On this video, compiled from stills taken by a wildlife camera, at 3:02, I have one frame of something jumping across the camera. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOQBrTc7nl4
What do you think it is?
what is this mammal?
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Where in the States was this taken?
The first things that pop to my mind are a squirrel or a marten
Elevation seems too low for marten; it was taken at night, so I also doubt it’s a squirrel. Looks too large for weasel, so maybe a young Gray Fox? Might conceivably also be a Ringtail, but the tail should be more obvious on one of those. Honestly, I’m not really sure…
The photo is from near Mokelumne Hill, in Calaveras County, in the Sierra Nevada foothills. This is a heavily (mixed) forested and brush area, intermediate in elevation.
Taken at night. Note the eyes glow, so it cannot be a squirrel. See http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96414364
I think it’s a predator. The feet look cat-like. It has tiny ears, unlike a gray fox (I feed a wild one every night, so I am very familiar with them).
I would say it’s definitely a mustelid of some kind. Long-tailed Weasel?
I think you mean American marten. Purple martin is a bird. I have quite a number of images of American martens on my trail cameras here in Canada and your image is pretty consistent with a marten.
I messed that up badly!!
But I am still not sure if it is a marten or a weasel. How would you tell the difference?
I am going to pile on the mustered band wagon as well
Mustelid…. Sorry I didn’t notice the autocorrect
I sent the video link to John Buckley, who operates a Sierra Nevada conservation group called CSERC. They use lots of wildlife cameras in the area, and he thinks it is almost certain to be a weasel, based on shape, size, speed, and behavior when having its photo taken by a game camera.
I am weighing in late on this, but I would say a LT Weasel too .. the paler belly looks more like a weasel than a marten to me.