# What kind of animal did I see? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2009, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712 "2009-06-14T04:15:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/1 "2009-06-14T04:15:22Z")
Today, on my way to the landfill, driving along a two lane paved forested Vancouver Island road, this animal darted in front of me and then just ahead of me, alongside and disappeared back into the bush. All this in about one second. My first reaction due to the hopping was it must be a rabbit, but it was too tall for that. 12 to 14 inches high. Maybe a transplanted jack rabbit ? But it appeared to have too long a muzzle, too skinny and I’ve never known jack rabbits to be brindle coloured. A fawn? It was hopping, but it was just too small to be a fawn. The description of the suspect may be somewhat suspect but one thing is quite clear in my memory. The creature let out a loud shriek “eeeeeeeeeeeeeh” as I passed by. Like an eagle. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/2 "2009-06-14T05:41:02Z")
Not a clue–sorry! I am curious, though. Where on Vancouver Island? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/3 "2009-06-14T06:48:23Z")
Sounds like a jackelope, to me. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/4 "2009-06-14T07:37:31Z")
What’s brindle coloured? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/5 "2009-06-14T07:47:21Z")
I used to have a Manx cat that had a gait rather like a rabbit. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/6 "2009-06-14T11:58:19Z")
That was a Bigfoot, often called a Yeti. They look much smaller than you would have imagined, eh? Don’t let the size fool you, they are rather fearsome. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/7 "2009-06-14T12:09:58Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > That was a Bigfoot, often called a Yeti. They look much smaller than you would have imagined, eh? Don’t let the size fool you, they are rather fearsome. Silly **Lhadaji**! Don’t you know how to tell the difference between a Bigfoot & a Yeti? Yetis are _left handed!_ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/8 "2009-06-14T13:04:47Z")
> [@Savannah](#): > > Not a clue–sorry! > > I am curious, though. Where on Vancouver Island? Campbell River. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/9 "2009-06-14T13:12:44Z")
> [@Darryl\_Lict](#): > > What’s brindle coloured? [cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brindle) What I saw was similar to the Plott hound pictured in the cite. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/10 "2009-06-14T13:14:04Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Sounds like a jackelope, to me. Ha ha ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/11 "2009-06-14T13:24:32Z")
Tasmanian Tiger. ---
**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:** [June 14, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/12 "2009-06-14T15:31:31Z")
If you were in Patagonia, I would guess it was a [Patagonian Cavy](http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/879/20087883.JPG). But since you aren’t, I’m at a loss. However, I would suggest that if you didn’t get a good enough look at it to know whether it was a jack rabbit or a fawn, it may remain unidentifiable. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > Sounds like a jackelope, to me. That actually would have been my first guess. The call, however, is more reminiscent of that of the [squonk.](http://www.fearsomecreaturesofthelumberwoods.com/pg31.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/13 "2009-06-14T18:53:50Z")
Coyote? ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/14 "2009-06-14T18:58:41Z")
Probably a chupacabra. The corpses we’ve seen have all been minus the fur, so brindle doesn’t seem so unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![unclelem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ac91a4/32.png) [@unclelem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclelem)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/15 "2009-06-15T02:34:28Z")
How about a fox? Some species have long ears, and can be quite small. Your description of the sound is not inconsistent with the noises made by some foxes in some situations. The coloration doesn’t rule it out either. However, I’m not familiar with which species of fox inhabit that region. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/16 "2009-06-15T02:58:08Z")
I saw a fox cross the trail in front me once while mountain biking. I too thought it was a rabbit, then a cat with a really bushy tail. Then it dawned on me.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/17 "2009-06-15T05:40:57Z")
I just went for a walk through a nature reserve, and saw some wildlife, and it occurred to me that what you describe is not unlike a wallaby. But I’m guessing there aren’t many wallabies in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/18 "2009-06-15T17:30:23Z")
I’ve heard a fawn do a very loud “eeeeeeeeeh” before. Kind of like a sheep but more of a wail. We’d just finished a trail run and my girlfriend was lying on a tarp to stretch, a momma deer passed by, but the baby was utterly terrified by the stretching-tarp-monster! :eek: It was too scared to try to catch up to momma deer. Could it have been a very, very young fawn? ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/19 "2009-06-15T17:36:10Z")
Example: [this one looks pretty small.](http://www.hunter-ed.com/wildlife/wildlife_specific_images/wildlife_photos/black_tail_deer2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712/20 "2009-06-15T17:46:29Z")
It was a snipe. If you could actually catch it, you would be legendary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-animal-did-i-see/499712.md?page=2)