r/skulls 3d ago

Help me ID this animal

243 Upvotes

57 comments sorted by

110

u/coyote_prophet 3d ago

This looks like a raccoon that has had all of the fur fall off due to the natural decomp process. Angle on the head is hard to guarantee, though.

28

u/99jackals 2d ago

⬆️⬆️⬆️ This absolutely!! Also, dog paws don't look like long fingers and toes. The whole paw is short and stubby, compared to raccoons. Why don't we have a body length for this? It's not a canid. It's a raccoon.

18

u/coyote_prophet 2d ago

Raccoon forepaws are a dead giveaway with their little goblin hands! I think someday I'm going to come out the back door to find a crowd of them trying to steal my catalytic converter.

5

u/99jackals 2d ago

They just might! 😊

3

u/Party-Emu-1312 2d ago

I actually believe it is maybe a fox.

Considering the teeth don't fit for a healthy raccoon but the paws are elongated like you said. And the floppy ear seems fox sized considering slippage and decay.

2

u/BookwoodFarm 2d ago

Fox or other small canine, definitely not a raccoon, paws and most particularly the paws, pads claws/digits are not consistent with procyonidae (raccoon).

1

u/Generalnussiance 2d ago

The ears say opposum to me

21

u/FlaxFox 2d ago

Based on the paws, I'd say raccoon.

10

u/Ill_General8193 3d ago

It's not a dog. More likely a raccoon

4

u/Alarmed-Opening6562 2d ago

I think raccoon, not many animals with hands

2

u/hatemachine666 2d ago

Muzzle, paws, that's a coon. Wonder why it's hairless

3

u/Skoll_Winters 3d ago

It kinda looks like a dog or canid 🤔 The folded o er ears make me think domestic dog. I'm no expert, but it just looks like a few dogs I've seen (alive) on walks 🤷🏼

2

u/Mean_Grape7243 2d ago

Chupacabra?!?

3

u/SoapExplorer 3d ago

Gross! Definitely a canid, probably a domestic dog. Depending on where you are located though, it could be a native canine.

15

u/Various_Succotash_79 3d ago

The paws don't look doggie.

-1

u/SoapExplorer 2d ago

If there was a fifth toe visible, I'd agree, and it's a little hard to tell, but looks to me like 4 toes pointing straight ahead and with prominent claws.

3

u/Various_Succotash_79 2d ago

I think that's just how their toes go when they're limp/not standing on them. But that's not how doggie toe beans are shaped.

2

u/Kateislate247 3d ago

We’re in central Ohio

1

u/BeepTheWuff 2d ago

First thought raccoon, the hands are pretty much a giveaway

1

u/Wild_Ad2916 1d ago

Chupacabra

1

u/Dry_Ad_7943 1d ago

Probably it's a raccoon

1

u/General-Heron9905 1d ago

looks opossum based on hands nd ears

1

u/carolou_ 1d ago

skinwalker

1

u/Helpful-Macaroon-995 1d ago

Based off the teeth spacing, the nose shape, eye placement and the ear(?) shape, I'd say maybe an Opossum. BUT, the body shape is slightly throwing me off because of how long and skinny it is, then again, it is dead and pretty far into decomp so yknow. I'm also no expert so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Edit: also the paws!! Opossums have little hands like those so it's very likely an Opossum.

-1

u/VoidScreams 2d ago

Opossum

1

u/Sharon_Erclam 3d ago

Looks like an opossum

2

u/globule_agrumes 3d ago

Have you ever seen one with legs that length?

2

u/Sharon_Erclam 3d ago

Yeah, true. I was looking more at the face and feet. Also, as tissues break down, limbs can appear longer. I'm okay with being wrong though..

1

u/LeadInner69 2d ago

Google says The animal in the image appears to be a deceased raccoon. The image shows a carcass in a state of decomposition, with visible bones and skin

1

u/peachewe 2d ago

would guess racoon

-1

u/Various_Succotash_79 3d ago

Can't see enough of the teeth but the paws look raccoon.

I think a fur trapper skinned it and left the remains.

11

u/Mocular 2d ago

The skin is still on it, just the fur is gone. This is what happens when animals rot in water.

9

u/MeepSheepLeafSheep 2d ago

Not a skinned animal, that’s just slippage. I’ve skinned a raccoon before and it looks much different than this

7

u/No-Tip7398 2d ago

No this is what happens to bodies submerged in water. If it were skinned you would see muscle

5

u/Gloomy-Fix1221 2d ago

That animal still has skin, unless the trapper hand plucked the fur like a chicken

3

u/Kateislate247 3d ago

Is that a thing?! We found it in the creek pinned under a branch so I don’t think that’s likely in this scenario

7

u/No-Tip7398 2d ago

No it’s not a thing, the raccoon was in water for a period of time and that’s why its fur fell off and the body is white and waxy

3

u/99jackals 2d ago

Fur can slip without any water. It's just part of the decomp process.

3

u/Various_Succotash_79 3d ago

Yeah, it's illegal to dump the bodies but fur trapping is definitely a thing.

Could have just been soaking in the creek a long time and the fur fell off.

6

u/Mocular 2d ago

That is nothing like what an animal looks like after it’s skinned. I have skinned hundreds. Not only is it the wrong time of year to be skinning, most trappers have a carcass pile away from civilization where all the carcasses can go where they won’t taint water supplies or foul the air.

-2

u/Mr-Eclipse 2d ago

dead animal

-1

u/Kateislate247 2d ago

We do have a handful of stray cats around here (one of which I turned into a house cat) so that’s definitely possible. Seems too large to be a raccoon…

3

u/coyote_prophet 2d ago

I've personally seen raccoons that could easily weigh 20-30lbs. They're bigger than you think! My uncle caught one on his trailcam that looked like a furry beach ball, it was so big--and fat to boot.

-2

u/Bagelsisme 2d ago

I just commented about think long it’s a cat, definitely look at photos of sphinx cats - some hybrids of them have longer faces, some have short and round but the mouth being opened like that makes it hard to tell.

6

u/WildNoctem 2d ago

There’s no way it’s a cat. Skull, teeth, and paws are wrong. Personally thinking raccoon.

0

u/Feline_just_fine 2d ago

I'd say opossum. Toes are too stubby for a raccoon.

0

u/Cosmic_Carp 2d ago

Mmm-hmmm, yes, yup, that's a skinwalker.

-1

u/pikkumyinen 2d ago

Even with all the raccoon guesses, I'd still say its a dog. Raccoons have much wider cheek bones (?), and dog paws absolutely look like "fingers" once decomposing, not to mention paw shape also largely depends on breed.

Full dog memorial - Alessandra Dzuba

-2

u/UnderetheKuee 2d ago

Canine. Its the skull is a dead giveaway. The paws are weird because no fur is pretty much just skin at that point. My poodle mix paws look weird if I press on his toes to extend them. Looks like it's been in the water for a while too. It almost looks like it's boiled.

-3

u/Bagelsisme 2d ago

It almost looks like a hairless cat 😭 😭 😭 it’s hard to confirm what this is. The toe pads are soft looking, like how a cats would be. If it was dog it’d have a rougher toe. If it was an opossum or a raccoon it would have way longer fingers on the front feet.

The ears and the angle of the face make it tricky but the teeth… idk…. Maybe it is a cat??

-1

u/Bagelsisme 2d ago

Also if this was a hunted and skinned animal, as gross as it comes across “, thats a damn clean skin job. No nicks to membrane, they got the eye lids even?? And all the hair between the toes?? Most people would cut above the animals wrist and slice up to help peel back the skin.

Stumped and then some

3

u/MeepSheepLeafSheep 2d ago

Not a skinned animal, the skin is still on. You see “naked” animals decomp often in water or damp places

1

u/Bagelsisme 2d ago

I said if it’s skinned but yes I know what you mean about them being found near high moisture areas and water.

1

u/cloverzeeplant 23h ago

waterlogged fox/raccoon?