American mink spends summer at Mukilteo terminal

Published 1:30 am Friday, August 22, 2025

The Mukilteo-Clinton ferry route has had its fair share of unusual animal discoveries over the years, but the latest addition has employees scratching their heads.

Walk-on passengers at the Mukilteo ferry terminal may be able to catch a glimpse of Melvin, an American mink that was spotted hanging around the area a few weeks ago. Washington State Ferries posted a video to its Facebook page this week of the lithe marine mammal checking out the camera.

Robby Davidson, the operator for the overhead passenger ramp, said it’s the first time he’s seen a mink at the new Mukilteo terminal, where he’s worked since it opened in 2020.

“When I first saw him, it actually freaked me out. It was like, what is that?” he said. “Four-thirty in the morning and you’re here and you’re all by yourself and you see something just walk across kind of next to you.”

According to Davidson, a commuter on motorcycle from the Whidbey side reported seeing someone drop off some ferrets near the Mukilteo terminal, but it’s unlikely to be related to Melvin since minks and ferrets are separate species.

For now, terminal employees have enjoyed seeing him come and go, usually in the early hours of the morning and near the overhead passenger ramp or the employee stairwell on the outside of the terminal. A few times, he got close to boarding the ferry, but bolted when a man spotted him near his feet, according to what Davidson heard from his coworkers.

“I read up on them a little bit, see what they like, and they like to eat fish,” Davidson said. “Maybe he’ll be in the rocks and try to catch stuff.”

Justin Fujioka, a spokesperson for State Ferries, said there are no current plans to remove the mink as long as he’s not posing a threat to the terminal structure, employees or the public.

When asked if Melvin might stick around, Davidson simply said, “Some hope, some don’t hope.”

With so much wiring around, the fear is that the mink could chew through it.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be a problem or not,” Davidson said. “It is nice that he’s getting attention, I guess, but the last thing we want is having our overhead (ramp) break because of it.”

When asked if Melvin might have aspirations of catching the ferry to Whidbey, Davidson agreed, “He could go have some fun over there.”

From abandoned cats to itinerant goats, the ferries traveling between Mukilteo and Clinton have carried many furry passengers in recent years.