I Never Expected A Lurcher To Do That!!!!

[Minkenry 1,044]

So today I went on a walk with my pointer lurcher pup Onsa and my baby mink Fang, just like we do every day. I took them to a beautiful lake near my house. I know this lake very well, so I know just about every muskrat den on the lake. This makes it is a great place to take the baby mink, because I can pick the mink up when we get near a muskrat den, to prevent a potential problem. My little mink Fang is only 15 weeks old, so she’s still quite young, and just starting to get to the age where she can actually start hunting more than just mouse sized prey. However, she is nowhere CLOSE to being mature enough to safely hunt large and aggressive prey like muskrats.

 

Muskrats are actually quite a challenge for mink to hunt. They are typically larger than a mink, and have some VERY LARGE and dangerous teeth! Much worse than their size and vicious bite is their extremely aggressive attitude! Mink are a muskrat’s all time worst natural enemy, as they not only live along the same waterways, but being semi aquatic they can also dive under water to follow them into their burrows. Muskrats instinctively know when a mink is confident enough to be a real threat, and when the mink is not quite sure of itself. If the muskrat senses any weakness in the mink, they will often attack or bully the mink, rather than flee to safety. This makes muskrats only an appropriate prey for the most confident and mature of mink.

 

 

 

 

For this reason I am very careful not to let my mink get anywhere near a muskrat until they are old and confident enough to handle them. Once they are confident in their ability to hunt muskrats, then the tables turn and the muskrats are in REAL TROUBLE, and they know it!

 

So I was walking along the lake with Onsa and Fang, avoiding all the potentially active muskrat dens as usual. Fang and Onsa were walking ahead of me as we approached a den that had been empty all summer, so I wasn’t too worried about it at first. Remembering the “empty den” from previous outings, Fang promptly dove under water and found the submerged entrance and entered the burrow. I thought to myself, “You should have checked the den for fresh sign first” and just as I thought that, I saw Onsa walk up and start sniffing the dirt nearest to the burrow entrance. I thought “Oh crap, there’s something down there! Onsa doesn’t just sniff like that for no reason!” I quickened my pace to try and get closer, just in time to see a rather large muskrat bolting from the exit hole opposite from where Onsa was sniffing, and Fang had entered. I thought to myself, “Thank goodness! The muskrat has safely flushed without my young mink or lurcher pup catching it, and will now swim out to the middle of the lake away from my mink and puppy.”

 

But much to my disappointment, the muskrat turned back around, and swam to the shore! He climbed up on the bank nearest the den exit, and stood on his hind legs like a kangaroo, poised ready to fight my mink if she came out of the exit hole after him! I frantically thought, “Crap! That muskrat is going to pounce on my little mink kit and destroy any confidence she has for hunting muskrats, possibly even seriously hurting her!” I was trying to hurry and catch up to the mink and pup so I could chase the muskrat out into the lake and away from the burrow, when I realized the obvious. Onsa was closer to the muskrat than I was, and 10 times quicker too. She could chase him away long before I could!

 

I looked at Onsa, and her head was facing the wrong direction, her nose still sniffing the earth near the den entrance. “Sick Sick Sick” I said frantically trying to encourage my pup to look up and see the muskrat who was still sitting on the shore, waiting to ambush my mink. Onsa knew exactly what “Sick Sick Sick” meant, and her head shot up, looking around for something to catch. She instantly saw the muskrat, launched into action!

 

At the exact same time, the muskrat also became aware of the dog and quickly leaped into the water, swimming away completely submerged under the water. Onsa lost sight of the muskrat as soon as it was submerged, and wasn’t quite sure where it had gone. I thought to myself, “Thank goodness! The muskrat is now headed to the middle of the lake, and my mink and lurcher pup are both safe from being bitten!” Just as that thought crossed my mind, I saw Onsa LEAP out into the water and dive under the surface, completely submerging her head, neck, and shoulders under the water! “Good try little pup,” I thought to myself, “muskrats swim pretty fast! There’s no way you’ll catch one like that!” Just as that thought crossed my mind, I saw Onsa struggling to the surface with something in her mouth!

 

Onsa struggled to get back to the shore, all the while also trying to shake her head to prevent being bitten by the muskrat, who was doing his best to try and bit her upper lip. I thought to myself, “Crap, I sure hope he doesn’t get a hold of her!” Muskrats are capable of putting some pretty big holes in you real quick, and since Onsa is only a 6 month old pup, I was worried that such a bite wouldn’t be too good for her confidence, let alone her face!

 

 

A muskrat bite I got a while ago

 

 

Much to my relief, Onsa didn’t seem the least bit worried by the muskrat’s attempts to bite her, and just kept shaking off his bites until she got to shore, where she promptly pressed him against the ground, and re-positioned her bite to the muskrat’s throat. As soon as she had clearly dispatched the muskrat, I checked her over for any wounds, and was happy to see that she hadn’t been injured. The only mark I found on her was a small cut on the inside of her lip, where the muskrat had tried to bite her, but fortunately wasn’t able to really get a hold of her.

 

I am still supper impressed that Onsa actually dived UNDER THE WATER to catch her first muskrat! I never had any intention on hunting muskrat with a dog, as I never really thought it was possible, with the exception of the rare lucky catch. After what I saw Onsa do today, I’m starting to wonder if she could do that on a regular basis! Whether or not she’ll be able repeat what she did today, I sure want to let her mature a little more first, as a bad bite could sure turn her off of muskrats if it happens at this tender young age. Pretty darn good for a little 6 month old pup if you ask me!

 

 

 

Edited August 17, 2016 by Minkenry

[Flacko 1,755]

Nice one mate your pups shaping up atb Flacko