Director of Information Services and Research Scientist Charles Dow, Ph.D., captured this footage of a mink in White Clay Creek near Stroud Water Research Center. This was an unusual sighting because American mink are rather secretive and are most active at night and in the early morning hours. It’s also a good sign for White Clay Creek.
Mink are extremely sensitive to environmental pollutants. At the top of the food chain in aquatic environments, they accumulate many chemical compounds and heavy metals in their tissue including polychlorinated biphenyls and mercury. Mink are often used as bioindicators of pollution in aquatic systems. — Pennsylvania Game Commission
Mink prefer to live in forested areas near water. The Stroud Center’s watershed restoration efforts along White Clay Creek are restoring and preserving water quality and providing natural habitat for mink and many other species.
