The Saga Of The Mink And The Geese

I left you yesterday as a mink that had run across the opposite shore of the lake slid into the water while trying to avoid some very interested geese. I really didn't know what this mink was up to when he got in the water. I thought maybe he was planning on attacking the ducks that were swimming with the geese. Minks like to eat ducks sometimes, but they like fish even more.

Well, as I said, the mink slid into the water, and the four geese and the two ducks gave it a wide birth that time. It seemed to go right for the ducks, and their was a lot of confusion and flapping of wings! The geese and the ducks quickly fled as the chaos continued! Being as inexperienced with video as I am, I missed this part of the action completely.

This video is slightly over 5 minutes long

When I finally got the camera pointed in the right direction, the mink was just coming back out of the water, and onto the grass of the shore. It shook itself off for a second and then turned to reveal that it had caught something! It could have been either a fish or a crawdad; I couldn't see it well enough to know.

While the mink laid down to enjoy its freshly caught meal, the birds all swam to my right up the lake, so they could stay away from the crazy little mink. I had my camera full focused now, and I watched the mink leisurely devour its meal. I finally turned the camera to see what the birds were up to, when the mink all of a sudden got up and headed back for the water!

He slid back in, and this time I just barely got it on video! The mink bobbed around in the water for a few seconds, but then dove under and disappeared. This is when I lost all sense of direction, because the mink seemed to be gone. But meanwhile, the geese were becoming very irritated with the little mink's shenanigans!

When I finally found the mink again, it was swimming as fast as it could, up the lake and away from the birds! With the two ducks in the lead, the four geese gave chase! It may not look quite as exciting in the video because of the way I was fumbling around with the camera, but it was really a thrilling chase!

The mink finally made it back to land with another prize in its mouth! The ducks pulled up short, while two of the geese stopped at a point where they thought the mink had exited the water. They watched very intently for the mink to try to come back! Meanwhile the other two geese saw the mink again, so they swam a little farther forward.

This second pair of geese watched the mink running and trying to hide in the tall grass, while the first two geese stood guard where they were before. The little mink decided that the water was no longer the place for it, so it ran as fast as it could up the side of the hill, and away from the geese! It finally ran behind a fence and out of sight. The chase was finally over.

The geese were now satisfied that the dangerous little mink was gone, and the mink was well hidden, but with another prize to eat before it decided what to do next. As far as I was concerned, this adventure was over. It was now time for me to go hunt eagles and other exciting beasts with my trusty camera in hand.