# Capybara-like animals in Minnesota? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282 "2010-04-25T06:15:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/41 "2010-04-27T15:25:06Z")
I live in Golden Valley and I once saw an opossum in my back yard the size of a dog. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/42 "2010-04-27T15:27:47Z")
[This](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Possum.jpg) look like your guy? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/43 "2010-04-27T16:03:04Z")
You know, Captain Lance makes an excellent point. Opossum would be the only one that really fits the slow movement part. Could it have been a large (probably pregnant) possum? I can’t get to youtube from work, but try searching for video of each of these guys walking. . . ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/44 "2010-04-27T16:47:38Z")
Maybe a [fisher?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_%28animal%29) It looks like their range extends into Minnesota, and they are somewhat beaverish from a distance but with skinnier tails. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/45 "2010-04-27T16:53:36Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > You know, Captain Lance makes an excellent point. Opossum would be the only one that really fits the slow movement part. Could it have been a large (probably pregnant) possum? > > I can’t get to youtube from work, but try searching for video of each of these guys walking. . . Possums have a long, pointy snout. The OP said the snout was blunt. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/46 "2010-04-27T17:11:32Z")
IMO, it would be hard to mistake an opossum for an other common animal. The white face, pointy snout, scruffy looking light colored fur and rat tail is a dead give away. (Walt Kelly supposedly observed that Pogo gained in popularity as he made the character look less and less like an actual possum.) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/47 "2010-04-27T17:16:51Z")
> [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](#): > > I live in Golden Valley and I once saw an opossum in my back yard the size of a dog. Must have been a pretty small dog, unless Golden Valley is frequented by Marsupials of Unusual Size. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/48 "2010-04-27T17:26:14Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > Ooh, that’s a good guess, too: it fits better the description a lot better than beaver. But according to the USGS, they’re extinct in Minnesota: [http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/special/nutria/namerica.htm](http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/special/nutria/namerica.htm). Not entirely. Nutria [still exist in a few small pockets in Minnesota](http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/speciesmap.aspx?SpeciesID=1089); the USGS info is from 1978. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/49 "2010-04-27T21:13:03Z")
If I ever saw a dog-sized opossum, I’d leave the state immediately and indefinitely. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/50 "2010-04-27T23:51:54Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > If I ever saw a dog-sized opossum, I’d leave the state immediately and indefinitely. There are some ridiculously small dogs out there. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/51 "2010-04-28T00:05:26Z")
Well obviously dogs are of varying sizes, but when someone says “size of a dog” I don’t imagine something the size of a St. Bernard or a chihuahua. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/52 "2010-04-28T00:13:38Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > If I ever saw a dog-sized opossum, I’d leave the state immediately and indefinitely. And yet the albatross-sized mosquitoes don’t phase you… ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/53 "2010-04-28T01:34:29Z")
Oh, they do. So last weekend was gorgeous, and I had the bright idea to read by the river. Yeah, I don’t know why. First there was a giant thing on the bike rack, so I decided to just sit down and let my bike stand in front of me. Then there was a giant spider web with a spider inside on the bench. I said screw it, I’m going to the bar instead. ---
**Author:** ![Notassmartasithought](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c0e974/32.png) [@Notassmartasithought](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Notassmartasithought)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/54 "2010-04-28T02:28:26Z")
Where along the river were you? I think you’d be surprised what can live on the slopes down to the river in South Minneapolis, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/55 "2010-04-28T03:44:23Z")
> [@Rysdad](#): > > While you were out wandering around, you didn’t happen to see my [wombat](http://www.australianexplorer.com/photographs/animals/australia_zoo_wombat_2.jpg). did you? And if she didn’t, was it invisible? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/56 "2010-04-28T04:16:58Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Sounds like a Rodent of Unusual Size, sometimes known as an R.O.U.S. I don’t think they exist. Aaaraargghhgrigle… ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/57 "2010-04-28T11:50:48Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Oh, they do. > > So last weekend was gorgeous, and I had the bright idea to read by the river. Yeah, I don’t know why. First there was a giant thing on the bike rack, so I decided to just sit down and let my bike stand in front of me. Then there was a giant spider web with a spider inside on the bench. I said screw it, I’m going to the bar instead. Don’t go to their back rooms. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/58 "2010-04-28T12:56:56Z")
Admittedly I had absolutely no idea the the U.S. Geological Survey was in the least bit concerned with the distribution of and efforts to eradicate nutria. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/59 "2010-04-28T13:05:10Z")
> [@Notassmartasithought](#): > > Where along the river were you? I think you’d be surprised what can live on the slopes down to the river in South Minneapolis, for instance. Downtown. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282/60 "2010-04-28T14:20:34Z")
Capybara don’t have tails. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/capybara-like-animals-in-minnesota/537282.md?page=4)