Need help identifying wild life.

[Sylvie]

I was just out pulling weeds. The dogs were in the backyard. A link fence between them and me.

All of a sudden, I heard a commotion, looked up and there was some kind of an animal running along the fence. It even went under the fence, but came right back out.

We have a double garage and I had one of the doors open. I thought for sure it was going to run into the garage, but thankfully it ran out to the front of the house.

One day last week on the way home we saw this same kind of animal walking across the road carrying another one. Thought it was a mother and baby. I thought it was a weasel. I am not sure, it was dark brown long and slender. When I went over to where it had been the smell was terrible.

I am not sure what this animal was, does anyone have any ideas????

[Love4himies]

Could be a mink

[bendyfoot]

I'm thinking either Mink, Martin or Fisher. How big was this critter? How tall was it? Are you near water? Dense forest? Was it shaped like a ferret? It could also be a stoat, now that I think about it...did it have a white chest?

[Sylvie]

I am guessing the animal was about 4 inches high. It was moving a lot to get away from the dogs. We are relatively close to a creek and when we saw the one crossing the road it was just beside the creek. It did not have a white chest.

Also, we are not too close to a dense forest, however there are areas with lots of trees. We live in the country. The smell was a very heavy unpleasant odour. I thought perhaps the odour was for defense, like a skunck.

[bendyfoot]

I'm guessing it's a mink then. They live near water usually (a creek would do nicely). Far too small to be a martin or fisher...all of those critters though are mustellids, which are in the same family as skunk...so they do have a very strong musky odor which can be extra perfumey if they're scared/startled

[Collies_Rule!]

Cool!

There are a few mammals it could be:

1) An Ermine. It's a smaller weasel found in Ontario. They are a brownish-red in summer and white in winter.

Here's some info on it: http://www.borealforest.org/zoo/ermine.htm

2) Black Footed Ferret (not the pet store type- - the wild ones. They are endangered...not too many left in Ontario) Toronto Zoo has a breeding program and are re-introducing them down in the USA and Sask.

3) Marten - bigger than the Ermine. Same browny color.

4) Least Weasel.

5) Fisher (larger darker colored )


Types of weasals: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.c...ms=A1SEC829879

Info on the Marten: http://www.borealforest.org/zoo/marten.htm

Info on Fisher: http://www.borealforest.org/zoo/fisher.htm

Do any of these look like the one you saw?

I hope this helps!

[BenMax]

Ok Syvie - I must confess - It was me!
I just wanted to meet your dogs.

Can't wait to see who it REALLY was.

[bendyfoot]

Originally Posted by BenMax

Ok Syvie - I must confess - It was me!
I just wanted to meet your dogs.

nutter!

[Bina]

It was in the mink/weasel family for sure.
We had a small stoat get into the house and hide out in my office, it was very upset and let out quite a smell when I got near it. Very aggressive critter. I opened my front door and out it went!!

[bendyfoot]

Yeah they're pointy, best to be calm and stay out of their way! Not as scary as a martin or fisher though...

[Sylvie]

Hey BenMax you are kind of cute but pretty smelly

[bendyfoot]

[Sylvie]

Bendy why are Martins so scary???

I checked out all the sites and was thinking it might be a Pine Martin

[bendyfoot]

oh I'm being a baby...they're completely fine when they're out in the bush doing their own thing...the only encounters I've had with them was in a rehab setting, and boyohboy they do NOT like to be caged!!! I worked with coyotes, fox, raccoons, skunks...and the martins were the only ones that nerved me out...they would do this "chuckling" noise when I went in their pen to clean...and they move like lightning, climbing with huge claws... They're really pretty remarkable creatures and would have nothing to do with humans, you hardly ever see them in the wild because they're so secretive/reclusive...

[Sylvie]

Thanks everyone for your input. I have a better idea now although not 100% sure what it was.

Hopefully, this little critter has moved on.

[BenMax]

Originally Posted by Sylvie

Thanks everyone for your input. I have a better idea now although not 100% sure what it was.

Hopefully, this little critter has moved on.

I'll be ba-aack.......... (but promise to release my glands next to anyone you do not like...deal?..

[bendyfoot]

*sniff*

funn-eeee

[BenMax]

Originally Posted by bendyfoot

*sniff*

funn-eeee

That wasn't me!

Please let us know Sylvie if the little critter shows up again - bring your camera.

[Gail P]

All members of the weasel family have musk glands and can be very bold/aggressive in certain situations, but also very interesting to watch in their own habitat. I've live trapped both a mink and longtail weasel that were in my chicken coop killing chickens and when trapped they not only will stink up the place pretty badly, but will also lunge and scream at you when you go to move the trap. I once found one of my chickens dragged into the corner of the coop with it's head pulled down through a crack but it was "vibrating" so I knew that something was under the coop eating it. I pulled the chicken up by it's feet and the weasel popped it's head up and glared at me like "Hey! Where'd my lunch go?" When they start killing chickens they kill several at a time and will stash them away in the walls for later use. (I found out the hard way, when you take their cache they kill more the next night and then cache them :sad: Hence the trap)

I've also done some work out on lakes and once came across what appeared to be a family of young mink playing around the shoreline. They were very curious about us and we sat watching them for a while. I'm guessing mom was out hunting and they were waiting for her to come back. They kept disappearing inside the undercut bank and then popping back out around some tree roots. Very cute.

Members of the weasel family range in size from the least weasel to the wolverine, which is as large as a medium sized dog.

Least weasel males 7.4"-8", females 6.8"-7" dark brown summer coat underbelly white or spotted with white, coat white in winter

Shorttail weasel (also called ermine) males 11"-12", females 9.5" dark brown summer coat with black tip on tail, white underbelly and inside legs, sometimes white on toes as well, white coat in winter with black tip on tail

Longtail weasel males 13.6"-16", females 11"-13" same colour as the shorttail but not usually any white on feet

Mink males 20"-25", females 17"-20" dark brown with white spot on chin, bushier tail that other similar sized weasels, does not turn white in winter

Marten males 24"-25", females 21.5"-22" yellowish brown, darkening on legs and has a lighter buff patch on chest

Other members of the family mustelidae native to the Great Lakes region include fishers, river otters, badgers, and both spotted and striped skunks.

[Gail P]

Originally Posted by bendyfoot

oh I'm being a baby...they're completely fine when they're out in the bush doing their own thing...the only encounters I've had with them was in a rehab setting, and boyohboy they do NOT like to be caged!!! I worked with coyotes, fox, raccoons, skunks...and the martins were the only ones that nerved me out...they would do this "chuckling" noise when I went in their pen to clean...and they move like lightning, climbing with huge claws... They're really pretty remarkable creatures and would have nothing to do with humans, you hardly ever see them in the wild because they're so secretive/reclusive...

I was lucky enough to get a picture of a marten when I was up in Gogama at fall camp back in my college days. It was right at the Junior Ranger camp we were staying at.

[Tundra_Queen]

Originally Posted by BenMax

I'll be ba-aack.......... (but promise to release my glands next to anyone you do not like...deal?..

LMBO