Rocky Mountain Mink Refuge

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

07/02/2025

This we want to say THANK YOU!

Thank you so much to everyone who donated to the rescue in the past week. You made it possible for us to get a replacement freezer for the rescue so that we didn't have to lose all the food for the animals and we are beyond grateful.🩷💜

A big thank you to Kristen, Kaylin, Heidi, Ashley and Tanya for these supplies off our 2025 Amazon Gift Registry ( https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1WY6QVRDZCH0F ) as well. We appreciate the support so much!

Even just a few items off our Wishlist helps us to continue our mission in rescue and rehab, so never ever apologize if you can only buy a small thing or send a small donation. When there are many of us, those small things add up and can lead to big things! And even "lame" (or so I'm told haha) gifts like paper towels and cleaning supplies are incredibly important, so believe me when I say, rescuers jump for joy when handed a box of sanitization supplies.😅💩🪣

06/27/2025

The answer to this Wednesday's "Who is that Mustelid?" is... the "Nilgiri Marten!"

The Nilgiri marten is the only marten species that is native to southern India. It can be found in the Nilgiri Mountains and parts of the Sahyadri. It is considered "Vulnerable" on the IUCN red list, as there is only an estimated 1000-ish left in the world. This makes sightings of them pretty rare and special to witness.

A long, slender mammal, the Nilgiri marten has brown fur with a distinctive yellow or orange patch of fur on their throats. They can be distinguished from their relatives, the yellow-throated marten, by their difference in size, with the Nilgiri being the larger of the two and having a more prominent frontal concavity to their skulls.

They are diurnal (active in the daytime) and mostly arboreal (living in and travelling through the trees). As omnivores, their diet mainly consists of small mammals, birds, insects, fruits and nuts.🐁🐝🐦🫐

They are a more social member of the mustelid family, often seen travelling and hunting in pairs or small groups.

🖤🧡💛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!💛🧡🖤

06/26/2025

‼EDIT 6/30: Huge thanks to everyone who donated or shared, we've been able to order a replacement freezer for the rescue. We could not have done it without your support!🧡

‼EDIT 6/27: CRAP! Like things couldn't get worse here, our rescue's deep freezer seems to have given up the ghost. We have at least $3k worth of animal food in there that we cannot lose, so we need to get a new freezer ASAP. A replacement is going to cost us at least $500, but it would mean we do not lose all the rescue's perishable foods.

It has been a really rough month with all the death, both human and animal, all close to our hearts and leaving a huge hole with their loss. The mental and emotional burden has been insane, not even allowing any of us to grieve in peace. It has also not been great for donations going towards the animals in our care right now. I created a birthday fundraiser for the rescue because we are in desperate need to come up with at minimum the amount the goal is at to be able to keep going.

Due to lack of support and funds, the rescue remains closed to any new ferret intakes and are currently solely focused on mustelid wildlife cases and those animals already in our care. To be clear, we cannot accept any ferret surrenders for the foreseeable future, and will only be accepting wild mustelids (weasels, mink including domestic ones, badgers, etc.) for the time being.

‼️Little Vusi wants to remind our to please... if you cannot donate, then please share or invite people to the fundraiser below. You can hit the invite button when on that page and invite friends, family, colleagues and followers, increasing the visibility of the fundraiser and giving the rescue a better chance of reaching this goal.💜🩷

Donations can also be made via Venmo (), Zelle (385-208-6934), PayPal/PayPal GivingFund ([email protected]), Cashapp ($minkrescue), Benevity, Frontstream, and Walmart Sparkgood. Donations are tax-deductible! EIN: 882893806
https://www.facebook.com/donate/2064087374121383/

We also have some much-needed supplies listed on our Amazon Gift Registry.
https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1WY6QVRDZCH0F

06/25/2025

Darn! There is a scam Venmo account messaging people asking for money pretending to be us. DO NOT ACCEPT and please report!

We will NEVER send Venmo REQUESTS for money. NOR do we work with dogs! Our Venmo handle is and it will never change! If it has more letters or symbols or less, then it is fake. Please help us report these scammers!

06/25/2025

I am sorry that we missed doing last Wednesday's "Who is that Mustelid?" with everything that had happened since the start of last week. Things are still not really better, but I want to try and get us all a little more on track, and maybe at least just get a few smiles going.

Do you think you can guess who this mustelid is? A reminder for new folks, we provide education about all members of the mustelid family all across the globe, not solely just those found in the US.🌏 Go ahead and have a guess in the comments below.

The answer will be posted on Friday as we normally do.🙂

06/24/2025

I want to welcome all our new on our page. Welcome and thank you for following!🩵

If you are new here, you may not be aware exactly of what we do. RMMR is a nonprofit animal rescue/sanctuary that specializes in the mustelid (weasel) family, meaning we work with mink, weasels, ferrets, etc. We provide education regarding these animals on our page, as well as through Saveafox Mustelids whom we are partnered with. Our sister rescue, Mustelid Madness Rescue also offers wonderful educational content on mustelids.

Our work with domestic (fur farm born) mink include trapping and collecting them from the finder, getting them health checked and disease tested at the vet, putting them on a species appropriate diet and ultimately finding them permanent placement, usually as an educational ambassador animal for wildlife rehabilitators, at appropriately licensed facilities.

We also work with wildlife members of the mustelid family, such as wild mink or weasels, in caring for them if they are injured, sick, or orphaned. We work to rehabilitate them so they may be successfully returned to the wild where they belong. For those who end up being NR (non-releasable), we find them suitable homes at licensed sanctuaries.

While we are physically based in the state of UT, we network all across the country as well as offer connections and education on a global scale.

When things get very busy, posts or responses to messages on social media might get a little slow, and for that we apologize in advance. All the physical care aspects of the rescue is done by myself and my husband and I handle most of the social media services by myself.

- Linda Maretich
Founder of RMMR

Our annual Amazon Wishlist can be found here:
https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1WY6QVRDZCH0F

Ways to support us aside from helping order supplies, or physical donations, include sending monetary donations via any of the following services. All donations are tax-deductible! EIN: 88-2893806
Current Fundraiser: https://www.facebook.com/donate/2064087374121383/
Venmo:
PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/rescuemink
Zelle: 385-208-6934
Cashapp: $minkrescue
Benevity and Frontstream also available, as well as Walmart SparkGood.