# What IS this animal?



## Roski (Apr 7, 2010)

http://www.weirdasianews.com/2010/04/06/unknown-beast-raids-chicken-coop/

Deemed the Chinese Chupacabra. I'm stumped. Hybrid? Mutant? Nothing extraordinary with a bad case of fur mites? I'm very curious, what's your opinion?


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## flamesbane (Apr 7, 2010)

Looks like something with a bad case of mites, that could even explain the round ears (chewed up by mites)...


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## Julia (Apr 7, 2010)

Here's an article about a similar discovery.

http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=12063067

Looks like the animals have some sort of skin disease.  Mange, maybe.


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## PrimalTaunt (Apr 7, 2010)

I want to say raccoon but the neck looks longer than the furry version.


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## ametan (Apr 7, 2010)

Looks like a possum to me.


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## Aurelia (Apr 7, 2010)

ametan said:


> Looks like a possum to me.


Yep, right down to the nose, feet, and prehensile tail.


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## PrimalTaunt (Apr 7, 2010)

Shoot.  Didn't scroll down to the second picture so I didn't see the tail.


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## Blonc (Apr 7, 2010)

I'll put in a vote for a Binturong with scabies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binturong


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## DrAce (Apr 7, 2010)

Could it be the Nature Boy?


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## funguy@heart (Apr 7, 2010)

I agree with Blonc.  It looks like a Binturong with Mange.


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## funguy@heart (Apr 7, 2010)

Never mind their is no way its a Binturong. The face isn't even close maybe a large possum with mange.


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## stevetastic (Apr 7, 2010)

I vote for some kind of civet.


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## Travis K (Apr 7, 2010)

nice, but I really liked this one.

http://www.weirdasianews.com/2009/09/28/snake-foot-discovered-china/


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## Anastasia (Apr 7, 2010)

DrAce said:


> Could it be the Nature Boy?


giggled for few minutes here, it could be, it could be, hahaha
didn see him posted for few days, that must be the reason, caged, hehehe


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## aracnophiliac (Apr 7, 2010)

Most denfinatly!



drace said:


> could it be the nature boy?


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## skips (Apr 7, 2010)

It's hard to imagine what a binturong would look like without fur.  Is it long enough to be a civet?  Looks like a hairless fossa to me, or a coati, though both are impossible unless someone had an odd pet.  It just doesn't look like it has a narrow enough mouth to be an opossum.  I have friend that loves identifying hairless exotic animals though.  I want to see what he thinks.  My vote is red panda because it just looks like a procyonid to me, though if the tail was prehensile that wouldnt fit.


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## Exo (Apr 7, 2010)

It's some Chinese critter with mange.


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## Zoltan (Apr 7, 2010)

It's beautiful!


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## Roski (Apr 7, 2010)

skips said:


> I have friend that loves identifying hairless exotic animals though.  I want to see what he thinks.


Interesting hobby!  Please do!


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## Shell (Apr 7, 2010)

Exo said:


> It's some Chinese critter with mange.


+1

 I don't know what it is, but it definately has mange!!


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## gambite (Apr 7, 2010)

You guys are joking, right? Its obviously a sick dog.


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## Roski (Apr 7, 2010)

I ruled out dog because 
1) of the way it is sitting/carrying itself,
2) of its tail, and 
3) of the article's claim that it has five toes on each foot. 

It's pretty chewed up, that's for sure.


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## hassman789 (Apr 7, 2010)

*hyena?*

it kinda looks like a hyena with mites. but i dont know alot. it just looks like that to me:? it seems to have round ears like a hyena. and hyenas look like dogs


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## Endagr8 (Apr 7, 2010)

ametan said:


> Looks like a possum to me.





Aurelia said:


> Yep, right down to the nose, feet, and prehensile tail.





funguy@heart said:


> Never mind their is no way its a Binturong. The face isn't even close maybe a large possum with mange.


I'm almost positive that it is NOT a possum.


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## snappleWhiteTea (Apr 7, 2010)

come on you guys.










chupacabra.


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## pitbulllady (Apr 7, 2010)

It's some type of Civet, either an Asian Palm Civet or a Common Civet.  Both are common in that part of China, and both are frequently on the menu of human diners.  The tail, the feet, the size, the shape of the head-all point to a Civet. There are no possums or other marsupials in China.  It's a Civet with a really bad case of mange.

Hyenas, by the way, are BIG animals.  An adult Spotted Hyena is the size of a large St. Bernard or English Mastiff, and I've actually petted one before.  The Striped and Brown Hyenas, while smaller, are still roughly the size of a German Shepherd, so the size alone would rule out a Hyena of any sort.

pitbulllady


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## whitewolf (Apr 7, 2010)

I was trying to think of that (Cevet) but couldn't remember what the name of it was. I can't see the ears good in just a quick search but the cevets ears appear to look almost cat like. The unknown in the picture has almost mouse like ears I'm gonna shoot for Fossa. http://travel.mongabay.com/madagascar/images/madagascar_1608.html even better link http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-fossa.html


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## RoachGirlRen (Apr 7, 2010)

If fossa were found in Asia rather than Madagascar it might be reasonable. Personally I'm with the Civet vote as well. Civets DO have rounded ears, and the ears would probably be further rounded and enlarged by vascular damage from itching; auricular hematomas are incredibly abundant in animals with mange.


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## whitewolf (Apr 7, 2010)

RoachGirlRen said:


> If fossa were found in Asia rather than Madagascar it might be reasonable. Personally I'm with the Civet vote as well. Civets DO have rounded ears, and the ears would probably be further rounded and enlarged by vascular damage from itching; auricular hematomas are incredibly abundant in animals with mange.


Yeah ok I see it now closest I could get on it's ears were sketches at first and some of the drawings have the ears looking like a fence fox.  You can see it better here http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/carnivores/civet_asian_palm.html Info is prob junk but much better photo. LOL Was looking at the wrong civets.


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## skips (Apr 7, 2010)

Roski said:


> Interesting hobby!  Please do!


You're telling me.  He can also name the genus species name of just about any ungulate on earth and most commonly known mammals.  He is a zookeeper though.  He says civet.  He thought palm civet but it doesnt look that small.  Either way, civet.


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## Kirsten (Apr 7, 2010)

Whatever it is,I really feel for it.  Cold;dirty;hungry;ill,and a whole lot of humans who think it is just hideous.


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## ZergFront (Apr 8, 2010)

I think it may be a civet as well. Another guess I have would be a raccoon dog (no, not a raccoon/dog hybrid that's not possible); Nyctereutes procyonoides. They're raised for their fur in China. Maybe one got loose.

http://www.lost-in-france.com/images/stories/wildlife/raccoon-dog.jpg


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## pouchedrat (Apr 8, 2010)

I'm going to guess it's a tanuki.

...because tanuki are adorable with hair.... <3


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## funguy@heart (Apr 8, 2010)

Call me crazy, but it looks like a Tazmanian Tiger without hair. I have gone Google crazy looking for carnivores, cats, dogs, possums and all other suggestions but nothing matches. They have similar facial structure and the same tail. I know they are supposed to be extinct and didn't live their but looks so close. I hope that's what it is because they were awesome animals. There is a guy that has been trying to bring them back from DNA of saved specimens. He has been at it for over 10 years.


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## pitbulllady (Apr 8, 2010)

funguy@heart said:


> Call me crazy, but it looks like a Tazmanian Tiger without hair. I have gone Google crazy looking for carnivores, cats, dogs, possums and all other suggestions but nothing matches. They have similar facial structure and the same tail. I know they are supposed to be extinct and didn't live their but looks so close. I hope that's what it is because they were awesome animals. There is a guy that has been trying to bring them back from DNA of saved specimens. He has been at it for over 10 years.


Neither Tazmanian Tigers nor Tanukis can curl their tails around them in that cat-like manner that this animal is seen doing.  Tazzie Tigers are very stiff and rigid, like that of their Kangaroo cousins.  Plus, they aren't found in China.  

It's amazing how many people fail to recognize even common, ordinary mammals without their familiar coats of fur.  We had a huge media flap over the infamous "Montauk Monsters" that washed up on a New York beach, because people just couldn't recognize a raccoon with no fur.  Almost every day someone claims to have spotted or killed a "Chupacabra" down in TX or other Southwestern state because bald, mange-ridden coyotes don't look like healthy, furry coyotes, and because people would rather believe in something "alien" or "monstrous"  than to accept the most-logical, simplest explanations of native animals with a bad case of mange.

pitbulllady


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## funguy@heart (Apr 9, 2010)

Why so serious? This is a thread about taking a guess, who are you to judge. Its obvious the poor animal has mange which I stated on an earlier guess. Some people need to pull the stick out their ass.


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## Roski (Apr 9, 2010)

No fighting, now, please . I don't think pitbulllady was jumping on you for making your guess. Naked mammals, whenever photographed, are often startling to the general public and lead to "slow news day" Chupacabra stories (raccoons, sloths, civets). I have to agree, they really do nothing for what my own brain is used to making sense of. 

...Though they can't be all that uncommon, to merit some very interesting hobbies surrounding such (right, skips? ).


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## xhexdx (Apr 9, 2010)

funguy@heart said:


> Some people need to pull the stick out their ass.


Let's start with you? 

Civet, btw.


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## pitbulllady (Apr 9, 2010)

xhexdx said:


> Let's start with you?
> 
> Civet, btw.


Thank you, xhexdx!  
This same animal has been discussed to pieces on two Cryptozoology sites, where there are several actual Biologists including myself(yes, I have a dreaded Biology degree as well as quite a bit hands-on experience with many "exotic" animals)have concluded it's a Civet, as well.  The simplest and most-logical explanations are almost always the correct ones.  When a hairless or diseased specimen of animal, or a rotting carcass, if found, it simply makes more sense to first look at the animals that are native to that area that would be the most-likely "suspects" rather than to assume it must be something from far, far away or some unknown species.  I've actually handled an African Civet, and had a Binturong(which is a type of Civet, albeit a strange one)sitting on my shoulders with its tail wrapped around my face, so I've seen first-hand how their paws, faces and catty tails look, although they do look a lot better without the mange.

pitbulllady


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## skips (Apr 9, 2010)

pitbulllady said:


> Thank you, xhexdx!
> This same animal has been discussed to pieces on two Cryptozoology sites, where there are several actual Biologists including myself(yes, I have a dreaded Biology degree as well as quite a bit hands-on experience with many "exotic" animals)have concluded it's a Civet, as well.  The simplest and most-logical explanations are almost always the correct ones.  When a hairless or diseased specimen of animal, or a rotting carcass, if found, it simply makes more sense to first look at the animals that are native to that area that would be the most-likely "suspects" rather than to assume it must be something from far, far away or some unknown species.  I've actually handled an African Civet, and had a Binturong(which is a type of Civet, albeit a strange one)sitting on my shoulders with its tail wrapped around my face, so I've seen first-hand how their paws, faces and catty tails look, although they do look a lot better without the mange.
> 
> pitbulllady


What may I ask are you doing with your Bachelors, masters, or PhD that you're handling binturong and civets?



Roski said:


> ...Though they can't be all that uncommon, to merit some very interesting hobbies surrounding such (right, skips? ).


Just thought i'd add, he brought home two dead yellow jackets yesterday and dissected them for fun under his microscope, then mounted a few mites he found on a slide for later...again, for fun.  He's an interesting guy.


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## Roski (Apr 9, 2010)

Oh dear-  I had no intention of making a sensationalized, redundant post- I was just curious as to the identity of this mite-ridden beast. Well, that, and I thought it was interesting. Since the concensus fell on civet about a page ago (stevetastic got it first), I suppose this is where I thank everyone for playing . So, thank you! There were many interesting (and exotic) guesses.



skips said:


> Just thought i'd add, he brought home two dead yellow jackets yesterday and dissected them for fun under his microscope, then mounted a few mites he found on a slide for later...again, for fun.  He's an interesting guy.


Actually, he sounds like a ton of fun.


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## stevetastic (Apr 9, 2010)

skips said:


> What may I ask are you doing with your Bachelors, masters, or PhD that you're handling binturong and civets?


Probably have an great time is what!  Binturong are freakin awesome.  i'm very jealous.  Binturong are on my top 5 favorite animals list.



Roski said:


> Since the concensus fell on civet about a page ago (stevetastic got it first), I suppose this is where I thank everyone for playing .


and my prize would be...


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## Roski (Apr 9, 2010)

pitbulllady said:


> The simplest and most-logical explanations are almost always the correct ones.


Agreed. 



stevetastic said:


> and my prize would be...


My unrelenting admiration?


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## Teal (Apr 9, 2010)

ksmith999 said:


> Whatever it is,I really feel for it.  Cold;dirty;hungry;ill,and a whole lot of humans who think it is just hideous.


*

This is my stance as well  Poor thing needs some help, not to be stuck in a tiny cage with people calling it a fabled beast!

and I really liked the snake with a foot link. *


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## Tim Benzedrine (Apr 9, 2010)

pitbulllady said:


> The simplest and most-logical explanations are almost always the correct ones.
> pitbulllady


True. And ironically, in this particular case we're applying Occam's Razor to something that has no hair!


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## pitbulllady (Apr 9, 2010)

skips said:


> What may I ask are you doing with your Bachelors, masters, or PhD that you're handling binturong and civets?
> 
> 
> 
> Just thought i'd add, he brought home two dead yellow jackets yesterday and dissected them for fun under his microscope, then mounted a few mites he found on a slide for later...again, for fun.  He's an interesting guy.


Sure, Skips, although my Biology degree actually didn't have anything to do with me handling Binturongs and Civets.  I had a dear friend who lived in Georgia(who is now deceased)who did exotic animal rescue.  She had a couple of African Civets and a Binturong that had been taken from an importer's business after the guy unexpectedly died of a heart attack, leaving behind a lot of animals that he'd gotten in for zoos and private collectors.  She also got a Wolverine from the same place that was actually a remarkably gentle, even silly animal(think giant ferret on steroids) which like the Civets would have been a pretty good pet if he didn't stink so bad.  Civets are a lot like cats, very clean and easy to litter box train, but they smell worse than a skunk!  They even "meow" a lot like a cat.

pitbulllady


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## cacoseraph (Apr 9, 2010)

Tim Benzedrine said:


> True. And ironically, in this particular case we're applying Occam's Razor to something that has no hair!


tim wins the prize!  i mean... an occam JOKE!?  heck yeah!


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## dirty munky (Apr 9, 2010)

My mother in-law


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## deathwing (Apr 11, 2010)

Civiet... And they also eat that...


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## Tim Benzedrine (Apr 11, 2010)

cacoseraph said:


> tim wins the prize!  i mean... an occam JOKE!?  heck yeah!


Whew! I was afraid nobody would catch that one! Glad ya got a chuckle from it, cas. It isn't every day a person gets set up to make an obscure gag like that one.


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## cacoseraph (Apr 11, 2010)

no... when you get the setup you got to grab it and RUN!


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## skips (Apr 13, 2010)

pitbulllady said:


> Sure, Skips, although my Biology degree actually didn't have anything to do with me handling Binturongs and Civets.  I had a dear friend who lived in Georgia(who is now deceased)who did exotic animal rescue.  She had a couple of African Civets and a Binturong that had been taken from an importer's business after the guy unexpectedly died of a heart attack, leaving behind a lot of animals that he'd gotten in for zoos and private collectors.  She also got a Wolverine from the same place that was actually a remarkably gentle, even silly animal(think giant ferret on steroids) which like the Civets would have been a pretty good pet if he didn't stink so bad.  Civets are a lot like cats, very clean and easy to litter box train, but they smell worse than a skunk!  They even "meow" a lot like a cat.
> 
> pitbulllady


Sounds like a great job.


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