(adventurous music)
- I'm Coyote Peterson, and today,
I'm working with Steve Kroschel.
(mink noises)
And he's got with him one very
special member of the weasel family.
Get ready to meet the Alaskan Mink.
("Breaking Trail Theme")
(acoustic guitar music)
- [Coyote Peterson Voiceover] If there's one thing
I learned about Alaska while exploring this beautiful state,
it's that with every step you take,
the wilderness only becomes more vast.
As a human, you are small in Alaska.
And the grand scale of this wild place
really brings you in tune with nature.
For me, getting in touch with nature
usually means having an encounter with an animal.
However, many animals can be difficult to see in the wild.
And trying to interact with them can be dangerous.
- Check that out.
Those are Grizzly prints right there.
- [Coyote Peterson Voiceover] Today I'm getting
the incredible opportunity to work along animal expert,
Steve Kroschel, who's going to help me get up close
with one wildly little creature that has been
raised in his wildlife sanctuary, the Alaskan Mink.
- Right now, I'm in an enclosure with the Alaskan Mink.
One of the stealthiest predators in the weasel family.
And it's right here in front of me.
Do you want to come up here?
Whoa, getting real close to my leg there.
- [Coyote Peterson Voiceover] You may
wonder why I'm barefoot.
That's because Steve told me that by being barefoot,
it would help me connect with the Earth.
And in turn, help me connect with the animals.
- These are real mink games, and I have to be careful
because the mink's teeth are unbelievably sharp.
They're like little tiny needles.
Where did you go?
It's so cool how they are able to just
turn around inside their skin,
and that's one unique feature of
all members of the weasel family.
Like if I were to hold that mink by the scruff of its neck,
it could completely spin its body.
So let's say a predator like a Golden Eagle swoops in
and grabs that animal with its talons.
The mink can actually wrap its body round
and attack the eagle as it is being attacked.
That is one incredible defensive maneuver.
Where did you go?
There you go, that's something to play with?
Biting on my sleeves, biting on my bracelet.
And if I was one of her litter mates,
this is exactly how she would be playing.
Even adult minks are incredibly playful in the wild.
All members of the weasel family love to play.
Would you like to go down to the river and have a splash?
What do you think, would that be fun?
You lead the way.
Ready, let's go!
- [Coyote Peterson Voiceover] Steve is
incredibly connected to the planet.
Part of his connection is his
ability to communicate with animals,
which he has been doing most of his life.
- Now Steve?
- Yeah?
- I heard you earlier making a noise.
Were you talking to this mink?
- Yeah, they-
- Do that again, do that again.
(Makes noise)
- They make a little chuckling sound when they're happy,
or during the mating season, which is in March.
- Okay.
- And I'm just trying to get him
familiar with this area here.
Now mink, they've just got to bite.
They communicate with their mouth.
- Let me see if I can get down face-to-face with him?
- Face-To-Face but...
- Look at how cute that face is.
One thing I love about mink is how adorable they are.
I see you.
And they have that little white
chin just like the wolverine.
- All wild mink have that basically.
- Would you say you're more likely-
- It wants to go down and bite your toes.
- Oh, I bet it does.
- Can I let it go?
- Yeah, well should we take it over into a natural
pool of water so you can splash around?
- Yeah, let's start here.
Oh God, look, here it goes.
- Look at how frisky it is.
Now can I try to hold it?
- Not now.
- Not yet?
- I can't even hold it now.
Let's let it go here.
See what happens?
- Ready?
- Just stay put.
Go find a little pool there.
- If we just don't do anything,
let's see what it will do.
He loves this log.
(mink calling)
Look at that, you are actually calling the mink back.
You are so brave.
- It's kind of...
(laughs)
- It's going underneath you there.
- Well there's lots of places to move.
This is a miniature wolverine in some ways.
- Sure, absolutely.
- They're related to a wolverine.
- In my opinion, I think next to the wolverine,
the mink is the most perfect predator in the weasel family.
Their ability to not only go in the water,
also their ability to climb...
Let me see, come here.
(mink noises)
You're okay, you're okay.
- It's gonna bite you.
- It's okay.
- It's biting you.
(mink noises)
- You can't hold onto them.
You can't, they're so squirmy.
And in the length of the body...
Let me see you, hi.
(mink noises)
That's about as much time as you can
get going face-to-face with the mink.
Just like that, I blow a little air in his face,
and it's like, did you brush your teeth this morning?
Then he's like, I'm out of here.
- Let's see if we can bring it over to the water?
- Do you think if we put it in water,
it'll kind of splash around,
like in the natural environment?
- Let's try it.
- That would be awesome.
Then we could show you guys just how
hydrophobic that coat really is.
Hey, you wanna go into the water?
- I think so.
- There he goes, let's go!
- Okay, so what we're doing here, Coyote, is a test.
The animal, I say that it's imprinted on me,
and this is what I do with a lot of the animals that I have,
most of the animals that I have at the wildlife center,
is that they have freedom.
Freedom to go, freedom to come back.
The relationship is strong, and this is a mink.
This is its home, this is kind of environment.
Will it just take off down the river,
or will it stay with us?
Here's the test.
Loves water.
This is its home.
(mink noises)
- What I'm doing right now is
trying to just call the mink in.
Once it gets comfortable with me,
I have a good feeling it's going to kind of
just buddy up to me, and we'll be right here
splashing around in the water.
(mink noises)
Oh, look at that.
Look at that, it's coming right at me!
Just like that, you see that?
That was an awesome shot.
Ran right past GoPro.
(mink noises)
- You're developing a relationship,
Coyote, with this semi-aquatic animal.
- He's getting pretty comfortable with me now.
Look at that.
Right on my hand, just rolling around.
Oh, splash.
Look at that, look at how he's just able to...
There's no water actually staying on his fur.
I think it actually likes my bracelet.
Look at that, you see the water
just flicking off the mink's coat?
How awesome is this?
Laying on a river bed,
splashing around with a little mink.
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
(mink noises)
- [Coyote Peterson Voiceover] I'm
always excited to see a mink.
And over the course of my life,
I have been lucky enough to catch
glimpses of them in the wild.
They're incredibly elusive
so to spend a morning getting up close with one
was an interaction that I've always dreamed of.
If you thought this mink was full of energy,
make sure to go back and watch our episode
about the short-tailed weasel.
Getting that little guy close to
the camera was next to impossible.
And don't forget, subscribe so you can join me
and the crew on this season of Breaking Trail.
(animal noises)