What is this aquatic mammal?

[Porter]

Ok guys, so I've seen some beaver, seen some otter, plenty of muskrat, and a few weasels years ago. Saw some other long bodied weasel-ish looking mammal during a Yolo survey and one other time, that I forgot the name of.... a mink or something maybe, I forget what the survey people said it was. I was thinking this was a young river otter at first, but not sure... the face looks more rat-like with too much of a pointy snout, to me. and the hair doesn't look right. But, there apears to be hair on the tail which looks too be to short of a tail but otter-like in shape. Could this be a weasel of some kind or some other semi-aquatic or non-aquatic shore dweller? I walked down a hill to the waters edge to attempt a heron shot and scared this guy off the shore into his only escape route. Is this more like a gopher or rattler taking a rare swim? ...or is this just a fraggin otter ...maybe the water is just distorting features. Looks like a young beaver could be a possibility as well...


River otter by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

[JAMAUGHN]

I'm hardly an expert, or even a novice, really, but it looks kind of like an American Mink to me.

Cool find!
JimM

[Porter]

I was thinking that after I posted and googled, "mink swimming" along with beaver, weasel and otter swimming. Man there's some swimming beaver and weasel pics that look pretty damn close, but the elongated body looks minkish. The more mink pivs I look at Im thinkin mink. Weird though, because the two I saw prior to this were really dark, almost black.

[Curtis Hart]

I agree with Mink.

[Andy Avram]

Yes, it is certainly a mink. I've always thought they looked like a small otter with a less sleek hair.

[Porter]

Cool, so what makes you guys think it's not a weasel. My visual experience of this little guy is pretty much the same as yours. He jumped into the water from the shore, and immediately I have my camera up to my face looking through the eye piece trying to get a decent shot before he's gone. I got one other pic but had to delete it to free up room on my card. So, I'm exploring all possibilities. Most of the otter I've seen that I got a good look at were already submerged and usually adults. I've seen a few running on land, but not up close and the littler guys are hard to get shots of. So, I was taking in consideration that they might have different anatomical differences through sages of grow. We all can get a good idea of how old snake is by looking at the shape of the head when seeing it in a picture without knowing the size. And because it wasn't submerged before the dive, I thought, ok maybe thats why the hair doesn't look slicked back like an otter... but, I do agree. I'm down to either mink or weasel. Beaver very unlikely, but if you full zoom the front of the nose and look at where the water wave is, the snout almost looks like it isnt pointy and drops straight down flat in the front like typical beaver block head visual (young beaver?) and maybe the tail isnt going back straight being dragged behind the body...maybe a thick beaver tail at the right propeller angle pointing down and away from us giving the appearance of a ratlike tail and the water creating an illusion there as well...

Are there any distinctive traits about the ears or body/head proportions? I can't remember how long it appeared to be. Again, I was looking through the cam the whole time and I think I took this back in April... but if weasel, it would have to be an adult for sure.

Thanks for responded guys much appreciated

[Porter]

But, pretty sure there's no way it's a beaver because there seems to be a reflection of the shape of the nose in the water at the bottom of the golden wave... So maybe the shape of that knows in the reflection can determine whether or not weasel or mink... unless it is a beaver and that shape is distorted and just by coincidence resembles the actual shape of the nose the way it appears to us which is actually not how it looks outside of the water without the wave... Lol because there is possibility of that. God damn MC Escher

[Porter]

https://www.google.com/search?q=MC+Esch ... JohfBdM%3A

[Andy Avram]

You are trying too hard! There is nothing that says anything other than mink for this animal.

Shape is right, tail is right, coloration is a perfect match, habitat is correct. Your animal is textbook perfect for mink.

Weasels are much less bulky and would show white (or cream) on the jaw. Weasels also have very sleek fur.

[El Garia]

My opinion- definitely a Mink. Apparently, not a common find. They've been appearing in the Sacramento area with increased regularity, of late.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/enviro ... 23308.html

[Porter]

Mink it is cheers boys

Thanks for the Mink link So, aside from this article repeated stating the rarity of the find (in this locale) how rare is this really? What would be it's equivalent in the snake wold? Blackbelly, zonata....gopher snake lacking stripes? Do people really hunt this subspecies or just white minks? They are LC right? Is this really that much of a tasty candidate of humanoid boredom, superior dominant complex, and pocket change filler?

[El Garia]

From what I've gathered from googling, Mink are a very rare find at that locale. Seems as though Dave is among those who've spotted Mink in the past. Here's a State writeup from January: http://www.water.ca.gov/suisun/dataRepo ... W/mink.cfm
I'm certain that the folks at CDFW would be very appreciative if you shared your observation with them.
Damn cool find, Porter! … and great job in getting that shot off!

[Curtis Hart]

Mink it is cheers boys

Thanks for the Mink link So, aside from this article repeated stating the rarity of the find (in this locale) how rare is this really? What would be it's equivalent in the snake wold? Blackbelly, zonata....gopher snake lacking stripes? Do people really hunt this subspecies or just white minks? They are LC right? Is this really that much of a tasty candidate of humanoid boredom, superior dominant complex, and pocket change filler?

As far as I know, no one eats mink. They are trapped for their fur in much of their range.

Curtis

[Porter]

As far as I know, no one eats mink. They are trapped for their fur in much of their range.

Curtis

I didn't mean tasty as in you're gonna eat it. Tasty as in, people are hungry for it...ya know, the umm "editorial" tasty?

[Porter]

Ya know, like hungry for money, hungry for gold,hungry for love...hungry like the wolf?

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p ... y%20hungry

[Porter]

I live exist and flourish in an artistic realm of poetic metaphors and idioms... so, that confusion shit be happenin'

[Porter]

From what I've gathered from googling, Mink are a very rare find at that locale. Seems as though Dave is among those who've spotted Mink in the past. Here's a State writeup from January: http://www.water.ca.gov/suisun/dataRepo ... W/mink.cfm
I'm certain that the folks at CDFW would be very appreciative if you shared your observation with them.
Damn cool find, Porter! … and great job in getting that shot off!

Cool. Thanks Gary. I was woth Daves Group when I saw my second one which looks a lot darker from my memory real dark brown compared to this one. How do I report it to the Fish and Game? Can someone do it for me?

I found it where Elliot and Dave found their slender salamander or at least where I think they found it which I'm pretty sure it's right up the road from there even though neither one of them told me...

[Porter]

I found it right where the creek crosses the road down the street from where I submitted the Yolo County slender salamander find this year. I went ahead and went out there and got one because I read Dave and Elliot talking about it. So I went ahead and did it for them. The Mink was found within a quarter-mile from there in the creek

[craigb]

I don't know what part of the country this is....
But I have seen Nutria in the South, and I was confused trying to ID them.

But the head doesn't look like Nutria. I think you are right with Mink.

craig