Help with animal identification
 

Ok we were driving down the road looking for deer when i saw a smallish animal in a distant field. I stopped the car real fast and my brother started filming cuz we thought it was a coyote. I started looking at it through my binoculars and it looked like a cat but it was way too big. This thing was over 500 yards away and my brother had the 20X optical zoom all the way out. Were now leaning towards it being a really big coon or an otter, but that just doesnt seem to fit. Any suggestions would help!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8QnV35dJ_E

^ Video Url

RE: Help with animal identification
 

It moves like a coon, but sort of reminds me of a fisher. They get to be about 3 ft. long and are hump-backed like that.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Are they anywhere near northeast Ohio?

RE: Help with animal identification
 

My money is on the otter. I have never heard of fishers being around Ohio. But I could be wrong. Otters get that big around here.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

This might sound a little far fetched, but as soon as I saw it, something in my mind says beaver. It has the right color and the humped back. It did move a little fast for a beaver.

I know beavers don't frequent fields that often but are there any bodys of water nearby?

We had a couple beavers show up at a pond near out house. We have no idea where they came from. They must have traveled from somewhere far.

The animal did resemble a coon with humped back and all. It just looked too dark to be a coon.

Fishers have a loping gait. Sorta hop as they move unlike that animal.


Very interesting though.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

I just watched that video several times. Its not a beaver! :D



I'm going to go with fisher. It has a long body and the right color.

Yeah, I'd have to say fisher.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

porcupine, perhaps?

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Bigfoot crawling on his stomach.
:D

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Using my super high tech dial up internet connection I'd have to say it's most likely a football, or possibly a garbage can lid?
The damn thing hasn't moved in over a minute and I give up.:D

RE: Help with animal identification
 

There is a river about a mile away, but it would have to cross a road and 2 large fields and a track of woods to get there. Ive heard of Fishers before but not in my area. The thing that got me about this animal is its size, its not huge but it def. is not small either.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

I realy don't believe fisher I see them all the time up here and they kind of hop when they move and definately not otter they are skinnier and longer and have alot more hump. I am going to say beaver, up here we have beaver leave there areas in the spring and this time in the late summer believe it or not I seen one today about a 1/4 mile from water we have them come into our hay fields when they leave there areas looking for a new home alot of this is due to low water levels because how dry it is and there looking for someplace for winter where there is high enough water level. When in open areas they move quicker than you think actually just like the video and are very aggressive.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Wolverine?

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Beaver sounds like it could be right but the tail doesnt look right to me.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

I'm sorry to give such a dissappointing appraisal, but I think it's a dog. How high was the grass in that field? The motion of that animal just reminded me of a dog trailing something, smelling the ground, running, going back, picking it up again, continuing on.

Dogs come in many shapes and sizes.

I wish it was a mountain lion and that you took the video in PA. You'd be "the man of the year" in the northeast forum:D:D

Maybe it's a black panther??:D

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Definitely NOT a fisher. NO way Jose. Picture quality sucks so anything is a guess... but Fisher is not one of the guesses. Not a beaver either. Maybe coon, nutria. I would believe otter.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Hillbilly,
LOL, before I even opened this thread I thought........"Oh dear God"

(and then checked to see if he was from PA;))

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Pine Marten.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Black panther for sure. Better go submit that as evidence to the thread in thedeer hunting forum:D

RE: Help with animal identification
 

It looks like a big beaver to me. I wish I knew how to blow up the picture.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

I'm still seeing a trash can lid. :D

RE: Help with animal identification
 

MY GUESS IS A RACOON

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Looks like a bearcat to me or maybe a coon.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

It looks to me like a badger , there are loads in UK and it looks pretty similar :eek:

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Chupacabra.

Definitely a chupacabra;)

RE: Help with animal identification
 

YUP, I didn't know they had Badgers in your neck of the woods. That's what it is.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Id have to aggree whith gmmat about it being a chupicabra or a maby its a GIANT NY Sewer RAT MIGRATING TO THEY WILD :D:D:Dthey all look the same on dial up

RE: Help with animal identification
 

if the woods where it went in have a stream or a river I'll say it's an otter.
if not then it's a coon with a colour variation.
I have bought and sold coon pups as pets, handraised and every now and then the litter contained dark pups with practically no stripes or facial masks....I even had a light grey, almost white one as well.
For a beaver it moved to fast in my opinion.

Frank

RE: Help with animal identification
 

It looks kinda likes a nutra rat or a cat of some kind. However, I have never seen a cat with such abig body and what appears to be short legs. Dont know but intresting to see.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

That looks to be to big for a coon, and discolored for a coon. Also, it is WAY to big to be an otter, and unrealistically big for a beaver. I have killed many otters and beavers (with cooperation from the Alabama Wildlife & Conservation Department), and have never ever taken anything near that size. The biggest otter I've ever killed or seen was about 8 inches tall and 30 inches long. You would barely see that on that camera. The beavers can be a little taller, but that animal is really long in the video.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

I'd be willing to bet it's a Fisher ora Pine Martin!!! They both have the long tail with the humped back!
I'm leaning towards Fisher just because of the size!! I don't know if they are that far south, but there are lots of them in northrn Minnesota woods!!

RE: Help with animal identification
 

I'm thinking it is a Coyote walking the fields looking for field mice....could be a big @$$ Opossum too?They're fugly and have a good size tail so add that to the list! ;)

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Im going with a raccoon I have seen them in that dark black coloration. Or it could be a really big beaver they do get pretty big in the northern regions.

RE: Help with animal identification
 

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Here's a ohio mammal link!
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/topic.php?c=NH&s=ANMLS&t=MAMLS

And a fisher link!
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1134

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Upon further review.......I'm with Matt.

Trash can lid.

:)

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Its deffinately a warechicken

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i still think its a Giant Rat but on Dial up *anythings*( word starts sparkleing)posible:D:D:D

RE: Help with animal identification
 

Definitley a raccoon. I think it just appears darker than normal because of the lighting.

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I still think rat:D

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Yea but what about the fact that this was filmed at 500 yards, i mean thats a crazy big racoon.