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1 December 2016 Attempted Predation of a Harbor Seal Pup (Phoca vitulina) by an American Mink (Neovison vison) in the Salish Sea
Lauren Z Clarke, Isabel A Plourde, Joseph K Gaydos, Jennifer K Olson
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Abstract

A single incident of attempted predation of a Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) pup by an American Mink (Neovision vision) was observed on Blakely Island, Washington in 2015. San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network members responded, investigated the event, and performed a necropsy on the seal. Predation is the most parsimonious explanation for the attack due to the American Mink's opportunistic predatory tendencies and the vulnerability of the moribund Harbor Seal. With both the American Mink and Harbor Seal populations documented as abundant or at carrying capacity, respectively, mink predation on vulnerable Harbor Seal pups could increase or influence Harbor Seal haul-out behavior.

Lauren Z Clarke, Isabel A Plourde, Joseph K Gaydos, and Jennifer K Olson "Attempted Predation of a Harbor Seal Pup (Phoca vitulina) by an American Mink (Neovison vison) in the Salish Sea," Northwestern Naturalist 97(3), 260-262, (1 December 2016). https://doi.org/10.1898/NWN15-32.1
Received: 6 October 2015; Accepted: 1 February 2016; Published: 1 December 2016
KEYWORDS
American mink
Harbor Seal
Neovison vison
Phoca vitulina
predation
Salish Sea
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