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Kind of creature is this?

  • 04-12-2024 07:32PM
    #1
    geographica
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,500 ✭✭✭


    sorry that pics aren’t great, could it be a stoat/weasel/ferret though it’s tail looks strange, it’s near a river

    7CF64B12-3ACC-415F-870B-7C10D998F3CD.jpeg 8E3F1FB9-E775-42D1-ACA7-F9EE41985399.jpeg


Comments

  • #2
    glaswegian
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,069 ✭✭✭glaswegian


    It's an Otter.



  • #3
    geographica
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,500 ✭✭✭geographica


    or is it a cat that the camera caught at speed? 🤔



  • #4
    denismc
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 1,597 ✭✭✭denismc


    It's an Otter



  • #5
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 54,642 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    Could it be a mink?

    You could check the national biodiversity website, to see if otters are known in your area. This is the record for mink.

    https://maps.biodiversityireland.ie/Species/119514



  • #6
    geographica
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,500 ✭✭✭geographica


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122922369#Comment_122922369

    Thought that at first, is it small for an otter?



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  • #7
    Deregos.
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,370 ✭✭✭Deregos.
    Time to put childish things aside.


    It's a small otter.



  • #8
    coffee to go
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 589 ✭✭✭coffee to go


    Or a far away otter 😁

    Being serious though, unmistakably an otter - The tail profile and arched back is very distinctive. Have a hunt around near this location by the riverbank, you might be lucky to find a spraint.



  • #9
    denismc
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 1,597 ✭✭✭denismc


    Otters are low to the ground so they can appear small, but that body shape and tail look very Otter like.

    Is it far from the sea? We had a sea Otter that would follow streams upstream to appear miles from the sea



  • #10
    geographica
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,500 ✭✭✭geographica


    thanks everyone



  • #11
    geographica
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,500 ✭✭✭geographica


    no, maybe 2kms as the crow flies, plenty of tributaries that flow out to sea so



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  • #12
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 54,642 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122922486#Comment_122922486

    We've only one species of otter in Ireland - we don't have sea otters here.



  • #13
    DBB
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 9,826 Mod ✭✭✭✭DBB


    100% an otter. Always nice to see 😊



  • #14
    denismc
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 1,597 ✭✭✭denismc


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122923627#Comment_122923627

    That's interesting because most of the otters I have seen in Ireland have been in or around the sea.



  • #15
    DBB
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Paid Member Posts: 9,826 Mod ✭✭✭✭DBB


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122923783#Comment_122923783

    They are nevertheless our native species, the Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra), that just happen to live at the coast 😊

    They still need fresh water though, to wash their fur.

    The Sea Otter is from a Pacific species, and hugely bigger than our native Eurasian Otter.



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