What animal is this? (1 Viewer)

[Terminalxylem]

Yep, that's a Fisher.  

The don't live in MO. 

But his neighbor seems like a weasel.

 

[TheIronSheik]

Was just in our backyard (lamenting our missing tree) when I see this animal slink out of the bushes and head toward the pool.  I quickly pulled out my phone and got a picture but not before it started to scurry back into the bushes. 

It looked like an otter to me, very flat face and body.  But that doesn't seem right in a suburban city area.  No idea what else it could be.  Is it coming for my trees?

What is this?

I would've guessed river otter.  We had one in our backyard at our old place a few years ago and we also took a picture and had to ask people what it was.  The one we saw looked more slick, but still the same shape.

Also, the parenthetical comment had me 

 

[gianmarco]

Its one of those fisher/marten/mink types that fur trappers would be interested in, so I checked Missouri's trapping seasons.

My bet its a mink.

https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/trapping

Man, looking at that page, it had to be an otter.  That's exactly what the face (and body) looked like.

 

[Ditkaless Wonders]

That's a dicfer, I'm 100% sure

I'll play.  What's a #### fer?

 

[E-Z Glider]

Looks like a Hellbender to me. 

 

[boilerdave]

That's a dicfer, I'm 100% sure

What’s a dicfer?

 

[boilerdave]

What’s a dicfer?

I guess DW beat me to it.

 

[Jayrod]

Side note.  I saw one of these in Jefferson County Missouri (south of STL) running across the road with a couple of other donkeys a few years ago.

I got a good look at it and it was unmistakably striped, but faded and grey and looked just like that photo.  It was quite surreal and I'm guessing it had escaped from some hick cross-breeders place. 

 

[dickey moe]

Wildlife Photos of the Year

 

[dickey moe]

Man, looking at that page, it had to be an otter.  That's exactly what the face (and body) looked like.

I tried to tell you guys.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Not sure where you’re at but maybe an American Marten or Fisher.

Marten https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_marten

Fisher https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal)

They are both in the same family as otters (Mustelidae).

The tail made me think marten right away, but then i saw the locale. I've never seen or heard of a marten below the 45th parallel. MN, yes, MO no

 

[TheIronSheik]

Do you have a picture of your neighbor who cut down the tree?  I want to compare this picture to what a weasel looks like.

 

[OrtonToOlsen]

Looks like a mcjose to me. They reproduce like crazy. Good luck getting rid of it. 

 

[OrtonToOlsen]

Its body shape looks a little too thick and elongate to be a fisher and it's definitely not a marten. Where are you? Anywhere near water? It could be a river otter.

Trust DickeyMoe on this.  Seriously.

 

[jvdesigns2002]

Did it by chance try to get you to give it  about  "tree fiddy"?   

 

[WDIK2]

Man, looking at that page, it had to be an otter.  That's exactly what the face (and body) looked like.

I tried to tell you guys.

What is making you think otter over mink?

@gianmarco Time to setup a game cam.

 

[OrtonToOlsen]

What is making you think otter over mink?

@gianmarco Time to setup a game cam.

DickeyMoe has seen more Mustelidae than most of us have had hot meals.

 

[dickey moe]

That animal appears larger and more muscular than a mink. Minks are lithe, dude.

 

[OrtonToOlsen]

You guys know how to tell the difference between a weasel and a stoat?

A weasel is weasely identifiable and a stoat is stoatally different.

 

[dickey moe]

Actually studied martens and fishers in CA during the summer of 1998 for the U.S. Forest Service - no lie.

 

[gianmarco]

What is making you think otter over mink?

@gianmarco Time to setup a game cam.

I didn't get it in the picture, but I saw that dude's face.  It had the face of an otter.

 

[dickey moe]

I didn't get it in the picture, but I saw that dude's face.  It had the face of an otter.

Yeah that's the one key piece of info that would solve this once and for all. The head is skewed in the pic but it's definitely too big for a mink/weasel.

 

[OrtonToOlsen]

Actually studied martens and fishers in CA during the summer of 1998 for the U.S. Forest Service - no lie.

You guys otter listen to Ranger Rick here.

 

[saintfool]

Pit bull 

He won't make an appearance for less than $100k. 

 

[WDIK2]

That animal appears larger and more muscular than a mink. Minks are lithe, dude.

We really need a penny in the picture for scale next time.  I'm having a tough time getting over the tail shape to say otter, but it could just be the photo angle.

 

[gianmarco]

We really need a penny in the picture for scale next time.  I'm having a tough time getting over the tail shape to say otter, but it could just be the photo angle.

I wanna know how I can make this easier for you. 

 

[Vanilla Guerrilla]

That animal appears larger and more muscular than a mink. Minks are lithe, dude.

Maybe an mink that has been eating at taco bell?

 

[WDIK2]

I wanna know how I can make this easier for you. 

   It's all good.  I hope it's an otter.  They are my favorite.     Would be fun to watch one swim in the pool.  Get some fish.

 

[cheeseypoof]

Looked like that, but I'm further south than that area shows (in Missouri).

That’s why I asked. 

 

[cheeseypoof]

The tail made me think marten right away, but then i saw the locale. I've never seen or heard of a marten below the 45th parallel. MN, yes, MO no

That’s why I qualified my answer.  Wasn’t sure what part of the country he was in.

 

[DaVinci]

   It's all good.  I hope it's an otter.  They are my favorite.     Would be fun to watch one swim in the pool.  Get some fish.

Don’t forget about the jug band music! 

 

[Terminalxylem]

Wildlife Photos of the Year

I saw a whole slew of them critters in Costa Rica. Also a good scrabble word.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Side note.  I saw one of these in Jefferson County Missouri (south of STL) running across the road with a couple of other donkeys a few years ago.

I got a good look at it and it was unmistakably striped, but faded and grey and looked just like that photo.  It was quite surreal and I'm guessing it had escaped from some hick cross-breeders place. 

I saw something like this in Hawaii, just outside Honolulu.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

I saw something like this in Hawaii, just outside Honolulu.

HOF tail.

 

[Terminalxylem]

Do you have a picture of your neighbor who cut down the tree?  I want to compare this picture to what a weasel looks like.

They're virtually identical, except the neighbor's feet are webbed.

 

[Galileo]

Don’t forget about the jug band music! 

Now were talkin'!

 

[hooter311]

The don't live in MO. 

But his neighbor seems like a weasel.

Did not know that.  Thanks.

Only seen a Fisher once in the woods in WI while deer hunting in a tree stand. The thing snaked through the leaves and fallen brush like a 4 ft panther.  Gave me the Willie's from 150 yds.

ETA: my siting was over 120 miles south of what Wikipedia indicates as it's range.

 

[Ilov80s]

Did it ever cross your mind just to ask it what it was? 

 

[5-ish Finkle]

Jaguarundi who's on vacation.

 

[dickey moe]

Possibly a jamiroquai.

 

[gianmarco]

Someone on NextDoor just posted that they are 99.9% sure they just saw an otter.

 

[Soulfly3]

Was just in our backyard (lamenting our missing tree) when I see this animal slink out of the bushes and head toward the pool.  I quickly pulled out my phone and got a picture but not before it started to scurry back into the bushes. 

It looked like an otter to me, very flat face and body.  But that doesn't seem right in a suburban city area.  No idea what else it could be.  Is it coming for my trees?

What is this?

i'm a hunter. it's a fisher. they're super vicious for their size too, so if you have pets don't let em wander out there.

 

[eoMMan]

Looks like Joe Pesci.

 

[El Floppo]

i'm a hunter. it's a fisher. they're super vicious for their size too, so if you have pets don't let em wander out there.

Case closed. 

 

[gianmarco]

i'm a hunter. it's a fisher. they're super vicious for their size too, so if you have pets don't let em wander out there.

They don't live this far south. 

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

Actually studied martens and fishers in CA during the summer of 1998 for the U.S. Forest Service - no lie.

We were setting up camp in MD maybe 10 years ago and as we parked and got out someone had gutted a deer right there.  Heading into the site we saw something like that critter and it turned out it was a Fisher.

ETA: those maps are likely way too far north.  We saw one in Maryland and a friend's dad, who worked for the DNR in a neighboring state, said he'd helped reintroduce them there.

ETAA: even the historical range is further north though -- so who knows.  Didn't look "sleek" enough to be an otter, but not sure what else is possible.

 

[Soulfly3]

They don't live this far south. 

au contraire

there is a definite chance it's a mink, but my canadian trapping eye says fisher. absolutely nothing stopping them from moving "that far" south. they aren't cold weather dependant, they just love heavily forested areas.