You can see all sorts of exotic creatures in York city centre in the summertime.
Vikings, promenading actors, freebie fudge dispensers, knife jugglers, Victorian undertakers hunting for ghosts…
But Simon Bartle caught sight of something much rarer on a walk in the heart of York this weekend.
Simon, a photographer who has taken amazing pictures of stars including Paul Weller, Adam Ant and KT Tunstall performing at the Barbican, was quick on the video button when this fella darted out in front of him on Saturday morning (July 29).
“I think it’s a black mink,” Simon told YorkMix.
“It was a very fast mover! Didn’t seem afraid of humans either.”
He wants to keep the exact location secret as “the mink may trust humans but I don’t”.
We’re no David Attenboroughs, but looking at pictures online what Simon captured does very much resemble a black mink.
According to the Game And Conservation Wildlife Trust
They are American mink (Neovison vison), which originated from mink brought here for fur-farming…
The wild population was established decades earlier from multiple escapes (and perhaps deliberate releases) all over the country.