Don't let that cute little face fool you...
It might look sweet and fluffy, but this mischief-maker photographed by Mercury reader John Brown is actually an American mink.
John was at Watermead Park taking shots when he saw its furry head pop out of a hole.
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Up close: Reader John Brown photographed this American mink at Watermead Park
John, 65, of Rowlatt's Hill, Leicester, said: "At first I thought it was a stoat or a weasel but when I looked closely I saw it was something else. According to my book it's an American weasel and they're a bit of a pest.
"Some live in the wild after escaping from mink farms and they kill everything and take over.
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"I'd never seen one before but he caught my eye. I'm sure a lot of other people will be trying to get pictures of him now."
The American mink has long been a well-known pest at Rutland Water.
The animals have been imported since the 1920s for their fur but after escapes and deliberate releases soon became established in the wild.
They prey on freshwater fish, birds and the native water vole and have been blamed for a big decline in UK water voles.
Comments
by Hugo-Boss
Thursday, March 21 2013, 4:23PM
“Not anywhere near as bad to the environment as Otters are, but because Otters are deemed as "cute and cuddly" they don't get the negative press that they deserve. Otters will completely clear out lakes and rivers of fish, invertabrates, rodents and small wild fowl before moving on. Mink are lazy "hunters" and much prefer to feast on nesting birds and injured/small fish/species.
The Animal Rights lot are to blame for the Mink around the country in their "well planned" and thought out campaign to release them illegally from the farms where they were raised for fur. Most of the Otters released were also released "illegally" as only a limited number were supposed to be released, but the Otter Trust (or whatever they are called) decided to release a lot more.”