The tail on a Mountain Beaver is virtually non-existent. I don't think you
can see it, under normal viewing conditions. What's happened to the
Discovery Park Yellow-bellied Marmot?



Kelly McAllister



From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
[mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of
Hans-Joachim Feddern
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2011 11:47 PM
To: Tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] Discovery Park Barred Owls and Aplodontia?



My wife and son and I went for a family walk at Discovery Park this Sunday
afternoon, March 20th. It was a cold and blustery first day of spring. While
walking the loop trail north of the former naval installation, we heard the
distinctive call of a Barred Owl. It was answered by another owl further off
in the woods. We were able to located the first caller and had great looks
of it, looking back at us from a cedar. Suddenly my son spotted a strange
mammal foraging under the same tree. We had brief looks at it. It appeared
to be a rodent with now visible tail and ears, about the size of a muskrat.
It was dark gray - almost black. The closest I came up with in a mammal
field guide, was a Aplodontia. I had never heard of - or previously seen
one. Is anybody out there familiar with their occurrence at Discovery Park?

Cheers,

--
Hans Feddern
Twin Lakes/Federal Way, WA
thefedderns at gmail.com