Zizly Can’t Believe this Animal Exists in Idaho

So we finally made it out to the Boise River to kick off floating season last weekend. It was an awesome time with our friends, but man oh man, did I learn something new that day. My little one noticed an animal on the bank of the river and says "whoa, that's a big fat squirrel." My buddy looked up and said, "it's a mink!" I didn't think anything of it because I thought he was joking.

About 20 minutes later, our buddy's little boy said, "there's another one." So turned around and I about lost it. I was expecting to see maybe a beaver, or -like the little thought- a big chunkster of a squirrel. Nope, it was an animal I'd never seen in real life. A mink!!! Ok, I know this is making me sound super ignorant, but I just really didn't think that these "exotic" animals lived in Idaho. I'd NEVER seen one before, so the thought just sounded ridiculous. My mind has been blown. Am I the only one in Idaho that didn't know this?

I was still so confused that when we got back to the car, I had to do some research (I was convinced they were wrong). Sure enough, the American Mink is found all over the U.S. and it "feeds on rodents, fish, crustaceans, frogs, and birds" -makes sense now why it was so close to the river. I'm still wrapping my head around this new information....give me a minute.