I live near the Huron River, which runs through Ann Arbor, and every time I walk over the bridge, I see a couple little animals frolicking around on the grassy bank. I have tried to take pictures with my camera phone, but they didn’t really turn out. I’ve also seen the animals in other places, but all near to my apartment (and, in turn, the river). I’ve never actually seen them in the river, though.
They’re grayish brown. They have shortish, flat tails. They stand up on their hind legs to sniff at the air. They’re about the size of a large cat. I’ve only seen them in the daytime.
I’m also guessing nutria. Pretty cute, a bit beaverish, a bit groundhog-ish. Some people call them “River Rats” … as in “Go! Huron High School River Rats Go!” I figure if a local high school team is named after them, they may well be local fauna.
If they’re “grayish-brown”, I think woodchucks are more likely than otters or muskrats — both of the latter animals are usually much more of a solid brown.
Thanks for all the suggestions! I think they’re woodchucks/ground hogs. I’ll have to carry my real camera around with me and get a better picture than my phone is capable of.
Yesterday I saw one get into a tussle with a rabbit in someone’s front yard. It’s like Wild Animal Kingdom Michigan out here.
Pretty sure that these are probably groundhogs/woodchucks. Here is another thread by someone who thought they were looking at beavers and it was a woodchuck. There is a picture in the link, and, despite some discussion by people who really don’t know wildlife, the picture is absolutely a groundhog. Groundhog tails are somewhat broad and flat, but the tails are furry. I’m a fish biologist, not a mammologist, but I gotta tell you I know a groundhog when I see one. Occasionally, I even shoot and eat one. Like a big, somewhat greasier squirrel.
But it is possible that the OP could seeing baby beavers. Baby beavers are much more playful than adult beavers and occasionally can be seen goofing around. Their tails are extremely broad and flat, and have no fur. Adult beavers are rarely seen out of the water during daylight. Baby beavers sometimes, but rarely, can be seen more than a couple feet from the water goofing around. If the OP is seeing them often, pretty sure they are groundhogs.
I see echidna almost daily - they breed on our 18 acres of bush, which we bought just for the wildlife and proximity to Kinglake National Park (now just recovering cinders thanks to the horrific fires last year). I can also offer kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, 70+ species of birds, 4 species of possum in the backyard … but not a quoll in sight. Adore our wildlife! Especially our spiders.
I am still dead jealous of groundhogs, squirrels, beavers, muskrats and, especially, otters. And of your incredibly cute little jumping spiders - the Phidippus genus. Even put a Phidippus on the front cover of my most recent book.
I went potty over the squirrels last time in the US - couldn’t get enough of them to the horror of some of my hosts - and next time I am determined to see all of the above and roadrunners, bald eagles, burrowing owls (you really have owls that burrow!!!) … this post could get very long you have so much wonderful wildlife!
P.S. The echidna (spiny ant-eaters) burrow under our fences and let the rabbits into the garden, turn over rockeries after ants and do some damage. Love 'em anyway!
