So, went down and helped my mom with some things around the house and made her diner for mother's day, Sunday, and I got a whim to walk around the back yard along the creek/woods to wax nostalgic.
I hear a rustling in the overgrowth and I go to a portion of the yard that runs all the way up to a ledge carved by the creek when I see it: A small furry mammal bounding through the brush.
I stood still and studied it, keenly. My first thought was a raccoon, it was roughly the size of a mature raccoon, but it was probably a little too big and lacked any stripes or bushy tail. It had more of a weasel shaped body, brown and black and long, though it was very thick around the middle. Around 40lbs or so, it honestly looked just like a wolverine, though how one would find itself in south-central Kansas would be beyond me.
The creature moved in bounds, so it probably had pretty short legs, it would jump up and over the brush around it in a tiring fashion. Far from graceful, it would jump about 30 yards at a time before stopping to turn around and glance back at me to see if I was still watching. Eventually it found some trees and bushes to hide under; though I could still it looking at me (at this point about 80 yards away) it had a black face as well.
Not thinking it resembled any local fauna I was familiar with, I thought maybe it was a stray cat or dog but it was not very canine looking and would have to be a very large cat. Plus it acted too wild to be a stray, I wouldn’t expect even a feral cat to flip out at seeing a person standing on the opposite bank of a creek 30 yards away.
I mentioned the animal to my mom, and she said it was a marmot. An animal I’m familiar with, I’d only ever seen them in the mountains, and usually donning very light sandy blonde hair.
Anyone have any suggestions on this mystery animal?
