Strange Cat-Like Animal

I came across this picture a few weeks ago (ignore the Chupacabra label )



I showed it to my brother, who said it was some kind of cat that he's seen before. Checking out Wikipedia's list of felines, going down the list of species (although I might have missed some), the closest I found was the Caracal, which would place the picture in the Serengeti.

The source website says, about the supposed picture taker:

Driving to work she said she would see these creatures in yards and fields. She believes she personally witnessed 5 separate chupacabres. Not all at once, but from the different markings she knew she was seeing more than one. “They looked like a grey hound dog,” Ann said, “but it wasn’t a dog. It wasn’t like anything I have ever seen - and it hopped.”

Does anyone have any idea what the animal in question could be? (If, in fact, it's a real picture)

On a random note, I find the animal's face rather... disturbing, for reasons I can't quite rationalise.


-Fox (with mange)

[snopes]

Fox. Mange. Yawn.

[Spookshow Baby]

looks like a hairless sphinx to me

I think it looks like a greyhound looking forward. They have a very slender face, a bit cat-like when seen from the front. The photo seems rather blown up, so maybe the gritty resolution makes the face look more distorted.

[finger stutters]

I think its half kangaroo and half cat.

Originally Posted by finger stutters

I think its half kangaroo and half cat.

That was my first thought. Although, I think maybe the body is that of a wallabie with the head of a cat pasted on.

Originally Posted by Caduceus Fox

On a random note, I find the animal's face rather... disturbing, for reasons I can't quite rationalise.

I think it's the Hitler moustache that does it.

Originally Posted by Spookshow Baby

looks like a hairless sphinx to me

I thought the same, the only thing that makes me think, not a sphynx, is the neck looks way too long.

One of the larger hairless dog breeds with distortion caused by the angle maybe?

Peruvian Hairless Dog?

[Eddylizard]

Apologies in advance to Caduceus Fox who asked us to ignore the Chucacabras reference, but looking at the link, isn't a bit extraordinary than Ann the OBGYN nurse managed to spot at least five different Chucacabras's on her routine drive to work, and take 50+ photos, when everyone else who has been actively seeking one has come up with absolutely nothing?

[Izzy Quigley]

Chupacabras, nothing. That's a kneazle.

On a less silly note, what's up with the animal's hind legs? They seem to be atrophied or deformed somehow. Of course, it's hard to tell with the blurriness.

looks to me like a female mexican hairless dog. Is that a nipple sticking out? Could be baggy stomached from being bred.

[OmmeLise]

Count me in on the hairless dog theori. I think it's distortion and maybe the dog squinting a bit that makes it look strange. To me it just looks like a skinny dog who has recently given birth.

Here's a picture for comparison:


They come in many sizes from 10 pounds/4 kg to 50 pounds/20 kg and the correct name for the mexican type is Xoloitzcuintli. Just a little bonus info. I know since i am considering getting one of these beauties for myself

OmmeLise

[Morrigan]

Some type of hairless dog.

Not a greyhound, Ditte. Ears are all wrong.

Morrigan

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Originally Posted by Izzy Quigley

Chupacabras, nothing. That's a kneazle.

Kneazles have big brushy tails, don't they?

Instead of a sphinx, it could be a peterbald (which I just found while looking for a sphinx breed standard). Look at the neck on this baby.

Originally Posted by Morrigan

Not a greyhound, Ditte. Ears are all wrong.

Ah, I knew there were greyhound experts on this board - I stand corrected!

[Cervus]

Checking out Wikipedia's list of felines, going down the list of species (although I might have missed some), the closest I found was the Caracal, which would place the picture in the Serengeti.

As a former zookeeper, I can assure you it is definitely not a caracal.

I'm going to vote "fox with mange" on this one despite the cliche. For those who are interested, here is a real fox with mange. Red foxes are more prone to it and grey foxes rarely seem to get it. It's quite possible that this is a mixed-breed dog (it's definitely not any registered breed) that appears cat-like because of the angle of the photo. But it's just not completely dog-like and not completely cat-like, which - assuming this picture is indeed from the southern U.S. - leaves only the fox.

If you look at the other picture on the source page, it looks even more cat-like -- and not even particularly hairless. And rather badly shopped to resemble an "infrared" picture... which I find difficult to believe, because if the infrared photography turned the grass red... why did it leave the ferns green LOL.

And in the anecdote area... we had a cat about 15 years ago (her name was Phazer) who conformationally rather resembled this creature... we used to refer to her as The Cat Who Was Also A Ferret. I'll see if I can find a picture of her standing up, but I think the only ones I have are curled into a ball or otherwise asleep.

[Spam & Cookies-mmm]

Originally Posted by Lady Neeva

And rather badly shopped to resemble an "infrared" picture... which I find difficult to believe, because if the infrared photography turned the grass red... why did it leave the ferns green LOL.

Does the site say it's an infrared picture, or are you just assuming? I thought it was overly red redwood mulch.

[Bonnie]

All articles by Prentiss Findlay, of The [Charleston, SC] Post & Courier, unless noted otherwise.

-- Bonnie

Odd animal believed to be rare type of fox

7 August 2006

MOUNT PLEASANT — A mystery animal with a kangaroo-like head, big upright ears and a long rat-like tail has been seen roaming the wooded area near the end of Shem Creek. "I think it might be a Sampson fox. They're fairly rare," said Jay Butfiloski, state Department of Natural Resources furbearer project supervisor.

http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch06/0806/arc08073347350.shtml

'Did you see that?' More folks report rare-fox encounters

8 August 2006

Residents of Givhans, James Island, Mount Pleasant, West Ashley and Hanahan on Monday reported seeing odd-looking creatures that a state wildlife biologist has identified as rare Sampson foxes.

http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch06/0806/arc08083347372.shtml

Way too big to be a fox, woman says

9 August 2006

MOUNT PLEASANT — Ann Concannon wants help identifying the mystery animal she's keeping in a freezer. "I am absolutely obsessed about it. I have thought about it and thought about it," she said.

http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch06/0806/arc08093347003.shtml

State officials to examine animal

10 August 2006

The state Department of Natural Resources wants to examine the unusual foxlike animal that a Mount Pleasant woman has stored in her freezer. Area Wildlife Coordinator Sam Chappelear said Wednesday that he plans to contact Ann Concannon to pick up the animal.

http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch06/0806/arc08103328426.shtml

Weird critter in freezer to undergo genetic tests

12 August 2006

The University of California at Los Angeles wants to perform genetic tests on the mysterious fox-like creature stored in a Mount Pleasant woman's freezer, a College of Charleston official said Friday. "They are very interested in getting a DNA sample," said Jaap Hillenius, a member of the college's Department of Biology. "I'll send the specimen on to them. I think they are the best people to at least get a first crack at it."

http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch06/0806/arc08123339933.shtml

'I've got a weird animal here,' C of C biologist says

15 August 2006

A College of Charleston scientist on Monday examined the odd-looking, fox-like animal carcass, which had been frozen by a Mount Pleasant woman, in hopes of solving the riddle of the mysterious creatures she has seen in her neighborhood since spring. "I've got a weird animal here," said Dr. Jaap Hillenius, a member of the college's biology department.

http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch06/0806/arc08153339999.shtml

Strange critter a gray fox; Further tests could explain odd features

29 August 2006

Mount Pleasant has been abuzz in recent weeks with talk of a mysterious creature roaming the woods that was so friendly it played with cats, yet so weird-looking it left those who witnessed it feeling unsettled. Since the Mount Pleasant sightings became public, the critter has been reported bounding through the woods in Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley counties. Some said it had sinister eyes. Others said it moved in a magical flash from one spot to another.

http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch06/0806/arc08293378735.shtml

Bald fox 'a genetic fluke,' biologist says; C of C professor to present findings at Southeastern Wildlife Exposition

16 February 2007

The latest research results on the weird-looking Shem Creek hairless foxes reported around the area last summer will be presented at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, a College of Charleston biologist said Thursday. Jaap Hillenius, associate professor in the biology department, said a necropsy performed on a dead hairless fox found in a neighborhood off Chuck Dawley Boulevard in Mount Pleasant showed no obvious causes for the fox's hairless condition.

http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch07/0207/arc02164017529.shtml

Professor identifies mystery creature

Tom Steadman
The [Greensboro, NC] News & Record
21 February 2007

Mystery solved, apparently.

The odd-looking animal spotted in several Piedmont counties last year evidently was a hairless gray fox.

That's the conclusion of Jaap Hillenius. He examined the carcass of a similar animal that had been hit by a car in the Charleston, S.C., area.

[Note the photograph, on the left, of the Mt. Pleasant, SC, beast.]

http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070221/NEWSREC0101/70220055

The National Geographic ran an article on a simliar fox seen near Fuquay-Varina, NC. Take a look at the creature there.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0321_060321_tyco_fox.html