If that’s a mink, you’ll know it from the ‘latrines’ it creates. These are places it poops each night - very stinky and annoying given the creature’s diet. Requires gathering it in a shovel and throwing it in the woods each morning lest you be smelling it all day.
We’ve had them periodically - especially over the last three-four years. They seem to like our breakwater. We called a NH wildlife expert about removing them some years back. We were advised that they usually move on to their next hangout after three or so weeks. Sure enough, we’ve generally found that to be the case.
One thing we’ve done to discourage them, is to liberally spray diluted peppermint oil around our docks, breakwater and their latrines every night. This definitely appears to help them decide that a new spot is needed sooner than later.
It could also be a muskrat which we’ve also had. These tend to hang around for a longer period of time and they lack the unpleasant byproducts common with mink. We don’t mind muskrats. You generally tell the difference by their tails which, in the muskrats case, are hairless.
Fisher cats are larger and usually very reclusive and forest-based; so if your new ‘friend’ seems to be hanging around your waterfront. It’s probably a mink or muskrat. Funny thing is that we once had a fisher cat raise its young under our front porch in CT - very strange behavior indeed for this animal.
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