Finally, a mink under the bridge!

Friday, January 4 - Sunday, January 6:

  Quick trip to the trapline to run the entire line. The weather hasn't been cooperating; without new snow and warm weather the animals appear to be settled in. We never encountered a single new lynx track over our 40 mile run. Moose tracks are suddenly double what they were and that was a lot. A lone wolf traveled Grizzly Road, marking the entrance to Unnamed Trail. The roads in still haven't been plowed but we never experienced any troubles.

  We picked up a ermine early on Unnamed Trail. I'm still disappointed in this trail, as its production has been minimal regardless of its potential. We'll keep at her though and see what happens.

  On South Trail we had another flying squirrel in a trap. These are remarkable creatures that can glide, apparently if conditions are right, up to 100 metres. Their tail is cupped and they have extra skin flaps that run from front leg to back leg enabling them to "fly" great distances. They are carnivorous and nocturnal with very large eyes. Their main predator is the owl that hunts them at night. Their hide is more to the brownish-grey side than that of the red squirrel, which can be sold at auction.

The flying squirrel has no market value.

Notice the tail, it is actually cupped to help in flight direction.

Here you can see the skin flap that runs from front leg to back leg.

  On Old Forest Trail we connected on another marten, our eighth of the year. This one we picked up at a location where we'd discovered fresh tracks the previous weekend and had set a trap. It usually pays off setting on sign.

A wide run on Old Forest Trail.

Marten Number 8.

  Last year when I first came to this trapline with the previous owner, we passed over a bridge on Grizzly Road, just before Cabin Trail Road. Mink tracks could plainly be seen in the snow and I had made a mental note of it. When Dad came up and we first started setting the line, we put a mink box under that bridge hoping to catch that mink. On this quick trip, I dropped Dakota off at the bridge while I ran a short distance up the road to check a snare I had set the previous weekend. I was walking back out to the road after checking the snare when I saw Dakota suddenly appear above the bridge with a big grin on his face. We had the mink!

This mink has the typical white markings most mink do.

  We have another mink set near the cabin that has continuously been robbed of its bait by mice and the odd ermine, but mice seem to be the real culprit. Dakota got fed up with the set and decided to move it to another location on the creek, but still near the cabin. On his first check, he watched a mouse run out of the box. When he checked the box this weekend, all that was left of his bait was the skeleton of a fish part. Fearing another episode of bait-stealing mice, Dakota decided he was going to put up a mouse trap beside the box, baiting it with peanut butter. If he was going to feed the mice, it wasn't going to be for very long. Sure enough, the next morning he had his bait thief.

Dakota poses with his bait thief.

Will this be the only bait thief at this location? Time will tell.

That night I skinned out our catch. I wanted it to be ready for Monday's delivery to the Alberta Trappers' Association fur depot and the North American Fur Auction. The next morning we took a photo of them against the cabin door.

A marten, mink and ermine.

Not a bad catch for a quick trip.

Until next time!