Police in Stonington are warning residents about minks after they were reported to be chasing a person.
A message from Stonington police says that they received a report of minks chasing a person in the area of Stonington Borough Point.
You can hear the message below:
Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters.
While minks look like pet ferrets, they are not friendly, police warned. They are urging residents to be cautious and stay away from minx.
Police have notified the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and they are looking into the situation.
Jasmine Myers lives in Stonington and said she and her son were the ones who were chased by mink.
U.S. & World
About a month ago she said she was on the rocks at Stonington Point.
"I saw one of the critters in front of me and my first thought was 'oh how cute', but then he started coming closer to me and I was like 'oh let's get out of here'," said Myers. "And I notice I have got one on my right and one on my left and the three of them are coming at us."
Myers said the animals chased her and her son off the rocks.
"Okay- lesson learned. Never went on the rocks again," said Myers.
Then she went to the beach yesterday and said she saw a similar looking animal. She called animal control in town.
"I have never had such a close encounter with them until recently," said Myers. "I just want this to be looked into. Maybe it is just my bad luck or maybe there is an overpopulation."
Jenny Dickson is DEEP's wildlife division director. She said mink are well-distributed across Connecticut and often live in areas where there is wetland habitat.
"It is unusual to have them sort of pop up out of the breakwater like that, but not impossible," said Dickson.
Dickson said it is difficult to know for sure if it was mink that chased Myers.
According to Dickson, minks are not known for being aggressive and it is rare to hear of a mink chasing someone.
If someone finds themselves in a similar situation as Myers, though, Dickson said they should do exactly what Myers did.
"Back away. Give them more space," said Dickson. "Most times they are going to disappear pretty quickly."
Minks have a history in Stonington.
"They do have a history," said Elizabeth Wood, executive director of the Stonington Historical Society. "We know of several families that had mink farms here in Stonington."
According to Wood, there were about three farms in town 50 years ago. She said some of the mink escaped.
Dickson said that the mink farms may have contributed to an increased local presence of mink in Stonington, but it is hard to know for sure.
"That was a long time ago. How many would have survived from that escape is hard to say," said Dickson.
DEEP has not received additional mink complaints in that location. If they do, they will investigate the situation further.
According to DEEP, minks are long and slender with short legs.
They have dark brown or black fur and a furry tail. They sometimes have white on their chin or throat and their feet are slightly webbed.
DEEP says they are larger than weasels and smaller than fishers, weighing one-and-a-half to three-and-a-half pounds.
