What did I see?

[OWGEM]

Fuzzy tail eliminates muskrat, beaver and otter. What is it?

 

[rhino400]

Hard to get a size reference. But to me it looks like a Mink.

 

[Bfish]

Looks like a mink to me

 

[patience0830]

I HAVE seen squirrels swim too, but that is a mink.

 

[Reagan40]

Sasquach!

 

[ModernGunner]

Nessie! Ya found her!

 

[Fishersjohn48]

Do speed goats swim?

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

Could be a ground hog - they do swim...

But this critter looks a little thin and the tail too fuzzy...gonna go with mink as well.

 

[OWGEM]

Well this animal was about two feet long. I will have to go along with mink simply because I can't think of anything else. That is a big mink!

 

[Tactically Fat]

I'd say that due to narrowness of the head that it's almost assuredly a mink.

Adult males are in the 13-18" long range.

If the critter you saw is larger than that - it may be an escaped/released domestic American mink - which are larger than their wholly wild brethren.

 

[T.Lex]

SR-71.

 

[Zoub]

Eyes, ears and nose all match up to mink. If you make a shrill sound like a small bird or rodent you can get them to turn and possibly come your way.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Eyes, ears and nose all match up to mink. If you make a shrill sound like a small bird or rodent you can get them to turn and possibly come your way.

Yep. They're voracious predators - and will readily eat and hunt groundhogs. And anything else they can. I'm not sure they're up to the domestic feline's propensity to kill things just for the sport of it - but the members of the weasel family are GREAT to have around - provided you're not attempting to raise birds or rabbits.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

ALIENS!!!

 

[yote hunter]

If it was 2ft long them I say a otter, mink are small...

 

[yote hunter]

Well this animal was about two feet long. I will have to go along with mink simply because I can't think of anything else. That is a big mink!

If it was 2ft long I gonna say a young otter, mink are not that large...

 

[OWGEM]

If it was 2ft long I gonna say a young otter, mink are not that large...

I don't think so. I have photographed otters for years, that was not an otter. And a young otter would be accompanied by mom this time of year, this animal was alone. See this link for some of my otter photos https://www.flickr.com/photos/dhkaiser/sets/72157601139596460/

 

[Zoub]

That
is
a
Mink.


That tail is not an otter tail. That nose is not an Otter nose. That head is not the shape of an otter head. Those eyes are mink. That fur is not otter. Add it up and you don't get otter and certainly not a young otter alone in spring as posted above.

You sit on my patio and you can eventually see beaver, otter, mink, pine marten, fishers, porcupine, muskrats and others. Mink are easy to ID once you learn their face. Also their fairly solid brown color is somewhat unique compared to the others.

I have seen large mink just like the one in the pic. It surprised me as well, I am use to seeing smaller ones. I have never asked the DNR guy about the escaped mink. There are still some active mink ranches up here.

 

[yote hunter]

yea after seeing the otter pics I now have to say mink as well...

 

[rhino]

We could make one really tiny coat.