During the mating season, the sexual organs of female European mink enlarge greatly and become pinkish-lilac, as opposed to the American Mink, whose organs don’t change.

Due to the higher quality of farmed American mink, European mink are not trapped for commercial purposes as much as they once were.

Young European mink open their eyes after 1 month and begin tracking and capturing prey at 2 months before dispersing at 2.5-4 months.

The decline of noble crayfish may be a factor in declining European mink numbers, as minks are notably absent in the eastern side of the Urals, where crayfish are also absent.

The European mink hybridizes with western polecat at low levels as only pure polecat males can mate with pure European mink females.

There is sexual dimorphism in the European mink as males are longer than females and have longer tails.

The European mink paddles with its short, membraned front and back limbs simultaneously and can stay underwater for 1-2 minutes, but is not as efficient underwater as the American mink.

Currently, seven subspecies of European mink are recognized.

The European mink does not form large territories, possibly due to the abundance of food on the banks of small water bodies.

The European mink primarily hunts for aquatic prey in riparian zones and in the water, and voles are its most important food source.