At about 10:30 this evening, walking home from returning the rented DVDs, I spotted what I thought was a big grey cat slinking up the stairs at the apartment building next to ours.
Only it wasn’t a cat at all. But I don’t know what it was. I’ve been searching on the ‘net to no avail. It’s not a weasel/stoat, tanuki, raccoon, or ferret, as far as I can tell. It might have been a Japanese badger, but from the photos I’ve found, the tail is different…can anyone identify this animal? I didn’t have my camera with me (drat!) but here’s a description:
length: approx 1 meter (including tail)
legs: short, black, no defined joints or hips
tail: pretty bushy, grey with black at end. length is about as long as the body
fur: sort of fluffy, grey/brown with black legs, tail end. lighter markings on ears and top of head
ears: small, pointy, dark
head: about as wide as body, triangular, whitish stripe down the middle towards nose
What the heck is a wild animal doing in my paved-over neighborhood??
Posted by kuri at December 02, 2002 12:29 AMThat pointy nose with the stripe makes it sound like a badger to me! I don’t know about Japanese badgers though.
I like your title here - “Mystery Weasel.” It’s fun to say. Heehee!
Posted by: Jennifer on December 2, 2002 11:06 PMI think it sounds like a game show!
Posted by: kuri on December 2, 2002 11:22 PMHi! I just got linked to your site, so I thought I’d take a peek. I have a thought on your mystery weasel. Have you ever heard of an animal called a nutria? I heard they are some resident rodents in Tokyo, but they are rather elusive, not usually seen in the day. Maybe you can check the net to compare with what you saw!
Posted by: Abby on December 11, 2002 01:39 PM