and unfavorable ecology? It’s hard to say, but in reference books and tables with pictures of rodents, I couldn’t find anything similar to our black beast, the carbysh.

I found an excellent video about the ferocity of the carbysh, or forest hamster, as it is also called!
It's a pity that the sound design is spoiled by swearing. For those who are not afraid that their ears will curl, you can watch it, or you can simply turn off the sound:

Now all that remains is to find a way to fight.
My colleague Valera suggested a method of fighting. He lives in a private house on the outskirts of Kazan and three years ago he had exactly the same problems with karbysh as I did. Currently, the animal has disappeared, and according to Valera, this happened for two reasons.
1. There are a lot of dogs in the village. And dogs are the enemies of karbysh.
2. The entire village began to catch these animals in an organized manner using these rat traps. We did it!

Dimensions: 35x15x15 cm. The principle of operation is visible in the photo. The animal enters the cage, takes the bait from the hook, and the hook holds the door in the open position. The mechanism works and, under the influence of the rubber band, slams the door.
- And how many animals did you catch?
- Three. But apparently that was enough. They are no more!
How long?
Valera gave me this cage for temporary use. But in two weeks of using it, not a single animal has been caught. Well, we are patient. Let's wait and be cunning like karbysh. In any case, his habits are now known to me.

Kazan.
Alexey Popov.

The basis of the mink diet is small river fish (perch, gudgeon, gobies, tench). The predator also eats mollusks, crayfish, frogs, river rats and other small rodents with appetite. A dexterous and very mobile mink can easily catch and eat a bird, and the animal will not refuse bird eggs. On occasion, the animal can run over a young muskrat or squirrel.

Minks try to stay away from people, but if there are populated areas nearby, the animal can feed on poultry if necessary. In the winter season, the European mink eats rowan and lingonberry berries, seeds, and tree roots. As cold weather approaches, animals stock up. Minks bring fish and berries to their home.

Interesting fact

These carnivorous mammals from the mustelid family prefer to eat only fresh prey. Minks kept in enclosures starve for several days in the absence of fresh food and only then switch to rotten meat.

Successful mink hunting

Favorite American mink delicacy- river crayfish. In places where there are plenty of them, the animal prefers crayfish to fish. Minks feed on frogs all year round; mice and small rodents are caught more often in winter than in summer. This is due to the freezing of water bodies in which animals obtain food. In winter, minks are forced to hunt on land.

To satisfy hunger, a fur-bearing animal needs only 200 grams of food per day. If there is a lot of food, the mink stores supplies in its shelter. The animals feed from 4 to 9 times a day.

These animals hunt in small areas, mainly at night, less often during daylight hours. It should be noted that the sizes of individual territories are not the same. Large males can walk along the river for about 10 kilometers, while females and old individuals live in small areas, the conventional boundaries of which can overlap each other. However, there is no hostility between fur-bearing animals; there is enough food and space for everyone to live.

Despite the fact that the mink eats a lot of fish, it does not harm the fishery, since this fish is not commercial. In addition, mink is a useful animal not only for humans, but also for nature. These predators regulate the number of small rodents by constantly hunting them.

European mink

Mink nutrition in captivity

Fur-bearing animals from the mustelid family are well domesticated; they quickly adapt to living conditions in captivity. People keep minks as pets and breed them in special farms for their fur. In captivity, animals are fed mainly with fish; on fur farms, the menu necessarily includes cereals, vegetables, and dairy products. Food should be varied, preferably a fish and meat diet.

On fur farms, they carefully monitor the nutrition of minks, since the quality of the fur depends on the diet. During the breeding and lactation period of females, feeding is increased by adding more meat and fish products. In summer, the body of predators accumulates energy due to protein, so the main diet includes complete protein and feed mixtures enriched with vitamins. Depending on the fatness of the animals, the amount of food is changed and the calorie content of the menu is added/reduced.