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Name This Animal

What is this thing.?

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

Have a brother that found this and couldn't find out what it was. Searched up many bone structures of animals, but it seems to have some kind of flippers in the front that wouldn't match up with anything i thought of. Found this in northern california.

Featured Answer

Sharon McKenzie

11 years ago

Your description of the size and the feet match an otter, but otter's aren't that color, unless the sun and weather have discolored the coat.

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Comments (7)

User
11 years ago
A long-dead badger? Maybe another mustelid, like a skunk.

Look up badger skulls on Google images and match the teeth
User
11 years ago
Here ...

http://gb.fotolibra.com/images/previews/603308-badger-s-skull.jpeg
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Sharon McKenzie
11 years ago
It is a Mustilid(member of the weasel family), but without something for scale to determine size it's hard to pinpoint exactly which one. I'm actually leaning towards this being a domestic ferret, though, based on the coloration of what fur is left, the elongated body(as opposed to a badger's short, stocky body), and the paws. Ferrets are illegal to own in California, so unfortunately when someone's ferret is sick, they can't take it a vet. If it gets out and gets lost, they can't put up notices to help find it. More than likely it was someone's pet that either died and the body was dumped to get rid of it, or it got out and starved to death or was killed by a bigger predator. Ferrets have very poor survival skills and very little chance of surviving if they get out, or are dumped by their owners, and people trying to avoid being caught with a ferret could resort to abandoning their pets, too.
drolopez707
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
It was about the size of a small-ish dog, but much larger than the smaller breed like the Chihuahua. I would say it is pretty large for a ferret. Also, the front feet bones dont seem to match up with anything and seem to be webbed or that of an aquatic animal. The front feet are what trip me out to be honest. I searched up the bone structures of many of the obvious choices but i think i may have something really strange here. I dont have the body but took many pictures.
drolopez707
Original Author
11 years ago
It may be an otter. That i can see, but the back feet resemble how dog feet would look. Otters have similar structures in both front and back legs. The back legs werent webbed. But then again I really dont know, an otter seems like the closest thing ive found so far.
shearersusan68
11 years ago
I would say it's an otter from the skull. I think you may be mistaking what appears to be the animals scapulas with it's front feet. Take a look at this disarticulated skeleton of a river otter. The scapula (bottom right) look very similar to your image of the 'front feet'. Also given the fact that you found the skeleton in an aquatic environment, I'd venture to guess otter over a badger.

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