A mink in the North Okanagan has a fishing hook in its snout attached to a line wrapped around a shrub.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Michelle Gregoire

Vernon resident Michelle Gregoire made a rare and unfortunate discovery recently while she was hiking with a friend near a local fishing lake in the North Okanagan.

A mink with a fishing hook through its nose was wrapped around a bush with fishing wire, making a distressed squealing sound.

“I’m an avid birder and at first I thought I was hearing a marsh wren but as I got closer, I could tell it was an animal in distress,” she said. “He was in great distress, there was zero wiggle room, it was very heartbreaking.”

A volunteer ecological reserve warden for BC Parks, Gregoire was confident she and her friend could free the tangled mink, but she didn’t have any tools with her. She ran down to a fishing dock to find tools.

“A fisherman kindly handed me pliers and I ran back and we managed to pull out the hook, it was a good struggle, it took about five minutes. We believe the mink will be OK.” 

Finding a mink is unusual, the creatures are fast and elusive.

“Mink are semi aquatic so they’re always near water but have no interest in running into humans, they like to hide,” Gregoire said. “To see one was amazing but the circumstances were not.”

This fishing hook and line was wrapped around a mink in the North Okanagan.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Michelle Gregoire

She is hoping the rescue will draw attention to the need for fishing lines and hooks to be retrieved and disposed of properly.

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“I’m not trying to villainize people who fish, but there seems to be little effort in retrieving snagged lines or people leaving cut lines on the ground and walking away,” she said. “I’m not sure people know the consequences for wildlife.

“I realize it isn’t always possible, sometimes lines get hooked under stumps, but there just needs to be more effort made, we can prevent these incidents. I can’t imagine the number of animals and birds this happens to.”

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Gregoire is an active member of Vernon North Okanagan Naturalist Club that works to protect and preserve flora and fauna in the area, and she spends a lot of time outdoors.

“If you’re out exploring and you hear something, please check it out, it could be an animal in need of help. If we hadn’t walked by the mink, he likely wouldn’t have been found.”

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