Reader Muffy sent in this photo showing the tracks of animal that she disturbed while cross-country skiing. Your job is to guess the type of animal AND the species. Muffy will reveal it it the comments towards the end of the day, so put up your guesses now:
Homo sapiens
Some sort of Pinniped humping along
That would be a surprising encounter on a cross-country skiing route!
Snow owl catching a mouse and then taking off?
I think this is likely
Definitely a bird struggling to take flight!
It’s very strange but I guess, like BT above, that they’re wing-beat marks from… a bird. (I am unable to be more specific.)
muskrat = name is Fred
‘Tis a bird
I have little doubt
But the type
I can’t figure out
Burma Shave
Penguin?
Ooo Barred Owl, Strix varia.
Final answer.
Snow hippo. Definitely. e.g. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/574560864934854270/
seal tracks
Owl. I don’t know the species so I’ll say Snowy Owl.
I’m going with a hawk flapping its wings, perhaps after catching or attempting to catch a small prey animal.
My runner up guess is a stegosaurus searching for his missing thagomizer.
Had to look that one up.
With most of the others about a bird taking off.
My best guess is musk ox.
Ruffed grouse?
No idea, but the “bird taking off” theory above sounds plausible.
Giant caterpillar?
I was going to say a caterpillar. . . tractor.
Seasonally confused snapping turtle
(Chelydra serpentina)
A yeti. You can see where the yeti started to sprint when it saw Muffy. This should be reported to the authorities because it is a rare find.
Most definitely a Snuffleupagus!
Snow goose (Anser caerulescens) taking off maybe?
A unicycle made with the tire from a medium sized tractor…
A walking rib cage.
bald eagle
Muskrat
Snowmobile driven by a hooman.
I’ve had so much fun reading the answers today! Some of which were really funny, and some close to being correct, but I’m quite certain it was a female ring-necked pheasant — doesn’t have the distinctive coloration of the male but does have the body shape, including a tail that’s quite long and was, as you can see, dragging in the snow on take-off. The odd thing was, she’d completely buried herself in the snow and I didn’t see any part of her until I was right upon her, at which point she emerged quite suddenly. I don’t know why she was buried but might’ve been insulation (it was well below zero), or she might’ve been digging to the ground for seeds.
Thanks, Muffy – that made for an intriguing and entertaining thread!
Thanks Jez 🙂
Yeah, some of the comments were hilarious. Lots of correct guesses as far as a bird taking off, but no “pheasant.” I doubt she was foraging for seeds, it was for insulation + camouflage, I imagine. It is strange how snow has insulative properties.
Great idea. I am going to patent a hut made out of snow for use in arctic conditions. I’m sure there’s no prior art.
Dry fluffy snow traps air.
Wet slushy snow? No insulative properties