Editing Mink (section)

==Territory==
Mink are [[territoriality|territorial]] animals. A male mink will not tolerate another male within his territory but appears to be less aggressive towards females. Generally, the territories of both male and female animals are separate, but a female's territory may sometimes overlap with that of a male.<ref name="Zabala Zuberogoitia Martínez-Climent 2007 pp. 249–258">{{cite journal | last1=Zabala | first1=Jabi | last2=Zuberogoitia | first2=Iñigo | last3=Martínez-Climent | first3=José Antonio | title=Spacing pattern, intersexual competition and niche segregation in American mink | journal=Annales Zoologici Fennici | publisher=Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board | volume=44 | issue=4 | year=2007 | issn=0003-455X | jstor=23736769 | pages=249–258 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/23736769 | access-date=2021-12-02}}</ref>
[[File:Mink in the snow.png|thumb|Mink at water's edge, [[Kenai National Wildlife Refuge]], Alaska]]
The territories, which tend to be long and narrow, stretch along river banks, or around the edges of lakes or marshes. Territory sizes vary, but they can be several miles long. Female territories are smaller than those of males.

Each territory has one or two central areas (core areas) where the mink spends most of its time. The core area is usually associated with a good food supply, such as a pool rich in fish, or a good rabbit warren. The mink may stay in its core area, which can be quite small, for several days at a time, but it also makes excursions to the ends of its territory. These excursions seem to be associated with the defense of the territory against intruders. The mink likely checks for any signs of a stranger mink and leaves droppings (scat) redolent of its personal scent to reinforce its territorial rights.