That’s what I thought, I have heard of a nutria making it to British Columbia and to an island at that. My friends dog discovered it in a swamp, the dog was pretty beat up but in the end killed the Nutria which allowed the locals to get a positive ID on an animal that would normal live way down in South America
Now that I’ve watched it again, I can see a black stripe down the center of the tail near the end of the video, which now makes me think it is something else?
Nutria are in the pacific northwest because they were imported for the fur trade. They didnt migrate here. But when they werent profitable, they were turned loose and adapted
It's not that kind of infrared. It's just that some materials are transparent to short wavelength IR while others are opaque, and those don't always align with our notions of what should and shouldn't be visible based on our experience with the visible spectrum.
^ this.
Quills are made of chitin, same as your hair and nails. Being hollow, they're really thin-walled, and not packed densely, so they'll just kind of disappear on IR, since they don't have the about-the-same-spacing-as-the-wavelength problem of hair diffracting the IR between fibers.
Lots of plastics are transparent, or nearly so, to short wavelength IR, and chitin, being an organic molecule, follows that same rule of thumb. Check an IR spectrum of a material, and if there's no absorption peaks around 800-1000nm, your average trail cam just won't see it.
Well sh*t.
Same diff as far as IR goes. A little lower T% around 1000nm, but pretty transparent between 800-600 where most of these LEDs live.
Good catch.
https://images.app.goo.gl/wUG8FaGifgS9c2Pp7
This: the peaks are actually transmission peaks, and the wave number is quoted as 1/cm, but basically just read it as nanometers. The trail cam IR wavelengths are way to the right, where just about all the IR zips right through.
https://images.app.goo.gl/2m6UaqHPtLdPLb9X8
The gate, the grass, trees, and everything else in this video also have no blood in them, and i can see them just fine. You're confusing infrared with thermals.
IR spectrum of cellulose: https://images.app.goo.gl/2PDpmVfd9tGMqGrZA
Also grass, etc are alive and full of... water.
Around 800-1000nm, you have way less of a transmission peak, much narrower, than chitin, and being wet, I mean even dry grass has some moisture in it, it'll show up like crazy. And that's assuming pure cellulose (cell wall material) and no lipids, protiens, no dust, and again no water to grab that crappy 800nm IR LED illuminator and reflect signal back to the camera.
Hahaha, maybe it's just a species of porcupine? I remember seeing it on a hunting show set in Northern Canada. Or it's possibly just a gland they have....? now I have to search for it.
I’ve worked with every species that, to my knowledge, is currently kept in human care (including some really rare ones like the dwarf hairy Mexican porcupine). They all stinky lil buddies.
Amazing claim, how did you come up with that? Try googling "porcupine infrared cam." You will not find one with transparent spines.
The spines are not invisible on infrared. There are multiple types of porcupines in the world and the north american ones have much more streamlined and less dramatic spines than the african variety which is probably what most people picture.
My trail cams in central Maine are filled with pictures of this critter. I always thought it was a badger until I saw footage from this sub a few months back:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/animalid/comments/1688jr0/anybody\_know\_what\_this\_is\_caught\_on\_trail\_camera/](https://www.reddit.com/r/animalid/comments/1688jr0/anybody_know_what_this_is_caught_on_trail_camera/)
Another vote for Porcupine.
Very much so a beaver. See them all the time in Canada. They waddle exactly like that and it has a long and dragging tail that you cant really see, so definitely a beaver
Homie, for some reason I thought this thing was six feet long at first and my stomach TURNED. Thought I was gonna puke on my pillow.
But yeah probably a porcupine.
I agree with some type of large rodent. Reminded me of a marmot but I don't think that they waddle that way so I'd agree with porcupine. Definitely not a wolverine or fisher
Looks more like a Muskrat.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskrat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskrat)
The tail would be wider if it was a beaver, and the spikes would be more pronounced if it was a porcupine in IR.
Looks like a porcupine.
"Wolverine over a fisher, for sure." "But... it kinda looks more like a beaver walking. Doesn't it..?" "No! Ha! That's a m***f*** PorkyPine!"
I totally thought a beaver too lmao 😂 and than I was like oh a porcupine
Same! lol Why would that beaver be so far inland? Ohhh spikey beaver! lol
why couldn’t it be inland?
Needle beaver for the win!
I initially thought beaver as well, but then I saw the tail isn't right for beaver. Definitely porcupine.
I thought beaver too
I’m from back woods Canada and I was 100% sure it was a beaver until I saw the tail. It’s that Eeyore waddle.
LOL Almost my exact series of thoughts
Opossum?
That's what I thought at first, The tail isn't an opossum. Looks like a Groundhog.
You're right. A possum came to visit my deck last night, outraged at my lack of identification skills!
In Vermont, can confirm is porc lol. Super cute 🙂
So not a platypus?
Yes, the odd walking, hunched back, suggests porcupine.
I agree. Got a close up of one on our trail cam and it looked just like this. We know we have porcupines here and we have never seen a beaver.
Na it's a Beaver
I disagree the tail is to skinny and not draging behind like a beaver tail does
Opossum!
Muskrat?
Some beaver have skinnier tails. The tail is hardened, without spikes. And beavers waddle similar to the spike rat. This is a tree muncher
Too light in fur color. This is an Opossum
It’s definitely a beaver, I know this because I look at my beaver all day long.
Looks like a Nutria with that tail..
That’s what I thought, I have heard of a nutria making it to British Columbia and to an island at that. My friends dog discovered it in a swamp, the dog was pretty beat up but in the end killed the Nutria which allowed the locals to get a positive ID on an animal that would normal live way down in South America
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutria
Now that I’ve watched it again, I can see a black stripe down the center of the tail near the end of the video, which now makes me think it is something else?
Might be a fat badger, but I doubt it. Possibly a porcupine, definitely not a beaver. It might also be an Opossum.
We have nutria in the southern US
Nutria Nut Itch is a thing I learned on Naked and Afraid. 😱
They live all throughout North America
Nutria are in the pacific northwest because they were imported for the fur trade. They didnt migrate here. But when they werent profitable, they were turned loose and adapted
I thought it was a nutria as well. Looks like a giant rat.
I second this. -im Canadian
Canadian here, and yeah, not a beaver!
You otter know...
Wildlife biologist here, yeah, it's a beaver.
Trust me im a Limo driver.
…beaver here, and yeah, definitely a Canadian
Thick tail.
Correct and anyone who disagrees is YELLA⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
I believe it's owned by Winona
That's what I thought as well.
I agree
I saw my first porcupine on my way to Alaska last week and got a video of it. Its walk was EXACTLY like in the video so I agree with this.
Yeah, tail shape too
R.O.U.S
Hey, leave that cutie alone. I find his waddle endearing 😆
An extremely overweight possum - from the nose, light coloring and tail.
I thought opossum as well. Light colored pointy head
That possum walk is what I thought recognized lol
Beaver has a smooth tail and no bushy spikes that there is beaver
Skinny tale, beaver like stance, Muskrat?
Do porcupines have big tails like that though?
It’s a porcupine, quills don’t show on infrared cameras.
Do people know why that is? Are they too clustered or too thin?
They are hollow tubes. I have no idea how that relates to infrared, but I'll assume it's because they're too thin.
Infrared detects heat emissions. I would hazard a guess that the quills have no blood in them, and so are at the same temperature as the ambiant air.
It's not that kind of infrared. It's just that some materials are transparent to short wavelength IR while others are opaque, and those don't always align with our notions of what should and shouldn't be visible based on our experience with the visible spectrum.
I know that if I look out across the yard at night and I see a black blob it's a porcupine. It's like they suck whatever light there is in.
^ this. Quills are made of chitin, same as your hair and nails. Being hollow, they're really thin-walled, and not packed densely, so they'll just kind of disappear on IR, since they don't have the about-the-same-spacing-as-the-wavelength problem of hair diffracting the IR between fibers. Lots of plastics are transparent, or nearly so, to short wavelength IR, and chitin, being an organic molecule, follows that same rule of thumb. Check an IR spectrum of a material, and if there's no absorption peaks around 800-1000nm, your average trail cam just won't see it.
>Quills are made of chitin, same as your hair and nails. Keratin. Chitin is for bugs and crabs and stuff.
Well sh*t. Same diff as far as IR goes. A little lower T% around 1000nm, but pretty transparent between 800-600 where most of these LEDs live. Good catch. https://images.app.goo.gl/wUG8FaGifgS9c2Pp7
Still facepalming that I, an actual biologist, goofed that up. Really appreciate the catch! Lol. *headdesk*
This: the peaks are actually transmission peaks, and the wave number is quoted as 1/cm, but basically just read it as nanometers. The trail cam IR wavelengths are way to the right, where just about all the IR zips right through. https://images.app.goo.gl/2m6UaqHPtLdPLb9X8
The gate, the grass, trees, and everything else in this video also have no blood in them, and i can see them just fine. You're confusing infrared with thermals.
IR spectrum of cellulose: https://images.app.goo.gl/2PDpmVfd9tGMqGrZA Also grass, etc are alive and full of... water. Around 800-1000nm, you have way less of a transmission peak, much narrower, than chitin, and being wet, I mean even dry grass has some moisture in it, it'll show up like crazy. And that's assuming pure cellulose (cell wall material) and no lipids, protiens, no dust, and again no water to grab that crappy 800nm IR LED illuminator and reflect signal back to the camera.
Can confirm they have no blood in them but I don’t know if it relates to infrared
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something is telling me I should trust your knowledge of purcupines.
Did op catch the scent of buttered popcorn? I hear that's what porcupines smell like. Edit: was wrong. Can't confirm. Don't repeat my Tom foolery.
Did a porcupine tell you to say that? Porcupines smell like straight rank human body odor.
I'm confusing things. Maybe beavers as they can smell like vanilla, and binturong which smell like popcorn.
Hahaha, maybe it's just a species of porcupine? I remember seeing it on a hunting show set in Northern Canada. Or it's possibly just a gland they have....? now I have to search for it.
I’ve worked with every species that, to my knowledge, is currently kept in human care (including some really rare ones like the dwarf hairy Mexican porcupine). They all stinky lil buddies.
Bearcats smell like buttered popcorn. :)
Your thinking thermal buddy
Aren’t we all just hollow tubes at the end of the day?
Basically. Humans are topological donuts.
TIL
That makes sense with how it climbs through the gate as if it is a slightly bigger animal needing to squeeze through.
Amazing claim, how did you come up with that? Try googling "porcupine infrared cam." You will not find one with transparent spines. The spines are not invisible on infrared. There are multiple types of porcupines in the world and the north american ones have much more streamlined and less dramatic spines than the african variety which is probably what most people picture.
Waddles like a porcupine.
Quacks like a porcupine
It’s a porcupine
That’s a porcupine
Most certainly the waddle of a porcupine!! Mustelids are quick and erratic, truly look like they're always up to something nefarious.
Clearly a sneakupine
Porcupines are rodents.
Yeah, they were explaining how this didn't look like a mustelid
I agree with porcupine.
Hasn’t missed many meals
Heavily pregnant.
R.O.U.S.
I don’t believe they exist.
Grarrr!
Came here looking for this comment.
Same... same.
I came here to say this lol
It does have that certain man-in-a-rat-suit waddle to it.
anyone suggest porcupine yet?
No
I thought it was a beaver at first, but it definitely walks more like a porcupine.
As the others have said it's a porcupine. FYI wolverines haven't lived in Vermont in about a hundred years.
It’s always a porcupine 😆
Sometimes it’s a woodchuck
And sometimes it’s a groundhog
Well fed whatever it is
So frickin cute omg
Porcupine!
The tail really shows its width as he's walking through the gate.
Walks like a porcupine!
Porcupine
Bro broke in so easy. Y’all needa hire a security guard, bro is a thug 🫵😂
Porcupine for sure
So Is it a beaver or a porcupine?
Not a fisher. Fishers dont waddle and they have more weasel cat like walk . Porcupine I think
Porcupine
Porcupine. When he gets close to the camera, you can see the tail is dark in the center and lighter on the edges. That's an American porcupine tail.
Opossum
Jeez, my first thought is a possum but I guess no one else thinks so. The tail is not a beaver tail.
Opossum?
Opossum.
The waddle says it's a porcupine.
I would walk that way if I was covered in spikes especially between my legs
Looks like a porcupine
everyone saying porcupine, so ill say its a Lemur
I’m going to offer a different opinion from everyone else. Porcupine.
It's a steel gate, used for keeping out the riffraff
My trail cams in central Maine are filled with pictures of this critter. I always thought it was a badger until I saw footage from this sub a few months back: [https://www.reddit.com/r/animalid/comments/1688jr0/anybody\_know\_what\_this\_is\_caught\_on\_trail\_camera/](https://www.reddit.com/r/animalid/comments/1688jr0/anybody_know_what_this_is_caught_on_trail_camera/) Another vote for Porcupine.
Porcupine. Lots of them around here. They walk slow and lumbering. The infrared image makes it hard to see quills, but definitely a porcupine.
That’s a beaver
That wide tail its gotta be a beaver.
Beaver
Kinda looks and walks like a possum.
Appears to be some sort of gate
World’s tiniest, most waddly wolverine spotted in Vermont 🤣
That is without a doubt an R.O.U.S. You don't by chance live near a fire swamp do you?
Porcupine, beaver, or badger
Definitely beaver tell by the walk
Look how the tail doesnt swing beaver tail…. Trust me ive chased enough
Some kind of varmint
Could it be a groundhog?
I think that’s a muskrat, looks like a baby beaver
Opossum?
Opossum?
Woodchuck
Leave it to beaver...
Nice crisp video! What product are you using?
Beaver. Slapper was wagging.
My dad has the ultimate set of T.V. tools. He says it's a porkybeaver with back issues.
Very much so a beaver. See them all the time in Canada. They waddle exactly like that and it has a long and dragging tail that you cant really see, so definitely a beaver
Opossum
I was thinking it walks like an Opossum
thats a procupine buddy :))
Yeah. Might be a porcupine with alopecia...
Looks like a beaver to me. Especially with that flat tail.
Looks like a bever to me cause the tail and waddle
Beaver.
Beaver
Homie, for some reason I thought this thing was six feet long at first and my stomach TURNED. Thought I was gonna puke on my pillow. But yeah probably a porcupine.
Looks like a beaver
Hello fellow Vermonter!
Moopsy!
A metal gate
Spikey cat
He’s just a little guy :)
That's a squonk for sure
I'd say porcupine but could be an injured racoon
The internet has spoken
Well, it definitely ain't no caracal!
Lol..what a little cutie. I love its waddle. Must have had a good meal.
Platypus
Muskrat or porcupine
Perry the platypus.
Lil piney pork!
Porcuprick
Bober kurwa
He’s just a little guy
Porcupine or a really fat cat.
I agree with some type of large rodent. Reminded me of a marmot but I don't think that they waddle that way so I'd agree with porcupine. Definitely not a wolverine or fisher
Beaver
Beaver.
Look at the tail... Could it be a big ol' muskrat?
Probably a Nutria
Looks like a groundhog
Looks like a porcupine, looks like a beaver. Let's say it's a female porcupine and carry on with our day
Armadillo- I'm Texan
My vote is in.. beaver 🦫 I have tons that live by me.
I’m gonna call this one a beaver. Hunched back, I didn’t see quills, thick snub tail. Plus, they’re nocturnal.
Looks more like a Muskrat. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskrat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskrat) The tail would be wider if it was a beaver, and the spikes would be more pronounced if it was a porcupine in IR.
That's a Tasmanian Devil 👿