#mudsplash

A lot of people seem to be really confused by the mustelid that attacks Mudsplash in Chapter 16 of StormClan's Folly, but it's almost certainly a mink.

Some have guessed that it's a very large North American animal called a fisher cat (however, I will use the term I'm more familiar with and find much more fitting-- wejack), however, based on its size and behavior this is very unlikely. Even if we assume the writers have once again placed the story in the weird mix of the US and UK I've jokingly referred to as "Scafellachia."

In its introduction after crashing through the nursery, the stoat-like animal is described like this;

(Stripestar) had never seen such an odd animal. It seemed almost like a stoat. But it was larger, covered in bristling dark hair, and with a long, sinuous neck that swayed like a snake’s. Its claws were stubby, large, and vicious, its head blunt and savage, with small dark eyes like wet pebbles and a mouth full of sharp white teeth that gnashed hungrily at the air.

During the fight, the animal also displays the following;

Vocalizing an aggressive noise described as a "high-pitched shriek"

REMARKABLE flexibility, practically like fighting a living noodle

A size big enough to "drag" Mudsplash along effortlessly, but seemingly NOT big enough to lift him off the ground.

Fleeing towards water when defeated, clearly trying to swim away

None of these are the behaviors of wejacks. They have a wide range of noises, most notably a fox-like wail and a soft "dook dook dook." They are thick and strong. They're large enough to kill porcupines.

And, most importantly,

The Wejack is essentially North America's ecological equivalent of a leopard-- an arboreal predator only threatened by apex carnivores such as wolves, wolverines, and cougars. It does not retreat to water to escape, it climbs trees.

(Do you see why I think "fisher cat" is a REALLY dumb name for this animal? I'm not calling it that. I'd bet money that this is probably why people got confused in the first place.)

Meanwhile, minks do all of that which was described.

Their screams are notoriously high-pitched. They're RIDICULOUSLY flexible, because they're built for navigating complex tunnel systems above and below water. American Mink are also notoriously aggressive, only as big as cats but known to attack swans, woodchucks, and there's even this wild video of a mink sending a coyote packing.

You're also probably underestimating just how large a mink is. A female's body is usually between 12 - 15 inches long and weighs up to 2 pounds; A male's body is usually between 13 - 18 inches long and weighs up to 3 pounds.

ALSO smack the tail onto that number, which is between 30% - 50% of the body length. They have VERY long tails, so you might end up with an animal that is 27 inches long from nose to tail. It seems some people think that because the unknown animal is described with a "dragging tail" that this excludes mink-- it doesn't.

(note: this is a domestic mink. Wild mink are just as brown as described in the book.)

The European Mink is slightly smaller, and less aggressive. This is why the American Mink is a SERIOUS invasive predator outside of the US-- and in the UK in particular, it's a massive threat to endangered small animals such as the water vole and white-clawed crayfish.