It was light, reddish brown, about twice the size of an average house cat. It had a round body and very short legs. It’s ears were small and tight to it’s head. The tail was either very short or nonexistent. I saw it climbing our chain link fence (very quickly, I might add) so I didn’t get a good look at the snout.
It climbed the fence then jumped from the top, about 5 feet.
The only animal I’ve ever seen that looks anything like it, was Punksatony Phil in Groundhog Day, but since I live in the Pacific Northwest, I’d be surprised if it was a groundhog.
Nutria are everywhere in Western Washington now days. We see them on the south shore of Lake Washington by the Boeing Plant. I haven’t seen any near my house but have near Lake Meridian and Soos Creek which is about 5 miles away.
Phil has asked me to note that the correct spelling is Punxsutawney. He says that so far as he knows neither he nor any of his relatives were in your area yesterday, and had they been they would not have been climbing fences.
I’ve heard of that before - and I still can’t quite get my head around it - if you’re going to perpetrate a hoax like that, why use the name of a real animal at all?
Honestly, it was you fighting my ignorance. I had no idea there was such a thing as a real snipe, I had only heard the reference made to the fictional creature and was kinda caught in an anti-whoosh when you cited their existence.
I did not know that they were real until a couple of years ago.
Imagine an 8 year old kid, traipsing out into the dark of a late October field, then coming back some time later with a small bird in his paper sack.
Oh yeah, almost forgot the OP. I have seen a lot of groundhogs that fit that discription but I have never known them to be climbers. As they are related to the Marmot and the Marmot is related to the squirrel my vote would be for something like that.
Never heard of a Nutria climbing either but I could be wrong about that one.
