So I think I discovered what the unknown animal is in the pic that I posted last night. Someone suggested that it was a Black Ground Squirrel. I have seen many ground squirrels out west (especially in Colorado) and they were MUCH smaller than what I remember this cute fella being. I was not standing right next to him but I would imagine that when he stood up on his hind legs, he would've come up to just below my knee. Plus he was near water and his fur was wet. (You can see the water beaded up on his coat in the picture.)Squirrels don't swim (that I am aware of.)
So what lives near the water?
Could it be...
A
muskrat? Nope. They're too ugly.
A
beaver? No way. Seen them many times before and this is NOT a beaver.
An
otter? Nah. His fur was thicker and not as sleek.
So I think...
It must be a
mink!
I checked out my theory via the wonderful, educational on-line encyclopedia. Yep, minks do indeed swim. Yep, they have the dark, chocolate colored coat. And the size of my critter and the mink match up.
Here's a side-by-side comparison...
Here's my critter.
And this is a mink.
What do you think?
Is this a mink?
19 comments:
Ah yes... saving the best for last... my beautiful outdoorsy girl.. I missed you and your posts ... lots and lots!!! I am so glad to be home. I am still shell shocked and very tired... I want to sleep right now but I really wanted to say hello to you my dear. I need a vacation.. haha... that's funny since I just got back into the lab today. ... I'm going to take the memorial day weekend and head north to Michigan's upper peninsula for a weekend of camping. I wish you lived closer. I'd invite you to come along. I can't wait to sit by a bonfire late into the night... to watch the northern lights over lake Superior... to lay awake at night and listen to the crickets... oh there's so much that I've missed... I can't wait!!!! Thanks for stopping by to say hello... I missed you !!!
Jeff ;)
Its a very thin mink if you ask me. Maybe its got eating disorder. So have you ever eaten a mink or a squirrel? Whats the wildest thing you ate out in the wild?
mmm I have no idea...shows how limited my knowledge is in animals :(
u r an absolute all-rounder girl!
Keshi.
I think that you are right that the animal is a mink. Perhaps he was just a young one.
Excellent investigative work.
Scott
It's definatley not a mink... Take a look at both pictures. The face and head is different and the mink's body is longer.
How big was this guy? That could be a the deciding factor. Minks are about 15 to 20 inches long...
The head and ears definately look like some kind of squirrel on your critter.
No, it definitely IS a mink. It was WAY too large to be a ground squirrel. They are very small. This animal was almost knee-high. It has the same lighter colored face as all pics of the mink on the encyclopedia that I compared my animal to. They had the exact same face. Also, squirrels don't swim.
I stick to my opinion.
I think it could be a mink. Totally. There are variations of all animals and this could just be a skinny mink.
My vote is for varmint. That covers a whole lot of ground.
I think you look rather nice relaxing on that moss. You've gotten a little darker though.
I think it is a marmont. Check it out.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.sonic.net/~billkirn/images/marmont_Img_0463_800.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.sonic.net/~billkirn/wildlife_tetons2004.html&h=533&w=800&sz=310&tbnid=idVROmR8WGDn8M:&tbnh=94&tbnw=142&hl=en&start=6&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmarmont%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8
And I think it's a grandma one - check out the grey muzzle :-)
Good guess Terry...But I still say that it's a mink. I have also seen many marmots in Colorado and they have lighter brown coats and are chubbier (they are like groundhogs/woodchucks)and they don't swim either.
Sheesh! I didn't mean to start an argument! LOL
Minks live in your neck of the woods?
Interesting, I didn't know that!
(though to be perfectly honest, I don't have an opinion as to what your critter was...it's a bit hard to tell!)
Maybe it's a hybrid critter... wow, talk about strange bears:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060511/ap_on_sc/hybrid_bear_5
It's a squirrel!
JD ;)
Thank you for your nice comment on my blog :)
Greets to the webmaster of this wonderful site! Keep up the good work. Thanks.
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Super color scheme, I like it! Good job. Go on.
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