#in preparation in case i wanna do the extended ferret drawing guide thing

[mustelavison]

The differences between minks and ferrets

On many social media platforms I have seen minks being called ferrets, and ferrets being called minks. Even on Discord when I post art of a mink, people will proclaim “I love minks!” and then proceed to post a gif of a ferret or an ermine. There is no harm in this, ofcourse! But it does frustrate me a lot because they can easily be differentiated by much more than just color. 

Please note that this is by no means trying to gatekeep what you can call a mink or not. There may be inaccuracies or things left out, as this is all based on my own research. Half of the reason for writing this post is also simply so I have a bit of a reference for myself too when drawing ferrets and minks. I will also only be referring to the American Mink in this post, seeing as they are the most well known due to the American Mink being the species used for fur farming. 

So without much further ado, let's begin! 

The Head

When looking at the average mink and the average ferret, it is obviously very easy to pick apart the two. Ferrets have their signature bandit-like mask, which minks usually do not have. Minks typically range from dark or reddish brown to black with a white chin. In this case it would be very easy to learn the difference between the two.

But what about situations where both have the same coat color? Some minks in fur farms are bred to have a white coat, and similarly some ferrets also have the same color. This is very often where I see confusion between the two species. And what if minks sprout the polecat mask that ferrets are commonly known for?

With my art, it is easier to tell the two apart. Especially considering I have noted which is which. But when applied to real life it becomes harder. In fact, when looking up white ferrets for examples I was actually met with an image of a white mink. (And also a lot of ermines, unfortunately.) In situations like this you have to start looking at more anatomical features instead. It is however good to know that white ferrets typically have little to no polecat mask. 

As you can see here, I have traced the heads of both a white mink and a white ferret. Although, one image is clearly more zoomed out than the other. I have lined the traced result up with each other so it is easier to spot the differences. 

First of all, the head is broader on the mink and rounder. The ears are also much smaller on the mink when compared to the ferret. The muzzle is also much broader and rounder on the mink, too. 

There are also smaller differences between the two that don't really matter much and more just fun facts. A ferret’s skull is slightly shorter than a mink’s. Ferrets however, do have longer canine teeth!

The Body

Obviously, aside from the head there are also differences in the rest of the body. Fur farm minks on average, are much bigger than a ferret. Minks are also a lot stronger than a ferret. 

There are also coat colors present in only minks and vice versa! The texture of the coats is also very different, which is logical considering ferrets aren’t quite as popular for being used to make coats. 

Ferrets generally have a rougher coat than ferrets. Their guard hairs are much longer and sparser. The mink on the other hand has a much denser coat, with the purpose of waterproofing the fur as much as possible to keep the mink warm while swimming. 

There are some coat colors usually found only in minks and ferrets respectively. This also works as an identifier because you will not find a jaguar ferret anywhere. 

 

A lot of the different coat colors in ferrets are actually a variation of the standard polecat/sable coat color. That being said, a lot of mink coat colors are actually variations of the standard brown/black coat color although it is not as obvious as it is with ferrets.

The final two differences are the paws and tail. These are not really very different for the most part, and on images you’d see on Instagram or whatever other platform you see a mink on you won't really notice these quickly. Minks generally have longer tails than ferrets, and being semi-aquatic they also have partially webbed feet. 

Thanks for reading this entire thing! It's pretty long, I know, but I hope it was of some use to you anyway. Hopefully you learned something new or maybe you could use this as an art reference in some way. 

On a footnote: If you can't tell the difference between a stoat/ermine and a mink or ferret then please get your eyes checked. If you didn't know they were different species then I sure hope you know that mink, ferret and ermine are not synonyms for each other and are all different species. Quite frustrating to see ermines pop up so much when searching for white minks or ferrets, you know?