# What might this animal have been? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 1, 2010, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-animal-have-been/548774 "2010-08-01T05:05:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-animal-have-been/548774/21 "2010-08-03T20:29:26Z")
Well, [grey foxes climb trees](http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/grey_fox.htm)sometimes. (Scroll down for a pic of an arboreal grey.) ---
**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 3, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-animal-have-been/548774/22 "2010-08-03T20:43:07Z")
Hre you go: [October Cornucopia: Winter Finches, Cryptic Moth, Ant Swarm, Sunflower Seeds, New Mammal](http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek061015.html) Scroll down a bit. . . I’m betting a dozen cookies that’s nailed it. ---
**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 3, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-animal-have-been/548774/23 "2010-08-03T20:47:23Z")
> [@I'm Not Dennis Bergkamp](#): > > Mystery solved, I think. It came back today with a friend and the friend was definitely a fox. The “mystery animal” was bigger and not as fluffy, but seeing them together has pretty much convinced me that it is also a fox, but one that has mange. They were cuddled up together in the tall grass behind my neighbor’s house, played for a bit, then the mystery animal ran off. > > It wasn’t as close this time and I couldn’t get a good photo of it, but when it ran I saw the head and tail, both of which matched my description from earlier. I may have overestimated the size a bit, but it’s hard to tell. > > Hopefully, they’ll come back and I can get photos, but I’m reasonably satisfied that it’s a fox. Of course, I had somehow missed this post! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![supergoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@supergoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supergoose)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-animal-have-been/548774/24 "2010-08-03T22:17:06Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > > [@I'm Not Dennis Bergkamp](#): > > > > Mystery solved, I think. It came back today with a friend and the friend was definitely a fox. The “mystery animal” was bigger and not as fluffy, but seeing them together has pretty much convinced me that it is also a fox, but one that has mange. They were cuddled up together in the tall grass behind my neighbor’s house, played for a bit, then the mystery animal ran off. > > > > It wasn’t as close this time and I couldn’t get a good photo of it, but when it ran I saw the head and tail, both of which matched my description from earlier. I may have overestimated the size a bit, but it’s hard to tell. > > > > Hopefully, they’ll come back and I can get photos, but I’m reasonably satisfied that it’s a fox. > > Of course, I had somehow missed this post! :smack: You done good regardless. 🙂 I, for one, am glad to have the visual you found. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-animal-have-been/548774/25 "2010-08-03T22:27:53Z")
> [@supergoose](#): > > > [@TruCelt](#): > > > > Of course, I had somehow missed this post! :smack: > > You done good regardless. 🙂 I, for one, am glad to have the visual you found. Me, too. There are a few differences - the animal in **TruCelt** ’s picture has longer ears and longer hair, but it’s close enough that I’m calling it a match. Thanks, everyone! Still, I would have preferred a chupacabra. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-animal-have-been/548774.md?page=1)