Actually it's an American mink that died floating with the head and feet below water long enough to strip the fur. That's not news, and it's pretty pathetic that it even was reported. It's a common native species, and calling something a little over 20 cm "big" is also a ridiculous overstatement. Then again, people made a fabulous monster out of a dead raccoon (the so-called Montauk Monster), so if the local natives want to be freaked out by a dead mink I suppose it's their business. Personally I think people need to spend more time outside, and maybe visit the zoo.
Thanks for the ID. I'll bet it took you all of...one minute? Maybe less? I love how it looks like nobody else even took a few minutes to try to identify the thing before reporting it in the paper.
To be fair they don't actually call 20 cm "big" but their wording tries to suggest that it is...you know, until someone takes two seconds to think about how the creature is actually smaller than a school ruler. ONOEZ IT WILL EAT US ALL WITH ITS GARGOYLE FACE
The poor thing, being called "strange and ugly"! Mean people. :(
Somewhat less than a minute. :D And honestly I think they have the size wrong too. While the wild ones are smaller than the domestic, 20 cm is small even for a small female. It's the wrong time of year for it to be a dispersing sub-adult, too, so it has to be an adult unless it was an escapee from a fur farm.
I'm a little puzzled by the local native population just accepting that it's something weird, unless they're looking for something to rook the tourists with. It's not as if they're unfamiliar with mink -- the species is distributed throughout Canada except in the extreme north, and through the entire eastern U.S. as far as Texas. Granted, they're becoming less common due to development wiping out their habitat and prey, but where the do persist they tend not to be shy of people. I've literally walked along a local berm and watched four young mink playing not more than a meter from me. The would stop and eye me every so often, but they didn't try to run away.
I had caught myself on the "big" thing, too. They don't state it, but they clearly imply it, so unless someone stops to think about the actual size it does make the "creature" seem larger than it actually is.
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Date: 2010-05-23 03:35 am (UTC)http://lauriekendrick.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/badger2.jpg
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Date: 2010-05-23 03:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-05-23 05:04 am (UTC)Actually it's an American mink that died floating with the head and feet below water long enough to strip the fur. That's not news, and it's pretty pathetic that it even was reported. It's a common native species, and calling something a little over 20 cm "big" is also a ridiculous overstatement. Then again, people made a fabulous monster out of a dead raccoon (the so-called Montauk Monster), so if the local natives want to be freaked out by a dead mink I suppose it's their business. Personally I think people need to spend more time outside, and maybe visit the zoo.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-05-23 05:25 am (UTC)To be fair they don't actually call 20 cm "big" but their wording tries to suggest that it is...you know, until someone takes two seconds to think about how the creature is actually smaller than a school ruler. ONOEZ IT WILL EAT US ALL WITH ITS GARGOYLE FACE
The poor thing, being called "strange and ugly"! Mean people. :(
(no subject)
Date: 2010-05-23 05:41 am (UTC)I'm a little puzzled by the local native population just accepting that it's something weird, unless they're looking for something to rook the tourists with. It's not as if they're unfamiliar with mink -- the species is distributed throughout Canada except in the extreme north, and through the entire eastern U.S. as far as Texas. Granted, they're becoming less common due to development wiping out their habitat and prey, but where the do persist they tend not to be shy of people. I've literally walked along a local berm and watched four young mink playing not more than a meter from me. The would stop and eye me every so often, but they didn't try to run away.
I had caught myself on the "big" thing, too. They don't state it, but they clearly imply it, so unless someone stops to think about the actual size it does make the "creature" seem larger than it actually is.