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Unidentifed Ball of Leaping Gray Fur.

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  • #16
    Originally posted by Trail Boss View Post
    It's path of travel briefly moved across my field of view and then away from me. As a result, I didn't have enough time to take note of its eyes.

    Nevertheless, flying squirrel is the best contender so far mostly because it fits the description for overall size, fur color, and tail appearance. I'll try to find a local wildlife expert on the subject because, despite this useful process of elimination, I still have a few questions arising from doubts. For example, is it normal for flying squirrels to be seen in an Adirondack alpine zone (4600')? Do flying squirrels typically leap upward when hopping from one boulder to another? Does the time of the year or the presence of the structures atop Whiteface explain its appearance?
    I've seen them while camping in the Adirondaks before. Alpine zone... my first thought was maybe a Raptor grabbed one down at tree line and dropped it while gliding. I've actually seen birds drop prey from altitude to kill them by smashing them on the rocks. Maybe got closed up inside while raiding someone's backpack down below tree line and escaped while they were having lunch at the summit. The leaping upward, hopping from boulder to boulder may have been an instinctual escape mode, trying to glide. Possibly a juvenile out of the nest too soon. They typically glide from tree to tree and don't spend much time on the ground so unlikely it lives up there in any of the structures.

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    • #17
      Originally posted by JerseyHighlander View Post
      I've seen them while camping in the Adirondaks before. Alpine zone... my first thought was maybe a Raptor grabbed one down at tree line and dropped it while gliding. I've actually seen birds drop prey from altitude to kill them by smashing them on the rocks. Maybe got closed up inside while raiding someone's backpack down below tree line and escaped while they were having lunch at the summit. The leaping upward, hopping from boulder to boulder may have been an instinctual escape mode, trying to glide. Possibly a juvenile out of the nest too soon. They typically glide from tree to tree and don't spend much time on the ground so unlikely it lives up there in any of the structures.
      I feel like I've just watched a Disney nature pic! Does Sigourney Weaver narrate it and does the l'il fella have a name?
      Looking for views!

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      • #18
        Originally posted by Trail Boss View Post
        does the l'il fella have a name?
        My YouTube channel

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        • #19
          Originally posted by Trail Boss View Post
          I feel like I've just watched a Disney nature pic! Does Sigourney Weaver narrate it and does the l'il fella have a name?
          If anybody makes a movie, I get royalties.

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          • #20
            I received a reply from a local expert on Adirondack wildlife and he also believes what I described is a flying squirrel. The specific type (Northern or Southern) is difficult to pin down based on my description. He asked if it was an overcast day (it was; heavily overcast) because it is "most unusual" to see a flying squirrel during the day (I saw it shortly after 3:00 PM).

            He explained they breed in late March and the young leave the nest in May and June. He speculated the milder winter this year may have produced earlier offspring. I may have seen an immature animal, possibly on its own for the first time, in search of territory to establish a new home (in the spruce-fir forest). Given the daylight sighting, it may have been forced to travel.

            Being a wildlife expert and not a screenwriter (hello JerseyHighlander!), he didn't mention anything about falling out of a raptor's jaws and gliding to a safe descent onto Whiteface's boardwalk.

            He said the large eyes are usually what most people notice first. The "wing folds" are normally difficult to see and would've been unnoticeable for the short hops it had made. He said the bounding I saw would not be out of the ordinary for a maturing flying squirrel.

            This flying squirrel is now part of my favorite animal sightings.
            1. Female moose and offspring at Meacham Lake State Campground (New York).
            2. Fisher clinging to tree along the Van Hoevenberg Trail near Mount Marcy (New York).
            3. Black bear foraging above treeline on Hamlin Peak (Maine).
            4. Wolverine in Guanella Pass near Square Top Mountain (Colorado).
            5. Flying Squirrel atop Whiteface Mountain (New York).



            Thank you all for your assistance!


            PS

            Here's that very poor photo of the animal. It was approximately 35 feet away at the time I recorded it. The image has been cropped, magnified (3X), and the area of interest has been circled.
            Attached Files
            Looking for views!

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            • #21
              Hmm, obscure, poorly lit, fuzzy picture... I want to change my answer to Sasquatch!.

              You saw a wolverine.?. Bastard. No fair.

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              • #22
                Originally posted by Trail Boss View Post

                Being a wildlife expert and not a screenwriter (hello JerseyHighlander!), he didn't mention anything about falling out of a raptor's jaws and gliding to a safe descent onto Whiteface's boardwalk.
                Ahh comon. You've never seen a bird drop it's prey to kill it? Admittedly, far fetched for a little flying squirrel, but it could happen. (They usually carry them in their talons).

                Saw a video once of a golden eagle dropping a baby goat from altitude, to smash him on the rocks so he didn't have to wrestle it once he got it to the nest. Kinda creepy when birds of prey learn that other things not being able to fly makes a good weapon.

                Sat for an hour once and watched a couple flying rats (Seagulls) bringing live clams back from the mudflats, hovering and dropping them from about 20-30 feet onto a pier below. Smashed them open then dropped to eat the meat. The pier was littered with broken shells.

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by JerseyHighlander View Post
                  You saw a wolverine.?. Bastard. No fair.
                  I had posted it on the 14ers site and got a few skeptical responses (wolverines are rare in Colorado) and a few confirmations that the best contender for my description was a wolverine (definitely not a marmot).
                  Welcome to the forum where you'll find loads of 14er topics and more...


                  Half a year later, someone posted pictures of a wolverine they saw a few miles from where I did. (Square Top and Bierstadt mountain are 5 miles apart and separated by Guanella Pass).
                  Welcome to the forum where you'll find loads of 14er topics and more...


                  I enjoyed my two days of hiking in Colorado and the brief sighting of a wolverine was the trip's best memento.
                  Looking for views!

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                  • #24
                    Wolverine! Wow - jealous.

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                    • #25
                      Wolverine I saw at Hidden Lake in Glacier NP:




                      He was chasing a small bird in a playful manner. Although I doubt he'd let it go if he got it....

                      edit:

                      Sorry but not sorry for the size of the image.
                      Last edited by mike; 06-05-2017, 12:01 PM. Reason: apology
                      mike

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