Any idea what this creature is?

[echo4747]

It was in my neighbors back yard. We are located in western NY about 20 mi south of Buffalo:



* also posted this in home and garden thread

 

[glenn1]

dead image

 

[lxskllr]

possum or a raccoon with mange

 

[Drako]

Woodchuck.

 

[Markbnj]

I can't come up with anything. If that is not its tail it could be a black bear. It's hard to gauge the distance, but it would be a small one or a cub. If that is its tail then I have no clue. If it's a lot smaller than I'm thinking that would open up some other possibilities. Are there any cats with thin tails like that? It's not a lynx or a bobcat.

possum or a raccoon with mange

Ah yeah maybe, does the mange make the hair on the tail fall out?

 

[OutHouse]

looks like a bear. the tail could be a stick?

 

[echo4747]

just got a text from another friend ... he thinks it could be a fisher or fisher cat

just not sure if fishers really live in this part of the country

 

[echo4747]

looks like a bear. the tail could be a stick?

no... it is a tail

 

[Naer]

reptilian

 

[mrblotto]

doing a quick search yielded this:
Lebanon, CT

http://www.wfsb.com/story/29079199/fisher-cat-concerns-after-attack-in-ledyard

And here's a 'range-map'

So, it's kinda in the area (Northeast at least)

 

[glenn1]

Was able to see it on my phone. Looks like a juvenile feral hog to me.

 

[Homerboy]

Uhhh chupacabra of course.

 

[echo4747]

doing a quick search yielded this:
Lebanon, CT

http://www.wfsb.com/story/29079199/fisher-cat-concerns-after-attack-in-ledyard

And here's a 'range-map'

So, it's kinda in the area (Northeast at least)

I definitely reside in the historic range... not in the current range though

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I'd guess feral pig. Tail is wrong for a bear, body shape is wrong for a Fisher Cat. Feral pig is right size, right shape, right tail and the most common.

 

[IronWing]

Eeyore

 

[monkeydelmagico]

javelina

 

[DrPizza]

I'm pretty sure it's a possum, unless its tail had been damaged through some weird accident. Here's one walking on a fence, you can see the profile matches quite well, particularly the tapered head and skinny tail.

Fishers are fairly common in this area, though their tales are bushier. I've seen them a few times in the woods. And, it's really cool (and makes the hair stand up on your neck) to hear a fisher within 50-100 yards of you, when you're outside at night well away from the city, in the woods, in the dark. You can google the sound they make. Fox also make a similar sound. To be walking in the dark and hear either is rather chilling.

 

[96Firebird]

Could be a fisher, but the hind legs look tall. The ones that I've seen up at my parent's cottage in Ontario seemed to be lower to the ground...

 

[waffleironhead]

Wolverine

 

[zinfamous]

A North American Oldsmoboat.

Best advice would be to call the local game warden as a roaming Oldsmoboat this time of year is an unlicensed event.

 

[tynopik]

chupacabra

 

[Thebobo]

I'm pretty sure it's a possum, unless its tail had been damaged through some weird accident. Here's one walking on a fence, you can see the profile matches quite well, particularly the tapered head and skinny tail.

Fishers are fairly common in this area, though their tales are bushier. I've seen them a few times in the woods. And, it's really cool (and makes the hair stand up on your neck) to hear a fisher within 50-100 yards of you, when you're outside at night well away from the city, in the woods, in the dark. You can google the sound they make. Fox also make a similar sound. To be walking in the dark and hear either is rather chilling.

Missing image or link?

I dont think its a possum its body is to far off the ground, and the hair is bushy down to his paws, from what I have seen it stops above the knees on possums. Or maybe I have no idea what I am talking about.

 

[Schmide]

It's a bear with a stick behind it that looks like a tail.

 

[echo4747]

I'm pretty sure it's a possum, unless its tail had been damaged through some weird accident. Here's one walking on a fence, you can see the profile matches quite well, particularly the tapered head and skinny tail.

Fishers are fairly common in this area, though their tales are bushier. I've seen them a few times in the woods. And, it's really cool (and makes the hair stand up on your neck) to hear a fisher within 50-100 yards of you, when you're outside at night well away from the city, in the woods, in the dark. You can google the sound they make. Fox also make a similar sound. To be walking in the dark and hear either is rather chilling.

we occasionally ( not very often and usually in the late spring/summer nights) hear the screams in the woods nearby. they are very similar to the fisher sounds I just googled.

 

[DigDog]

if i had to pick one from the suggestions, i'd say the pig is the one whose structure matches the image the best.

(my first instinct was to say fox - the tail is not indicative, wild animals can lose the fur easily - but then again, there's a lot of foxes where i live)