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The biggest challenge facing the Centre for Captive Breeding and Study of European Mink of the Foundation for Research in Ethology and Biodiversity (FIEB) is to ensure that males born in captivity have greater reproductive success. According to the entity, in Spain, to date, only two of the males born in captivity have given rise to offspring and currently they continue to depend on wild males. To this end, several changes in management during the reproductive season are proposed annually, according to FIEB so far ineffective. In this context, the objective of this project is to influence the management of males from a very early age, observing the effects that their breeding can have on their reproductive behavior.

The main objective of the project has been the captive breeding of the European mink and the increase of the reproductive success of the males of this species.

The specific objectives were as follows:

• Keeping and breeding in captivity specimens of the species Mustela lutreola
• To increase the reproductive success of males associated with the handling of rearing and weaning of the offspring for at least two breeding seasons.
• To increase the ethological data of the species by improving a video surveillance system.
• To raise awareness, train and disseminate information about the problems that the species is going through.

• Feeding, care of the specimens and maintenance of facilities.
• Formation of 1 to 13 breeding pairs.
• Feeding and care of the new specimens derived from the breeding season (from 0 to 32 offspring).
• Bibliographic search to improve the management protocols of the species in captivity.
• Artificial and mixed parenting methodology.
• Data recording of all males in 2019 during unions with a female in 2020 and 2021.
• Data recording of all males in 2020 during unions with a female in 2021.
• Analysis of the data obtained.
• Creation of a document of recommendations for the breeding of European mink males.
• Dissemination and dissemination of the project.

The project has contributed to achieving the specific objectives by advancing in the knowledge of the ethology of the European mink, as well as in the improvement of the management protocols of the species in captivity for greater reproductive success.

During the initiative, 37 calves survived after two months of delivery. These results consolidate the entity as the center with the largest number of offspring simultaneously. In addition, a male born in captivity has managed to copulate for the first time after many years without achieving this result in the center.

As a result and thanks to all the observations made in the years of development of the project, an improvement has been implemented in the breeding management protocol, which will be included in the update of the ex situ management protocol of the European mink population to be used by all captive breeding centers in Spain.