Critter
March 3, 2010 | Iowa
We have a critter living in our barn. I tweeted about it on Sunday, wondering what kind of critter it could be. I got lots of ideas from Twitter and Facebook: ermine, weasel, mink, opossum, Edgar Winter, cat. I’ve got some pictures. It was dark, and the critter was fast, but it looks like it’s all white with a black tip on its tail. Anyway … it’s not easy to see much in the pictures … just look for the green demon eyes. Any ideas?
Posted by Becky @ 6:00 am
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:05 am
Except for it’s odd shaped head, it looks a lot like a cat – a short legged one. (We had a short legged cat once.) But I don’t think it is a cat.
I’ll send this to our daughter, Emily. She’s an animal expert and an expert researcher. Maybe she can help find the answer.
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:44 am
Baby albino squirrel?
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:45 am
It must be nocturnal. I just went out there with the camera & banged around & made noise. Didn’t see a thing. Which means my husband wins the job as photographer because I’m not going out there at night. Gah. He thinks it’s made a home in the materials behind the big sheet of pressed wood.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:05 am
I think it’s an ermine, although it looks kind of ferret-like.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:28 am
My husband says it moves like a ferret, hunched back & all.
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Is your farm located over an old toxic waste site? It looks like a mutant albino squirrel.
Ah, just kidding!
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Yeah, makes you wonder, huh? ;)
March 6th, 2010 at 11:46 am
Definitely a short-tailed weasel, also known as an ermine or stoat. In winter they are white with only a black tip on the tail (in summer, brown above with white below). They’re relatively common but seldom seen, so you were very lucky to catch a glimpse of him!
March 6th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Thanks for helping solve the mystery! I’ve got a couple other friends who say it’s an ermine / weasel. Now I feel lucky to have pictures. :)
I’m still curious if it has babies in the barn or if it’s just snacking on mice.
March 6th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Ermine was my first guess, too. They are musky and eat a lot. If he is making too much trouble, get a trap at the feed store and make a fur stole out of him! My grandmother’s friend used to raise ermine and mink for fur. People say her old place still lingers of their musk 20 years later.
March 30th, 2010 at 6:00 am
[…] the critter in our barn, the one that turned out to be an ermine? Yeah, it didn’t make it. I was surprised at how […]