# What animal is this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651 "2014-08-15T23:22:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/1 "2014-08-15T23:22:44Z")
A friend is trying to identify an animal from a photo, unfortunately I have no more context than the link to the image: [http://www.orientaldiscovery.com/UpLoadFiles/20111125/2011112511003585X.jpg](http://www.orientaldiscovery.com/UpLoadFiles/20111125/2011112511003585X.jpg) Any ideas? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/2 "2014-08-15T23:37:52Z")
It looks like a dirty Chinchilla to me. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/3 "2014-08-15T23:42:00Z")
To me it looks quite a bit like the beaver pictured [here](http://www3.ag.purdue.edu/entm/wildlifehotline/pages/beavers.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/4 "2014-08-15T23:47:59Z")
> [@kayT](#): > > To me it looks quite a bit like the beaver pictured [here](http://www3.ag.purdue.edu/entm/wildlifehotline/pages/beavers.aspx). Look at the tails… ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/5 "2014-08-15T23:48:14Z")
The ears look to short for a chinchilla and the face a little short but chinchilla is the closest I can come up with. ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/6 "2014-08-16T00:13:59Z")
I would guess a young woodchuck. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/7 "2014-08-16T00:28:16Z")
Apparently it’s something from the [Qinghai-Tibet Plateau](http://www.orientaldiscovery.com/html/2011/11/201111221502001304.html). ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/8 "2014-08-16T00:29:32Z")
Isn’t this supposed to be a Chinese animal? Since the original page is: [OrientalDiscovery.com is for sale | HugeDomains](http://www.orientaldiscovery.com/html/2011/11/201111221502001304.html) I looked for awhile but got nothing. Some kind of flying squirrel? Marmot? ---
**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:** [August 16, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/9 "2014-08-16T00:53:12Z")
Some local marmot, I think. A Google image search led to this: > **[OrientalDiscovery.com is for sale | HugeDomains](https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=orientaldiscovery.com)** > > Get a new domain name for your startup. Quick and professional service. Seamless domain transfers. Looking at that list of species, marmot is definitely quite close. The face is different, but the flat furry tail fits: [https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1388&bih=578&q=otter+tail&oq=otter+tail&gs\_l=img.3..0l10.1157.2672.0.2980.10.10.0.0.0.0.268.1384.0j4j3.7.0....0...1ac.1.51.img..3.7.1381.n1QipPsHdOQ#hl=en&q=maemot&tbm=isch](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1388&bih=578&q=otter+tail&oq=otter+tail&gs_l=img.3..0l10.1157.2672.0.2980.10.10.0.0.0.0.268.1384.0j4j3.7.0....0...1ac.1.51.img..3.7.1381.n1QipPsHdOQ#hl=en&q=maemot&tbm=isch) ETA: Ninja’d by Ulfreida! LOL! That’s what I get for not refreshing before I post. . . ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/10 "2014-08-16T01:10:44Z")
It looks like a pika with a large furry tail, face like a marmot. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/11 "2014-08-16T02:09:57Z")
It’s not a marmot, a woodchuck, a pika, a chinchilla, or a beaver. I’m not sure what it is yet, but it’s definitely none of those. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/12 "2014-08-16T02:10:34Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > It looks like a pika with a large furry tail, face like a marmot. Just what I was coming to say. 🙂 Looking at that page on the plateau, which lists a bunch of species, the one I _think_ it’s closest to is a pika. But, it’s got furrier ears and tail. Either that or it’s a really skinny marmot (aka a woodchuck). The ears incline me towards pika. Darn cute little guy either way. I tried to link to a pika image, so y’all could see the ears but my Google fu failed me at copying the image. Trying Googling “pika” and check out the ears. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/13 "2014-08-16T02:26:06Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > Looking at that page on the plateau, which lists a bunch of species, the one I _think_ it’s closest to is a pika. But, it’s got furrier ears and tail. [Pikas](http://www.yathin.com/trips/ne/mar2007/arunachal/dirang/pika.jpg) have big ears and no tail. It’s definitely not a pika. > [@](#): > > Either that or it’s a really skinny marmot (aka a woodchuck). The ears incline me towards pika. [Marmots](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D3NxQBifWVY/Tppuau8KRqI/AAAAAAAABR0/XLPcl-qsVZA/s1600/D2H_1286.jpg) have smaller ears, a rounder tail, and are much heavier. It’s definitely not a marmot. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/14 "2014-08-16T02:49:17Z")
My best guess at this point is that it’s some kind of flying squirrel, particularly because of the flat tail. Unfortunately, the internet seems to be sadly lacking in images of Central Asian flying squirrels. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/15 "2014-08-16T03:01:26Z")
Here’s the [Indian Giant Flying Squirrel.](http://jlrexplore.com/userfiles/image/Flying-Squirrels-Petaurista-philippensis-3.jpg) The ears and face are quite similar. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/16 "2014-08-16T03:19:52Z")
And you can see that his sides and body diamater are little wide for his general size… thats his wing like flaps in the curled state. He’s quite light actually. … look at the tiny mouth, tiny feet… ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/17 "2014-08-16T06:47:49Z")
Thanks for the answers everyone! 🙂 It does look like its a Flying Squirrel. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/18 "2014-08-16T15:28:24Z")
Yeah. They both look mean, somehow. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/19 "2014-08-16T15:47:47Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Yeah. They both look mean, somehow. They’re harmless, but beware of the [moose](http://unconfirmedbreakingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/BullwinkleRocky.jpg) that often travels with them. ---
**Author:** ![jayrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jayrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayrey)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651/20 "2014-08-16T16:19:17Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > They’re harmless, but beware of the [moose](http://unconfirmedbreakingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/BullwinkleRocky.jpg) that often travels with them. I love you, **Colibri**! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-animal-is-this/695651.md?page=2)