‘Mink are everywhere’. Photo: Big-ashb

HAS a colony of hissy creatures invaded the Grand Union Canal around Paddington and Regent’s Park?

“Mink are everywhere,” Thomas King from the Canal & River Trust told me. “They’re very aggressive, they’ll hiss at you. They’re small, so they wouldn’t attack, but they’re not nice. They’re a problem for fish populations and wild birds. We used to have a lot of water voles but they ate them all.”

It got me thinking about the wide variety of animals and sea creatures we share our vibrant city with – the humble squirrel, foxes, mink and whales. We should do more to welcome them, I thought – not label them as invasive and shun them.