I was walking outside around noon today and I spotted a really weird looking animal. I have a really big tree off from my house, and when I walked passed it I saw what I thought was fur. I looked again & hanging on the side of the tree was this animal. I thought it was dead, but it's not. I have lived most of my life in the country, but I've never seen this. I think it could be a groundhog, but I have no idea. It looks like it weighs around 10-20 pounds and it's covered in greyish black fur. It has a furry tail. It's not a raccoon. It's ears are round and small. It has paws like a raccoon-with little fingers. It has changed position and raised its head up, but it has been on my tree for over 6 or 7 hours. I live in the southern part of US.
2007-07-23 12:09:59 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Well it certainly sounds like a large Groundhog. Groundhogs are excellent burrowing animals, but are quite capable of swimming and climbing trees. Groundhogs are usually quite astute about what is going on in their vicinity and will flee any approach that is attempted. Being that this one has not moved for such a long period of time indicates to me that it is either sick or very old.
My recommendation would be to keep an eye on it from a distance. Field glasses (binoculars) are an excellent tool for doing this. An aged animal is normally distinguishable from a sick animal, and my assumption is that this one, based on it's size, is old. In the wild, they only live for 2-3 years.
Leave him in peace in his waning days!!!!!!
PS......Let me know how you make out, and what you finally identify it as. I too live in the country, and I once had an aged raccoon that would visit me every night, which I would feed, I know that is wrong, but I felt sorry for him. He would climb up on my window sill and look in the window at me. He died in my front yard about 2 weeks after our first encounter. It was sad.
2007-07-23 13:01:39 · answer #1 · answered by chahn11 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds to me like you seen a groundhog however they usually jump out of trees when approached.
2007-07-23 12:24:13 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have a camera, go take a picture of it and post it. Other than that you can do searches on line and look around. It's possible it's a hybrid (cross-breed). Not often seen but they do exist. I've seen hybrid mountain cats before and that's rare.
2007-07-23 12:22:05 · answer #3 · answered by K 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In some states animal shelters will not take raccoons because they can carry rabies and they are not in any way an endangered species.
2016-05-21 04:58:32 · answer #4 · answered by meridith 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Woodchuck (aka Groundhog)
did it look like this? http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?source=&parkid=&searchText=&allSpecies=&shapeID=1038&lshapeID=0&curAbbr=&lastView=default&lastGroup=5&lastRegion=&lastFilter=4&lastShapeName=&trackType=&curRegionID=2209&size=&habitat=&fruit=&color=&sortBy=family&curFamilyID=®ionSelect=Southeast®ionZIP=&curGroupID=5&lgfromWhere=&curPageNum=1
2007-07-23 12:44:31 · answer #5 · answered by margecutter 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Southern flying squrrel?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Southern_flying_squirrel.jpg
Mink?
http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/14FFEE96-0245-43E9-B779-FD905091280D/0/Mink.bmp
2007-07-23 15:29:49 · answer #6 · answered by Strix 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Could be a possum.
2007-07-23 12:46:14 · answer #7 · answered by Lee H 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
flying squirrel. i just saw one in ga.
2007-07-23 13:44:50 · answer #8 · answered by glenn t 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋