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Project Noah Nature School
Found this dead animal at the bottom of a creek that surrounds the old abandoned Fountaingrove winery while hiking during a weekend lunch break with a coworker. Did not see any maggots, or detect any pungent odors.
The creek was mostly dried up, and is located by a 40 mph road. The trail and creek/land that it surrounds is owned by a medical device corporation, has largely been left alone, and has become overgrown with a variety of plants. Lots of flora and fauna here, including moss, plum trees, blackberries, ground cover, etc. Many vultures, crows, wild turkeys, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, and other species have been sighted here.
My coworkers suggested it could have been hit by a car and fell down into the creek, or otherwise been attacked by some animal. The latter would not have been a far guess, since there was white fur strewn haphazardly in about a 4 foot radius from the animal's body. Does anybody have suggestions as to what animal this could have been?
Spotted on Jan 7, 2012
Submitted on Jun 4, 2012
26 Comments (1–25)
You'd think for a fox the fur would be more red than white and brown, even if it is old and has been exposed to the elements. Also i think the face would be thinner and a wolf would have much thicker canines. One things for sure it wasn't too old from the colour and lack of wear on the teeth. I'd go with coyote
can be a wolf...
Hi Sunya,
Mummification can happen for a variety of reasons but generally occurs in certain soils and climates. Cold, arid and icy conditions can definitely cause mummification. With our canine above, mummification could have happened due to being covered by sediment in the creek bed or more likely, was caused by simply drying in hot conditions.
In regards to picking up remains, theoretically, you could pick up some nasty stuff from animal remains, especially if the animal was sick or newly dead. I guess bacterial or fungal infection would be the most likely thing you would pick up. My good friend who is a veterinarian told me it is even possible to pick up anthrax from a carcass, which is an airborne spore, I think. However, that being said that chances of actually getting sick with anything is slim. Whether it's right or wrong, I still pick up remains with my bare hands. (I wash them well afterwards of course!) When remains are old and dry like this, the chances of us contracting anything is slim if you have a good immune system. However, it's still good to be aware of the risk. If you are ever unsure, wear gloves. You could even wear a mask if you were nervous. If the animal is freshly deceased, be a little more careful. If it was a healthy animal hit by a care, that's one thing, but if you were to find a sick looking animal especially close to a water source, just be cautious and use common sense. Many sick animals will go to water to die.
It's possible that our canine above was sick, since you found him in a creek bed or he could have easily been hit by a car and felt safe in the ravine until he passed away. My guess is, if their was fur strewn around it was probably from scavengers after he had already died. If he had truly been attacked and killed for food, there wouldn't be this much left of him. If he was attacked, maybe it was over territory or mating rights?! Anyway, who knows! These are all just guesses though, but it is fun to try and figure it out!
If you can, I would love to see more pictures with better sizing!
Emma: Any thoughts of giving up went out the window when curiosity kicked in!
EmilyMarino: Wow, thanks for narrowing down the suspects and providing some more in-depth information! Unfortunately, I accurately can't say how large the skull was, and can probably only make guesses by comparing the size of the reddish fruit in the second image with the skull. The "fruit" is roughly the size of an orange.
How do you think the remains could have been mummified (if they were)? Would it have been because of the cold?
I think I'm going to drop by this weekend and search around a bit, this time armed with a measuring tape and high-res camera, so that hopefully you'll be able to get a better picture of what this animal could have been!
BrandonBlount: Hopefully the rodents won't have munched away everything! Is there anything I should watch out for if I find the bones? Is it okay to touch or flip around with bare hands, or should I don some nitrile gloves? (Will a chupacabra curse get me if I find it?)
Thanks for everyone's helpful information--I'll post an update if I find anything this weekend!
LOL <3 to all of you! This is a very unique and interesting spotting! I am always intrigued by remains, and often find myself dissecting bone piles I find on the property to confirm the species.
As for the Chupacabra, one never knows! Humans are so inventive, and I just couldn't resist myself after having watched a special about the various "Mysterious Present Day Mythological Creatures." LOL
To comment on the remains, most likely in the state they are in when you took the picture, there will be some if not all bones left in the location where you found it. However, you may have to search as they do tend to get scattered, by various other animals. Mice and other rodents tend to munch on the heavier bones for the calcium. If I had to guess, in perfect conditions the skull will remain, and maybe the jaw (although I can say it may be separated by now).
I would really like to see what remains, if anything, and if you are able to find it again. :-)
It was a good guess Emma! I've thought about this post all night (because I'm weird like that.) If I had to make a final guess, I would guess coyote but without knowing size it could still be a fox!
I am going ahead and removing the oppossum suggestion.
Also, most canines have 42 teeth! 12 insisors, 4 canines and 16 premolars and 10 molars. Number of teeth vary from dog breed to dog breed and may vary due to genetics in wild species.
...I would also vote for el chupacabra! That is always my fall back when I don't know what something is! ;)
Photos can be deceiving as far as size goes, so I will look forward to finding out the size!
Okay, it's definitely not a opossum. The sagittal crest is not large enough and the molars and incisors are the wrong shape. It's also not a domestic dog. Domestic dogs have a very pronounced forehead. This guy has a very sloping forehead. Depending on the size of the skull and remains I would guess it to be a coyote or a fox.
Very interesting remains, they almost look mummified which would make sense if there was no maggots or smell!
How large was the skull?
Sunya,don't give up yet,
NuwanChathuranga: Yes, it was! Being an amateur nature watcher, I completely missed it. I nearly stepped on it before my coworker warned me and pulled me away. It blended in quite well with all of the dead leaves and branches on the ground!
Emma: Yes, we definitely do get a lot of opossums here, mostly in the rural areas. The opossum skull image you linked to looks close, but as Brandon notes, the top front teeth look fairly long compared to remains I found in the creek.
As for the grey wolf image, my memory is a little hazy, but I do recall white fur scattered everywhere. I don't remember seeing any of the brown fur, but that could have been because it was blending in with the ground.
BrandonBlount: The spacing on the teeth from the fox skull appears similar, but I'm no expert. We do get foxes up here in the foothills, however. As for the chupacabra suggestion...ha ha!
KarenL: One of my coworkers suggested a feral dog as well, although the number of teeth remains a mystery.
CindyBinghamKeiser: Thank you for the link! I'll edit the spotting asap to add the mission and see if anybody else has any guesses.
asergio: I have definitely seen skunks running across the road here at night, and I also thought it could have been a skunk, due to the light & dark fur. Size-wise though, I'm not sure how well it matches up.
Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions! I'm amazed by how much can be gleaned from a few blurry snapshots, and how everyone's analytical and observational skills are top-notch! I wish I had taken more notes and better photographs back then--but that'll have to wait for the next time! Maybe if I stop by later, the bones will still be there, despite the months passing by?
Sunya,was the fur which you found like this color?
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/113...
Black (or dark) color, with white fur... skunk, maybe?
ChupaCabras usually turn out to be canids with mange!
You should add this to the Identifying Animals Through Osteology mission at http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/8475....
Brandon,the mystery deepens.:))
Very curious to know what it is.
I do see why it could not be an opossum too.
I made my decision after counting the teeth.
The shape goes very well with what you guys think though.
Maybe Emily can help?
Chupacabra?
But then if you count the teeth,they are too many for a dog.
Karen, it could be a feral dog, and entirely possible. I do have to say that the teeth look way more canine like than they do opossum. I am also judging the size in comparison to the leaves around the head, most particularly the orange and yellowish willow leaf on the right hand side of the skull. If you compare that to the width of the snout, it gives you a bit more information on the size. (particularly using the leaf to measure the width between the two canine teeth in the maxilla).
The upper canines don't appear long enough for a fox - maybe a feral dog or some kind?
The one little tiny hint that this might not be a Opossum is the front teeth on the remains. The top front teeth are extremely large for an Opossum, and more closely resemble that of a fox, or other small canine. Here is a link for a grey fox skull (i went with grey fox due to the coloration of the fur surrounding the body).
http://www.promiselandranch.net/Images%2...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/galleriejc/...
(the images in the link are not my own, i do not own any rights to them, I am simply using them as comparative references)
http://www.pugetsound.edu/files/resource...
That is some type of dog. The head is the wrong size and shape to be a Oppussum.
Opossums are the only North American marsupial (related to kangaroos). The opossum is a whitish or grayish animal the size of a house cat with a naked, rat-like tail. Its face is long and pointed with rounded, hairless ears. It grows up to 40 inches long and will weigh up to 14 pounds. The average is 6 to 7 pounds for males and 4 pounds for females. Its tracks look as if they were made by little human or monkey hands with a bent thumb.
The range of the virginia oppossum is RANGE: Costa Rica north through Mexico to the central and eastern half of the United States into southeastern Canada. After being introduced in 1890, populations have established in California and along the West Coast.
Oppossums are a big pest in Santa Rosa , California.
Based on the color of the fur and the abundance of oppossums in your county ,and the dental structure , I would say that this is an oppossum.