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Old 08-16-2015, 03:19 PM
 
1,091 posts, read 1,076,476 times
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Hi All,

Last night I noticed a new animal I had never seen before, at least I don't think I did. This animal definitely was a bit on the "What the..." side, since it had a long tail like a rat, had the body of a small dog (or big cat), and had a head which was round in appearance. It didn't really have much fur and was white in color, so I was stumped as to what it was. The Uber driver and I were both like, "What is that??"

I don't think it was a giant rat (?), but I was unsure what type of animal it was. I figured maybe it was a nocturnal animal, since I saw it around 1a.

Thus, being in the NW Austin area, are there animals which fall outside the standard "Texas type animal" (Cattle, armadillo, rattlesnake, etc.)? Has anyone ever seen an animal similar to what I described?

Thanks!
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Old 08-16-2015, 04:04 PM
 
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Possibly a nutria? They are sometimes seen around Ladybird Lake and Lake Austin..

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutria
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Old 08-16-2015, 04:08 PM
 
12 posts, read 16,233 times
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It's a possum.
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Old 08-16-2015, 04:59 PM
 
Location: Great State of Texas
86,052 posts, read 84,495,743 times
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Could have been a nutria. They do look like giant rats.
First time I saw one I was like...." Things really are bigger in Texas"
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Old 08-16-2015, 05:14 PM
 
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Sounds like a possum with a bad case of mange.
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Old 08-16-2015, 06:10 PM
 
1,091 posts, read 1,076,476 times
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thanks for the replies! I'm guessing now too that it was a mangy possum. It didn't look as much like a nutria, it reminded me of a giant ferret, the way it moved. Ok then, I suppose I saw my first Texan possum! ��
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Old 08-16-2015, 06:43 PM
 
Location: Greater NYC
3,176 posts, read 6,217,846 times
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We saw a fair amount of possum living in Rattan Creek in NW Austin.
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Old 08-16-2015, 06:56 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
20,958 posts, read 45,410,702 times
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Nutria are definitely not white. I'm going with possum, too, as I had both nutria and possums as pets when I was a little girl and the description sounds more possum-like. Though possums have a pointy snout.
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Old 08-16-2015, 07:55 PM
 
Location: central Austin
7,228 posts, read 16,105,799 times
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Possums are everywhere in Central Texas! Pointy snout and they walk with a bit of a waddle, active at night, especially at dusk and dawn. Years ago, we had one come onto our porch every morning at 5 am like clockwork.
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Old 08-16-2015, 08:26 PM
 
Location: The People's Republic of Austin
5,184 posts, read 7,279,589 times
Reputation: 2575
Chupacabra, without a doubt.
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