# Can Anyone ID a Big Weasely Mammal?



## DLHirst (Mar 14, 2009)

The other day, fishing the AS South branch, I saw a mammal that was much too big to be a weasel or a mink. I figured it was a marten or a fisher, but later on my son looked them up and said neither gets this far south. It was kinda reddish / brown and quite thick. And, of course, moved much to quick for a camera shot. Do we have otters in the AS system? Really curious to know what it was.


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

I remember otters in downtown Oscoda


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## MichiganStreamside (Jan 19, 2014)

DLHirst said:


> The other day, fishing the AS South branch, I saw a mammal that was much too big to be a weasel or a mink. I figured it was a marten or a fisher, but later on my son looked them up and said neither gets this far south. It was kinda reddish / brown and quite thick. And, of course, moved much to quick for a camera shot. Do we have otters in the AS system? Really curious to know what it was.


yes there are otter around the Au Sable. they are much larger that mink! often they chatter when they see people.


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## -Axiom- (Jul 24, 2010)

I've seen otters on the Manistee.


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## Woodstock (Sep 9, 2014)

There are otter in all river systems in Michigan and the tributaries. Otter travel long distances and they will go up the tributaries no matter how small.


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## hillbillie (Jan 16, 2011)

Caught Edit: Trapped this guy several years ago , near a beaver dam on a SB AS trib , in the Mason tract

Sent from my Torque using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## DLHirst (Mar 14, 2009)

hillbillie said:


> View attachment 215506
> View attachment 215507
> 
> 
> ...


Yep. That's what he looked like. Only, not as flat! Thanks for putting my mind to rest.


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

There were martin planted in the Baldwin area years ago. One of them was sighted just south of Bass lake a few years later. the dNR has never admitted to planting fisher in the lower but that is the DNR.

A long time ago I saw a fisher in the 2 track at the top of the hill on M-37 between the Pine river and M-55. I never said anything about it until I went to the Call of the Wild in Gaylord? (not sure of the town) where I was able to see a mounted one to make sure I was right.

Take it for what it is worth but it might have been either of the two.

LO will say I am gullible but so be it.


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

DLHirst said:


> Yep. That's what he looked like. Only, not as flat!


Yup, pulling the bones and guts out will do that

:lol:


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## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

multibeard said:


> There were martin planted in the Baldwin area years ago. One of them was sighted just south of Bass lake a few years later. the dNR has never admitted to planting fisher in the lower but that is the DNR.
> 
> .........
> LO will say I am gullible but so be it.


No one has to say it, you have admitted time again and I simply agree. Tell us again about your dog-man report and dozens of cougars in the LP

If the DNR put martin in the Baldwin, they would have no reason to hide the fact. Their records are are open for inspection.....go for it.

L & O


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

Hey holely one, they admitted to planting the martin where were you with your head stuck where the sun did not shine. You are the one saying they did not, you go for it you are the all powerfull. Where the hell did this dog man and DOZENS of cougars come from. More politician stretching of the facts bull. I have the pictures of only one that Adam dump tried to make dew drops into toe nail marks. You are the one that called me guliable in a pm bev cause I have faith in a trapper from the UP knowing a lot more about traks then you ever will.

You would make a normal politician changing what is said to fit you agenda. I started to say good but I have not seen one lately. I said that I never heard of a fisher plant.

I will probably get put on time out for this but so be it. You seem to be able to post what ever you want on M-S with no problems.


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## CABELKINS2000 (Nov 8, 2011)

Another Hodag sighting. Possibly migrating east from Wisconsin.


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## Fabner1 (Jan 24, 2009)

Multi,

Calm down! I like your posts "Don't get timed out"!

Love you both!

Old


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## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

multibeard said:


> ....... Where the hell did this dog man and DOZENS of cougars come from. More politician stretching of the facts bull. I have the pictures of only one that Adam dump tried to make dew drops into toe nail marks. ............... I have faith in a trapper from the UP knowing a lot more about traks(sic) then you ever will.
> ...................


You are the guy who claims to have seen the dogman and knows of dozens of cougars in the NLP, not me. Adam Bump(why resort to name calling??) is the DNR specialist when it comes to cougars. He looked at your pictures of tracks from the NLP and told you that they were not cougars. I don't care if your old friend from the UP thinks that they are. Did he also go to Utah for 2 weeks like Bump did to learn from cougar specialist about everything cougar ? I did not think so. 
Knowing more about tracks than me isn't the question. Does your old friend who has never seen a cougar or a cougar track except in books know more that our wildlife specialist trained in that area ? 

L & O


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## wyandot (Dec 5, 2013)

You're not alone Multi, plenty of folks in the NLP have seen cougars. Question is, why would anyone report it to the DNR "Specialist" in the first place?


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## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

wyandot said:


> You're not alone Multi, plenty of folks in the NLP have seen cougars. Question is, why would anyone report it to the DNR "Specialist" in the first place?


Because it is a heck of sighting and it needs to be proven and that information shared. Just like the teacher did in the Thumb region when he got pictures of that wolverine about 10-12 years. While that was amazing enough, when the animal died it was found and has been mounted and viewed by thousands of people. Amazing story.
The last known cougar in the LP was from the late 1800's I believe. The last one from the UP was from the early 1900's before evidence proved that they had returned to the UP about 10-12 years ago. Since then, some more have shown up and I can remember at least 2 poaching cases involving cougars. Trail cameras changed the game. With the tens of thousands of trail cameras in the LP, eventually if one shows up, someone is going to get a picture of it. I hope that someone is Don, his pictures are always crystal clear. 
You will notice that I used the word "evidence" a couple of times. Someone saying that they say a cougar is not evidence. If you actually know of a photo, I hope you encourage that person to share. The DNR has all the info on their sight to report animals lie cougars, wolves, etc.

L & O


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## wyandot (Dec 5, 2013)

Seems to me your mind is already made up on the subject and you just like to troll. Once again, why would anyone provide you with any evidence in the first place?


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

The rest of the story. The pictures to BUMP were sent through the gal that used to be on M-S that kept us up to date on wild hogs. She forwarded them to BUMP. When I showed her the actual printed pictures directly from my camera. She said "Those sure look better than the ones that you sent online.
I asked her what do you think. "I can not say" ME "I know that you work for the DNR and Do not dare say!".

As far as BUMP's expertise on reading tracks. I was not impressed when he kept trying to make dew drops from the tree over head of the tracks into toe nail marks to try and say they were canine. If that shows his expertise on cougars that should not impress any one. Canines do not have round pad marks to begin with.

There have been a few of the so called experts in the DNR that were not very impressive. One of the so called experts flat out lied to me when I called him about a turkey issue.He denied that it had even been discussed. This was Monday and a press release came out on the week end that it had been discussed and turned down.

This man your are talking about was an old gent that happeded to be sitting next to me. He was a retired teacher from Big Bay De Noc school. He happened to have been friends with two deceased teacher friends of mine from Gladstone. He said they were cougar tracks and he had seen quite a few of them in the UP. He has spent way more time in the woods than Bump by decades trapping and hunting. Remember this is a true Yooper your talking about. I have no reason to doubt that he can tell the difference between a canine, bobcat and cougar track.

Where and when did I I ever claim to have seen dogman?????? Your grasping at straws as usual. Show that post to me please.

I have a few more reports about cougars that I sure would not post because it gets tire some and agrivating being ridiculed by a certain party. These reports come from people that I would trust with my life. They are true outdoor people.


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## Liver and Onions (Nov 24, 2000)

wyandot said:


> Seems to me your mind is already made up on the subject and you just like to troll. Once again, why would anyone provide you with any evidence in the first place?


If you mean that my mind is already made that I'm only going to believe evidence confirmed by the DNR , then you are correct. 
Next, I want anyone with evidence of a cougar in the LP to provide that to the DNR ASAP. It was pretty exciting when the evidence was confirmed with the 1st UP cougar some 10-12 years. I live in the LP, a LP cougar would be way better.

L & O


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

DLHirst said:


> The other day, fishing the AS South branch, I saw a mammal that was much too big to be a weasel or a mink. I figured it was a marten or a fisher, but later on my son looked them up and said neither gets this far south. It was kinda reddish / brown and quite thick. And, of course, moved much to quick for a camera shot. Do we have otters in the AS system? Really curious to know what it was.


Big weasely mammal, reddish brown....


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## -Axiom- (Jul 24, 2010)

FREEPOP said:


> Tell the fish and crawfish farmers down south that. :lol:
> 
> Feral cats are wild animals too, just as the coyote eating your poodle.
> Remember to feel lucky.



I have a real dog that would utterly destroy a yote & feral cats aren't native.

I don't have anything against trappers or trapping, have at it, respect the wildlife and their environment while you are doing it.

Don't try to make it look like there is some kind of problem with this animal because there isn't, there aren't that many around.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

-Axiom- said:


> I have a real dog that would utterly destroy a yote & feral cats aren't native.
> 
> I don't have anything against trappers or trapping, have at it, respect the wildlife and their environment while you are doing it.
> 
> Don't try to make it look like there is some kind of problem with this animal because there isn't, there aren't that many around.


You literally have no idea. You think there are not that many, hmmm. How is the coyote population and how many do you see?


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## -Axiom- (Jul 24, 2010)

FREEPOP said:


> You literally have no idea. You think there are not that many, hmmm. How is the coyote population and how many do you see?



I see evidence of many yotes in my area, I very rarely actually see a yote.

I thought we were talking about Otters?


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

-Axiom- said:


> I see evidence of many yotes in my area, I very rarely actually see a yote.
> 
> I thought we were talking about Otters?


Otters leave less sign than most animals because they're in the water the majority of the time, thus my comparison to coyotes.


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## -Axiom- (Jul 24, 2010)

FREEPOP said:


> Otters leave less sign than most animals because they're in the water the majority of the time, thus my comparison to coyotes.



That is about the only way to make any type of comparison between the two.

Otters aren't a problem, they eat fish, that's how they live.

Otters aren't a nuisance of any kind I quite enjoy the very few times that I see them it reminds me that we haven't totally ruined everything* yet*.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

Locally they can be a problem, just like a raccoon. Contact fish hatcheries or the neighbor down the road that dug a pond and put hybrid gills in it.


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## kzoofisher (Mar 6, 2011)

If it comes down to picking between native species I'll take a thousand times more otters and a million times fewer ticks.


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## msfcarp (Jun 6, 2006)

-Axiom- said:


> That is about the only way to make any type of comparison between the two.
> 
> Otters aren't a problem, they eat fish, that's how they live.
> 
> Otters aren't a nuisance of any kind I quite enjoy the very few times that I see them it reminds me that we haven't totally ruined everything* yet*.


Yup, I love seeng otters they are quote the special animals, imo. I think there are more around than people think.

People with their private little ponds tend to get uptight when an otter discovers the easy hunting, and typically to my consternation, they do not rest until they kill the animal.


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## DecoySlayer (Mar 12, 2016)

msfcarp said:


> Yup, I love seeng otters they are quote the special animals, imo. I think there are more around than people think.
> 
> People with their private little ponds tend to get uptight when an otter discovers the easy hunting, and typically to my consternation, they do not rest until they kill the animal.


Otter are just flat cool! They don't cause problems with ponds etc. All they do is take advantage of the "feeding stations" that were put there for them! They are no where near populated enough to be a "problem". They MAY reach that point, some day, but right now it's just so wonderful to see their return. 

If I had to come back as an animal I would, without a doubt, come back as an otter. What a life! They fish, swim, play and have sex!. NO JOB! Holy Christmas Tree, Batman, what a life!


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

....and some think that racoons are nice and cute animals.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

multibeard said:


> Freepop I thought he was called the cougar specialist.


He was the furbearer guy, don't know what he's doing now. In the past I have spoken to him about Bear and hogs. Not a smooth talker like Brent, but Adam is a good guy. Who got the info, I wanted and got back to me.

I think the Girl you guys were thinking about was Kristie. She was a lab biologist. Last I heard, she is out west.


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## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

swampbuck said:


> He was the furbearer guy, don't know what he's doing now. In the past I have spoken to him about Bear and hogs. Not a smooth talker like Brent, but Adam is a good guy. Who got the info, I wanted and got back to me.
> 
> I think the Girl you guys were thinking about was Kristie. She was a lab biologist. Last I heard, she is out west.


He was also called the cougar specialist at the time I had contact with him.

It was Kristie. I had sent her the pictures, then showed her the ones off the camera at the MTA convention. She said those are much clearer. I could see from her face what she thought. I said I know you can not say as that would endanger you job. She smiled.


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## Swampbuckster (Nov 28, 2010)

I've seen an otter twice in the last three years- only during the winter. Over the ice. In front of my house, off a tributary of the Huron river around Dexter/Chelsea area. They are definitely unmistakable when you see one!!!! It's amazing an animal that size can go so often completely undetected!!!


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## Fabner1 (Jan 24, 2009)

Julie and I watched a pair on a creek bank in southern Louisana for quite a while years ago.
It was really cool!

old


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## lodge lounger (Sep 16, 2005)

Only problem I see with otters is when I'm fishing a monster rise, which happens to me not very often, and mr. otter shows up.


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

lodge lounger said:


> Only problem I see with otters is when I'm fishing a monster rise, which happens to me not very often, and mr. otter shows up.


Try ice fishing, you go out and hand auger some holes through two feet of ice and you have otters popping out of them. You just pack up and go elsewhere nothing else that you can do.


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## lodge lounger (Sep 16, 2005)

Robert Holmes said:


> Try ice fishing, you go out and hand auger some holes through two feet of ice and you have otters popping out of them. You just pack up and go elsewhere nothing else that you can do.


I tried ice fishing once Robert. It was really cold.


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

lodge lounger said:


> I tried ice fishing once Robert. It was really cold.


I figured a lodge lounger would have a heated shanty with sleeping quarters, a stove, and well you really don't need a place to keep the beer cold. I do get to see a few otters every winter while I am on the ice. They ruin the ice fishing but they are fun to watch.


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## DecoySlayer (Mar 12, 2016)

Robert Holmes said:


> I figured a lodge lounger would have a heated shanty with sleeping quarters, a stove, and well you really don't need a place to keep the beer cold. I do get to see a few otters every winter while I am on the ice. They ruin the ice fishing but they are fun to watch.


They are just better at it than you are! LOL!


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