A Connecticut town's police force is warning residents to stay away from aggressive minks.
The Day of New London reported that Capt. Todd Olson of the Stonington Police Department urged people in a recorded message to stay away from the animals if spotted.
Olson said that even though they resemble a pet ferret, minks are territorial and are not friendly. He said one of them chased a person Wednesday.
"So, it was a little terrifying because I got the impression that these guys are a little territorial, which is fine. I'm on maybe their nest, but I wanted to get out of there quickly," Jasmine Myers told WVIT.
Olson said the department's animal control officer notified the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection about the minks. A mink farm once operated in the town.
"We haven't seen any photographs of the animal in question, so it is hard for us to say whether what they saw was in fact a mink or something else," Jenny Dickson of DEEP's Wildlife Division told WVIT. "But it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for a mink to be there, certainly."
Minks are long and slender with short legs. They're larger than weasels but smaller than fisher cats, weighing 1.5 to 3.5 pounds.
NBC 10 News contributed to this report.