Rocky Mountain Mink Refuge

09/11/2025

Oh Aster... you really are the master of disaster.🤦🏼‍♀️

Yesterday Aster got a lovely, brand new mattress with a fluffy minky faux fur cover. We figured he would have a grand time sleeping on such luxury... and we weren't wrong either. We've caught him sleeping on his back, all four footies twitching in the air. What we did not expect though, was the fact that he would take such offense to the sensory shift that there is a leather label sewn onto the bed... nor did we expect him to p**p right on the bed in less than 24hrs.

Thanks bud.. now I gotta decide if I want to let you realize you don't wanna sleep surrounded by fresh turds... or just go wash your cover and hope the next round goes better.

09/08/2025

Happy ! We'd like to introduce everyone to Mavis, who came to our rescue on Friday. She had been surrendered to a very sweet lady, who did the right thing and contacted us about taking her into our care. She is a very cute little palomino colored female mink. She is roughly 3-4mo, having been born this year's breeding season on a fur farm. She was likely bought to be a pet, until the buyers realized that mink and ferrets are far more different than they are similar.

Next steps will be to get her tested for ADV, checked out by our vet, and microchipped. She took like a champion to her appropriate diet of whole prey and grinds and will likely still stuff her face like it is going out of style for the next couple months as she grows. She is still quite skittish, and we cannot be sure what her life prior to us receiving her had been like. We will be working on making her more comfortable with hands and gaining her trust.

These past couple months have seen our overall donations decrease heavily, to the point where we cannot even reliably cover the monthly food costs without needing to spend personal funds on it as well. This means that vet care, bedding, litter and other supplies are also out of pocket aside from the handful of donations via Amazon. (Did you know out of the 450 items on the list for the year since January, only 35 have been purchased?)

We are very eager to hear what our followers would like to see in terms of merchandise that the rescue can offer as a means of reliable funding coming in to help offset some of the costs.

ALL donations made to us are tax-deductible! EIN 88-2893806
💸Venmo:
💳PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/rescuemink
💵Zelle: 385-208-6934
🪙CashApp: $minkrescue

08/20/2025

It's ! Here are some of the last photos I had taken of Vusi while in our care before he was released back into the wild. I know Mikayla would have loved these, because of how much she loved weasels. I hope she gets to watch him on his life's journey now.

Since it is also , the rescue could really, really use some toys from our list. Enrichment is so incredibly important when dealing with captive animals who cannot be released to the wild (in this case captive-born, domestic genetics, or ethical reasons). Appropriate enrichment that allows them to practice natural behaviors, burn energy, and work their brains also allows them to release stress and stops self-destructive behaviors that are often seen when highly intelligent animals get bored or stressed.

🦦RMMR Wishlist:
https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1WY6QVRDZCH0F
ALL donations are tax-deductible! EIN: 88-2893806

If you also follow us on the Saveafox Mustelids page, you will be able to find the Wishlist for the mustelids living at SAF as well.

08/13/2025

Happy from River, one of our ambassador residents here at RMMR! Aside from sharing our Amazon Wishlist for the rescue which has soooo many unpurchased items that help us get through the year, we wanted to share some updates as well.

Vusi, our rehab long-tailed weasel, will be returning to his home in the wild on Friday. We attempted his release this past Sunday, but events didn't quite pan out and we made the call to hold his release off a few days until we felt more secure about where he was going to be released. He will be released in an area close to where he originally came from, and I've already spotted ample squirrels in the area, which means he won't lack for food and there is a creek and waterfall in the area as well.🍃

While it is sad to see them go, especially when you've poured so much care into them, it also brings us a lot of joy to see these animals return to their natural birthright of being in the wild. RMMR is proud to serve not only our local, domestic mustelids, but also the wildlings.

Amazon currently has a sale that you get $30 off when you spend $100 on qualifying items, one of the items that we sorely need replacements of is the bottom pans for the FN cages is a qualifying item right now.📦 And we could use some toys for enrichment, mustelids play HARD with their toys, but to be able to provide them with the enrichment it brings is absolutely crucial. If you have a local TJMaxx/Ross/Marshalls/HomeGoods with a sale on their toys, you're welcome to ship directly to the rescue as well.🧸💜 We also have a "Projects" tag in our Wishlist for items we will be using to help build some activity gyms for the animals.

🦦Amazon Wishlist:🦦
www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1WY6QVRDZCH0F

Our nonprofit rescue is also trying to see about acquiring a couple of biocontainment, quarantine lab cages to be used for the purposes of quarantine of wildlife or mink intakes, while awaiting vital test results of diseases that are considered spreadable and fatal within the mustelid family, eg. AMDV, CD, Rabies, etc. These incredibly valuable pieces of equipment generally run in the several thousands per unit, but we may be able to acquire them at $1000/each from a local university if we can manage to gather the funds.
ALL donations made to us are tax-deductible! EIN 88-2893806

If you'd like to donate towards this cause:
💸Venmo:
💳PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/rescuemink
💵Zelle: 385-208-6934
🪙CashApp: $minkrescue

08/04/2025

Happy ! Our little, old lady Rosie is almost entirely naked now, but for the hair on her head and a little fuzz on her tail, toes and neck sides. She has advanced adrenal disease and has hit the stage where the implants no longer has any effect on fur regrowth. But naked as she is, she is still a happy girl for the most part, she snuggles with her cage mate, eats and drinks, uses the litterbox most of the time, totters about to look at things, and will cuddle against our skin like she is with hubby in this photo.

It is in their elder years that many people end up surrendering ferrets (or most animals for that matter), or when they have chronic medical conditions. This is one of the things that is almost always true of any rescue... the fact that they will be caring for senior animals until the animal's final breath. We become attached to these animals who end up in our permanent care, we grieve their end the same as we would our own pets.

Why is it rescues end up with these and don't adopt them out? Well, it's rather simple. We know how to care for the issues, expensive as some may be, as we have likely dealt with them several times before, and people do not want to adopt the old, or sickly, they want young ferrets who have their whole lives ahead of them versus an older ferret who may just have another 1-5yrs left, and yep, sometimes an older ferret can live a whole 5 years more with care.

🙏🏻Please be compassionate with rescues when they say they have their hands full of ferrets and at the same time may not have many available for adoption, these lulls happen from time to time, where most of the space has filled up with elders or animals with health or behavioral issues that nobody wants to help with. Someone STILL needs to provide these lives with love and care, until they answer the call to journey to the Rainbow Bridge. It is NOT easy on the rescuers, because it also means we go through a period where we see more loss than we see joy, we go through more struggles than we get to enjoy happy moments.

💜💙🩵To my fellow rescuers, thank you for your service, thank you for being that final hug, that last good meal, that warm safe place, that final act of compassion. Thank you for trying to mend the broken, heal the sick, and comfort the dying. And thank you to those kind hearts who support all of us rescuers, because we cannot keep doing what we do, without your support.

07/24/2025

It may have been quiet lately from my rescue's side, but this does not mean that we aren't busy with the animals and other projects. Since the passing of Mikayla, I have decided to continue working on doing the Saveafox Mustelids page for Saveafox Corporation in her memory. It was a passion we both shared for mustelids, and I have always been happy to provide educational posts or pieces on the animals there or within the mustelid family.

Some already know that like many of us who were friends with Miki, have been dealing with the heartless, cruel comments that are STILL being left even a month after her passing. We've taken steps to attempt filtering out and removing such comments from happening and we deeply appreciate everyone's wishes for us to continue with the page and even offers of help for moderation. It is likely going to take me a little bit to get everything in order to get back to where things can run more smoothly as we are still trying to find our footing after our world was ripped out from below our feet. So please, try to be patient with us.

My oldest was helping with some of our ferrets last night and she is holding Ivy in these photos, happy as a clam. My girls have been around the rescue-lifestyle all their lives, raised alongside the care of animals since they were babies. They are not expected to help with any of the chores, but they do, because they love the animals we care for. They are raised with compassion for living things, be it our pets, the animals in our care, down to the prey that gets fed to the carnivores. Every living being deserves to be treated with some level of respect. I wish more people believed that. My friend certainly deserved that respect and so much more.
There is no balm to soothe the pain I feel in knowing that even if we can still manage it to have our girls play around the animals with little Freya, that I would be sitting alone to watch that instead of with my friend. As a mom, my heart is still shredded for Freya. I know all my friends with little ones will be hugging them extra tight, because this loss reminded us all starkly how important it is to spend quality time with our own families and with each other too.

There is so much heartbreak to be found in the animal rescue world, we see death around us so much, the wounded, the neglected, the mistreated, the misunderstood or hated... we try to fix the broken bones, heal the wounds, soothe the souls. While it often feels like an all-consuming service, with little thanks and much judgement, it also fosters so much compassion. We see some of the darkest parts of humanity, but we also get to see some of the very brightest and purest parts. It's these kind, giving people with their compassion worn on their sleeves that make us continue every single day. Please, never lose your ability to be one of those people if you can. And if you are a rescuer or rehabber, know that you do not fight this war alone.🩵💜💙

07/15/2025

Happy ! Today we will talk about the Honey Badger (mellivora capensis). It is the sole member of its genus and subfamily within the overarching family of Mustelidae. They are also known as a "ratel" in Afrikaans and easily found in South African wildlife reserve areas.

The honey badger is the largest terrestrial (land-dwelling) mustelid in Africa, and can be found distributed across Africa, Southwest Asia and the Indian subcontinent (the area below the Himalayas and between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal down to the Indian Ocean).

Adult honey badgers have large home ranges which they denote with scent-marking. They are generally solitary animals, though some have been seen to hunt in pairs on the African plains. Unlike many other mustelids, they do not have a specific mating season. Females will give birth to 1-2 cubs after 50-60 days of gestation. These cubs will remain in her care for 1 to 1 1⁄4 years.

They are mainly carnivorous, eating a variety of insects, rodents, birds, amphibians and lizards, but will also eat nuts, fruits, and honey.

Honey badgers are practically built for battle with much of their anatomy adapted to fighting conspecifics. They are known for their strength, toughness and ferocity. Their skin is thick and loose on their bodies, allowing them to easily twist and turn even when caught. Their backs are thick-set and broad, with the skin around their necks being roughly 0.24" thick. Their heads are small and flat, with short muzzles, small eyes and ears that barely appear as a ridge on their heads. These are all adaptions to avoid damage, while it has short, sturdy legs with each of its 5 toes having strong claws. The front claws are much longer than the hind claws. Their average weight ranges between 14-26lbs, with a median of 20lbs.

The honey badger may use its a**l gland secretions to "calm" bees when raiding beehives. The smell of these secretions have been described as "suffocating".

The honey badger will attack animals much larger than itself when it finds itself in an inescapable position, including repelling large predators like hyenas and lions.

💜💙🩵Please follow us for more interesting facts and education regarding members of the mustelid family all across the globe! If you would like to support our nonprofit organization, please consider making a donation or snagging something off our Amazon Wishlist! More info can be found in the featured/pinned post on our FB page, www.facebook.com/rescueamink 🩵💙💜

07/11/2025

Aaaand.. the answer is the "American Pine Marten!" Did you know that Saveafox Corporation currently has one in their care? His name is Marty and you can see and read about him on the Saveafox Mustelids page!

Did you know there are technically 2 species of mustelid that with that name? The American Pine Marten and the European Pine Marten. The American Pine Marten is distributed quite broadly across North America.

The American Pine Marten may sometimes be confused with the Fisher, but it is overall smaller and its coat is lighter in color, and also have a characteristic bib that is a lighter color than the rest of its body color.

While they are omnivores, the biggest staple of their diet is small rodents, for example, the vole. Their diet is more varied during the summer months than the winter, often including fruits, nuts, and insects, this also makes them potentially important seed dispersers, as the seeds pass through their digestive tracts intact and germinable.

They are solitary by nature, only coming together to mate during the breeding season. Litters average 1-5 kits.

Trapping for fur accounts for the highest rate of mortality, with some areas having it account for 90% of all deaths. Overharvesting during the 1800s led to their extirpation (local extinction) in several areas, and while their overall populations have recovered since, they still remain extinct in some of those areas to this day. There is hope to reintroduce it to Pennsylvania by 2032.

💙🩵🤍Please remember to comment on, like/react, share our posts and page and invite friends and family to follow. The wider an audience we reach, the more lives we can change for the better. Thank you!🤍🩵💙

07/09/2025

It's # ... and because rescues are always dealing with 💩💩💩(both physical, mentally, emotionally and publicly), this week we could really use some cleaning supplies.. The brushes and filters on the vacuums need replacing, the GermGuardian's need bulb and filter replacements, we are low on REScue wipes and paper towels, etc.

Think you can help us with the physical 💩 at least? If you'd like to support the rescue and its animals, you can use the link below to view our wishlist, or search our name on Amazon. Thank you!💚
https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1WY6QVRDZCH0F
All donations are tax-deductible! EIN: 88-2893806

07/08/2025

While we normally post our "Who is that Mustelid?" quizzes on Wednesdays, we are doing it this Tuesday, so that we can do a proper tomorrow instead, as there are some key supplies the rescue is in need of.

So, without further ado, who do you think this week's mustelid could be?

The answer will still be posted as usual on Friday.😀

07/04/2025

A piece from our sister rescue, Mustelid Madness Rescue explaining the differences in true freedom for fur farm rescued animals vs illegal releases. Let's help to continue the legacy that Mikayla started with Saveafox Corporation and finish the 500 fox project.

(Update 350 left so save!) Rescuing 500 foxes from a fur farm We are legally resc… Mikayla Raines needs your support for Rescuing 500 foxes from a fur farm