Waterways killer mystery solved
Town centre: Mink caught on camera following unusual death of two-foot pike
A mystery on Maidenhead’s waterways has been solved and the culprit caught on camera.
In September, workmen at the Chapel Arches boating platform discovered a two-footlong pike that had been caught and gnawed away in the middle, leaving the head and tail intact.
This didn’t fit with the heron, kingfisher and cormorant pattern of swallowing fish whole, says chair of trustees Friends of Maidenhead Waterways (FoMW), Richard Davenport.
“Usually the predator, this particular large pike became the victim in this case,” he said.
“There had been reports of a large creature
seen peeping out from the timber cladding of the Chapel Arches bridge – but no photographic evidence.”
Until late last month, when Richard was able, by ‘pure luck’, to catch some video on his phone of the sneaky creature making off with a large fish.
The culprit was a mink, an invasive species now widespread in UK waterways. However, it has not been seen in the town centre before, to
Richard’s knowledge.
Mink were introduced into the UK in the 1950s, when fur farming was allowed. Animal rights groups were reported to have attacked the fur farms in the 1950s and 1960s and released thousands of the animals into the wild, where they have outbred and squeezed out the native UK water vole.
There have been attempts to reintroduce water voles in Cookham.
Mink farming was banned around 1999, though wild mink are now commonplace on many rivers and waterways.
“The Department of Environment has powers to trap or even cull invasive species if they are judged to be a serious threat to native species
or humans, but I do not know if mink is yet at that stage,” said Richard.
“Personally I welcome all forms of wildlife, in a healthy balance, in any river or waterway.
“How do wildlife enthusiasts discriminate fairly between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ wildlife and do they really condone killing one animal to favour another?”
In other news for FoMW, the Friends joined trustees for the group’s AGM on November 7 at Desborough Bowls Club.
Attendees heard that
the group ending the year in a strong financial position after some generous donations.
Key areas of progress were the new boating platform and storage at Chapel Arches, where FoMW’s ‘steadily growing fleet’ of service boats is now moored.
Working in partnership with the Royal Borough, volunteers maintained the waterway throughout the year, overcoming a ‘particularly bad weed problem’ in the summer.
The wildlife is now ‘flourishing’.