# Identify these dead things, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 21, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811 "2002-04-21T15:43:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/1 "2002-04-21T15:43:56Z")
My mom went up to our cottage in New Hampshire to do some work on it before the summer (she just inherited it over the winter from my grandfather, and wants to have some modifications made) and when she got inside, she found two dead things. She can’t figure out what they are. They look like squirrels to me, but she says they were way too small to be squirrels. Any ideas? She sent me these two pictures (eww!) [http://fff.fathom.org/pages/opalcat/P4130049.JPG](http://fff.fathom.org/pages/opalcat/P4130049.JPG) [http://fff.fathom.org/pages/opalcat/P4130048.JPG](http://fff.fathom.org/pages/opalcat/P4130048.JPG) ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/2 "2002-04-21T15:58:28Z")
Wow, most people wouldn’t think to snap pictures of dead animals that they found! They sure look like RATS to me. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/3 "2002-04-21T16:05:05Z")
I asked Turbo and he said the one picture with the feet, tail and teeth is definately a squirrel. I told him what your mom said about the size, but he thinks there’s more than one species of squirrel as well as young squirrels. The other picture just looks like a pile of hair, so it’d be WAG on what it is. Personally, I’d be more worried about what left them in that condition rather than what they were… Looks like there’s a rat or mouse probelm there too from the droppings around the corpse and the general condition of them. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/4 "2002-04-21T16:24:10Z")
I would say squirrels. Which were subsequently eaten by rats. The resolution was pretty craptacular, but the second shot was definitely squirrel, and both shots look like the carcasses have rat droppings around them. Here’s the likely scenario: Squirrels get into house, are too stupid to find their way out again. Squirrels die from natural causes. Rats get into house, find squirrel carcasses and eat them. This is likely and not unusual. I have a customer who had a squirrel get into their garage when they were out of town for a couple weeks. They found the dead body when they returned. Keep in mind that rats are scavengers and will even cannibalize a dead rat. Eating a dead squirrel would appeal to them greatly. And rats are large enough to dismember a squirrel, which is what one of those pics looks like. ---
**Author:** ![ratty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ccd318/32.png) [@ratty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratty)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/5 "2002-04-21T16:39:54Z")
Yeah, those are definitely squirrels, and that is definitely rat damage. The droppings confirm it for me- I have pet rats, and I have real rats that live in my barn. Pet rats are sweet and affectionate- real rats are vicious oppurtunists, and they could very well have either come upon the dead squirrels or actually attacked en masse and then eaten them. (I’ve seen this happen to a few birds- not a pleasant sight.) The hair all over the place is also a clue- it would have fallen out during decomposition, but there’s just way too much that’s out- looks like rats were pulling it out and carting the stuff back to their nests. ---
**Author:** ![kuroashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9a140/32.png) [@kuroashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kuroashi)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/6 "2002-04-21T16:49:46Z")
MY MIFFY!!! :eek: naw, actually I’d say possum by the color scheme, but everyone’s saying squirrel. Legs seem a bit long for squirrel. Well, I hope you gave them a good Christian burial and made sure there was no more milk in the fridge, or whatever it was that killed 'em. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Big\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/7 "2002-04-21T17:22:48Z")
I had to open it. I closed it before it was done downloading, whew. I dunno. Maybe she can ask a neighbor about what seems to be prevalent around that area. Though rats and squirrels both probably are. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/8 "2002-04-21T17:28:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kuroashi \* > \*\*MY MIFFY!!! :eek: > > naw, actually I’d say possum by the color scheme, but everyone’s saying squirrel. Legs seem a bit long for squirrel. Well, I hope you gave them a good Christian burial and made sure there was no more milk in the fridge, or whatever it was that killed 'em. \*\* Take a look at the tail in photo number 2. No opossum has a tail like that. ---
**Author:** ![kuroashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9a140/32.png) [@kuroashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kuroashi)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/9 "2002-04-21T17:31:19Z")
I concede ---
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/10 "2002-04-21T17:36:12Z")
As a girl from rural Ma on the NH border…I’m with Ratty on this one here. Oh, And may I add, ACK. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/11 "2002-04-21T18:18:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Squirrels get into house, are too stupid to find their way out again. Squirrels die from natural causes. Rats get into house, find squirrel carcasses and eat them. I wish we had stupid squirrels here. There’s a squirrel that my husband has been fueding with for 2 years. It lifted a piece of siding from the house and got in to the attic, made all kinds of noise, we thought there was a whole army up there. Husband goes up armed with broom and turbo water gun. Squirrel escapes. Husband wedges a piece of wood in the hole the squirrel made and duct tapes the siding back down. Squirrel removes tape and wood.:mad: As for the OP, the tail in the second pic doesn’t look like a squirrel tail to me. But I guess it could be a different species. ---
**Author:** ![white-tigeress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f475e1/32.png) [@white-tigeress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/white-tigeress)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/12 "2002-04-21T18:20:35Z")
I definetly think a squirrel but could again be wrong !!! ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/13 "2002-04-21T18:33:45Z")
**Opal** thanks, first of all, for giving us a fun Sunday afternoon game of name the dead stuff. Second, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww! Third, looks like squirrel to me. ---
**Author:** ![justwannano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ab992/32.png) [@justwannano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannano)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/14 "2002-04-21T22:01:14Z")
First glance was a cat. Angora. Squirrels have course hair. Rats have course hair also. The coloring is wrong for a wild animal.And the fur looks to be too fine.They would have difficulty with burrs. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/15 "2002-04-21T22:09:03Z")
Doesn’t look like any squirrel I’ve seen - certainly not with a tail like that. I’m also thinking #2, at least, is a cat…or something similar. ---
**Author:** ![Inky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7feea3/32.png) [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/16 "2002-04-21T22:21:59Z")
Nope, Mnemosyne. Those inciscors in photo #2 rule out ‘Cat’ or ‘racoon’ and definatle point to a rodent. My guess is squirrel. ---
**Author:** ![Inky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7feea3/32.png) [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/17 "2002-04-21T22:30:34Z")
Yep, long lower inscisors, truncated uppers and a deep carnasial ridge by the molars. Squirrel. Compare (if you haven’t eaten recently). ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/18 "2002-04-21T22:32:54Z")
_looks down at tortilla chips and green onion dip_ _looks back at monitor_ _slooooooooowly closes the chip bag_ My guess is squirrel, but the Irritating City Squirrels we have here in SoCal are prolly a lot different from your World-Eating Country Squirrels in NH, so your ummm mileage may vary. Oh, and my roommate is even more scared of me now than he was before. Gotta point this 17" monitor away from the living room next time I click on a link like that. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/19 "2002-04-21T22:48:50Z")
Let me get this straight: not only do you post a thread with a title like this and ask a question like this with the apparent expectation that people will click on the links, but they actually DID it? Amazing. You really know your audience! I suspect they’re rotted dead things, and I’m not gonna look at them. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rosebud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rosebud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rosebud)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2002, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811/20 "2002-04-21T23:08:32Z")
I’m with InternetLegend, I’m not gonna look either. But have we considered the possibility that they could be woodland dwarves in fur coats, who met an untimely end after a long night of carousing? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-these-dead-things-please/104811.md?page=2)