Identifying Similar Looking Animals on Wildlife Cameras - Sky Island Alliance Meagan Bethel Spring 2021 V. 1 - Sky ...
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Identifying Similar Looking
Animals on Wildlife Cameras
Sky Island Alliance
Meagan Bethel
Spring 2021 V. 1
Table of Contents 1. General Advice 2. Jackrabbits 3. Deer 4. Canines 5. Felines 6. The 4 skunk species 7. Squirrels 8. Procyonids 9. Opossum 10. Turkey vs Turkey Vulture
General Advice
• Use surrounding landscape for scale
• Compare animal’s size to near by trees and rocks
• Get familiar with local wildlife
• Some species might not even be in your area. Look at:
• Range maps
• Elevation
• Vegetation type
• Go with your best educated guess if you don’t
know!
• This is a skill that takes practice
Jackrabbits
Antelope jackrabbit Black-tailed jackrabbit
• White rimmed ears • Black tipped ears
• White/silver sides • Brownish colored
• Short tail overall
• Longer tail
Meagan’s opinion: Antelope jackrabbits have a blockier body and head shape than black-tails
Best ID feature: Ears
Antelope jackrabbit (Lepus alleni)
White rimmed ears White rimmed ears
Short tail
Silver sides
EliSP
Black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus)
Camera can wash out color and look
white. Use other ID clues to help
Long tail
Black tipped ears
Longer tail
Sides are brown
Jane Dixon Jane Dixon Jane Dixon
Antelope jackrabbit Comparison Black-tailed jackrabbit
Long black tail, brown sides
White sides
White rimmed ears
Black tipped ears
EliSP
Deer
Mule deer White-tailed deer aka Coues Deer
• Usually at lower elevations • Usually at higher elevations
• Black tipped tail • Fluffy white underside of
• Larger ears tail
• Dark forehead/eyebrows • White band on nose
• Long metatarsal gland • Male antler’s points come
from a single main beam
• Male antler’s points fork • Short metatarsal gland
like a tree
Meagan’s opinion: Don’t rely on ear size alone! Both have large looking ears to help regulate heat.
Best ID feature: Tail
Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Black tipped tail
“rope-like”
White
rump
Antlers fork as they grow
Tan/orange legs
Large ears
Long metatarsal gland
Dark
eyebrows
Jim Rorabaugh CR Schulz
Cholla Nicoll Borderlands Restoration Network
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Fluffy white underside of tail
Antler tines come off main beam
White band on nose
Short metatarsal gland
Cholla Nicoll
Borderlands
Restoration NetworkWhere the heck is the metatarsal gland?
A scent gland on the outside of the hind
legs
Mule deer:
longer, higher up
White-tailed deer:
Small, lower on leg
The legs are not always clear or in the shot, use other clues first like the tailMule deer Comparison: Bucks White-tailed deer
Mule deer Comparison: Does White-tailed deer
Mule deer Comparison: Mug shots White-tailed deer
Canines
Coyote Foxes
• Large body • Small
• Long legs • Short legs
• Body high off ground • Body lower to ground
• Large ears • Very long tail
• Cat likeCoyote (Canis latrans)
Tail doesn’t reach the ground
PJ Cicero
Big ears
Long legsGray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)
Small delicate head
Gray and orange coat
Black tail stripe
Orange and white sides
Black tail stripe
Body low to ground
Jim RorabaughFoxes
Gray fox Kit fox
• More common • Less common
• Greater territorial range • Found in deserts
• Larger • Smaller
• Gray, white, and orange • Sandy gray and orange
colored colored
• Black tipped tail WITH • Black tipped tail
black stripe along top
Meagan’s opinion: In the Sky Island region, gray foxes are much more common, but always check for a tail stripe!
Best ID feature: TailGray fox Comparison Kit fox
Black tail stripe
No tail stripe
Wildlands NetworkCommon felines
Mountain lion Bobcat
• Very large • Smaller
• Long tail • Short tail
• Solid tan/orange with white • Brownish gray, may have
undersides spots
• Round ears • Dark stripes on inside of
• Longer back legs than front legs
gives them distinctive • Large pointed ears
silhouette
Meagan’s opinion: Mountain lions have small heads compared to their bodiesMountain lion (Puma concolor)
Round ears
Long tail
Solid tan and white color Small head compared to body
Long distinctive body shape,Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
Pointed ears
Short tail
Dark forearm bars
No long tail visible
Cheek fur
Long legs4 skunk species
• Hooded skunk
• Striped skunk
• Hog-nosed skunk
• Spotted skunk
• 3 look similar
• Hooded, striped, and hog-nosed
• 2 look very different once you know
what to look for
• Spotted and hog-nosed
• 2 require practice and experience
• Striped and hoodedMephitis genus
Hooded skunk Striped skunk
• White face stripe • White face stripe
• Tail much longer than body • Tail shorter than body
• ~2/3 of body
• Longer shaggier fur • Fur makes it look about body length
• Coat patterns highly variable • Body looks larger because of shorter tail
• May appear like the striped but • Some variations in coat patterns
the white doesn’t meet at the • Always have a black stripe at the base of
top of the back but continues the back and tail bisecting the white
along side • White looks like a Y
• The white stripes always meet above the
neck/shoulders
Meagan’s opinion: Use tail length and LOOK FOR THAT BLACK STRIPE ON THE BACK!Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
Tail roughly body length
White always meets
Hanby/Bygott above shoulders
forming a ‘Y’ or ‘V’
Cholla Nicoll AZ TNC
Black stripe on back
Can be very faint
White stripe on faceHooded skunk (Mephitis macroura)
Can have black back and tail,
but the white does not meet
above the shoulders. No ‘Y’
Long tail
White face stripe
Fur patterns can vary greatly
Hooded skunk, not a
caterpillar
White on neck and head extends past ears, like a hood!
Jim RorabaughStriped skunk Comparison: Mephitis Hooded skunk Black back stripe Very long tail! White meets above shoulders White continues along the sides
Spotted and Hog-nosed Western spotted skunk Hog-nosed skunk • Much smaller than other • Large bare nose like a pig skunks • Stocky body and legs • Often a blur on camera • Powerful digging claws • Distinctive marbled coat • Shorter, all white tail • Large white spot between • Entire back and top of head the eyes between the ears is white • Shorter tail, fan-like instead • The white on the head looks of a bottlebrush like a cap or hat
Western spotted skunk (Spilogale gracilis)
Short, fan-like tail
Distinctive marbled coat
Spot on face instead of stripe
Jim Rorabaugh
Often appears as bounding blurs!
Much smaller than the other three skunk speciesHog-nosed skunk (Conepatus leuconotus) Coronado National Memorial
Tail shorter than body
ALL WHITE TAIL
White on neck and head extends
stays between the ears, like a cap
Shorter body fur makes the line
between white and black cleaner
Large bare nose
Stockier body shape
Jim RorabaughMephitis vs Conepatus
Striped skunk and Hooded
skunk- white backed variation Hog-nosed skunk
• White face stripe • NO face stripe!
• Leaner body and thinner legs • Large bare nose like a pig
• Longer tails with black mixed • Large stocky body and legs
in • Tail short and all white
• Longer fur on body • Shorter fur on body, clean line
• Hooded skunks: White between white and black
extends past ears like a hood • White stays between ears like
a cap
Meagan’s opinion: Use body shape, hog-noses look like mini honey badgersMephitis skunks Comparison Hog-nosed skunk Black tail of a All white tail striped skunk Tail longer Tail shorter than body of than body hooded skunk
Squirrels – Tree squirrels
Abert’s Squirrel Arizona gray squirrel
• Found in pine forests and • Found in oak woodlands
higher elevations and riparian areas
• Slate gray color • Grayish brown
• Rust red fur on back • Underside of tail looks
• Silver lined tail reddish orange
• Almost always have • Ears lack ear tufts
distinctive tufted ears • Neck fur may be orange
behind earsAbert’s squirrel Comparison Arizona gray squirrel
Silver tail
No tufts
Tufted ears
Brownish
gray body
Rust colored
only on back
Tail has more
color in it
SDMSTEADTAZCommon camera squirrels
Arizona gray squirrel Rock squirrel
• Gray-brown overall, • Salt and pepper coat, multicolored
• May have orange patches hair makes coat looked flecked
• Coat pattern not as complicated as a • Back half often an orange brown
rock squirrel’s color
• White undersides • Tail often held lower to ground
• Tail long and fluffy with silver and • It’s a ground dwelling squirrel and its
brown fur behavior often shows this
• Staying close to ground
• It’s a tree squirrel, it looks like it’s • Perching on rocks
made to jump through trees
• Long legs and tail • Adaptable and found in a lot of
• Agile, active posture environments
• Deserts, canyons, rocky pine forests,
• They forage on the ground but live-in urban landscapes
trees.
• Found mainly in oak and sycamore
canyons
• Mostly in the mountains
Meagan’s opinion: First consider the environment, gray squirrels are far more limited.
Then look for the salt and pepper coloration, and orange rump of the rock squirrelsRock squirrel (Otospermophilus varigatus)
Much more common is a variety of
vegetation types (deserts to pine trees)
Salt and pepper
coat and tail
Back half often a brown-orange
Bushy tail has flecked black
and white pattern too
Body and tail often held low to ground
Likes to perch on rocks,
aptly namedArizona gray squirrel (Sciurus arizonensis)
Found mostly in the oak
woodlands and riparian canyons
Coat gray overall
Fluffy, silver and brown tail
Tail often held high
White undersides
Long legs for jumpingGround squirrels
Round-tailed ground squirrel Harris’s antelope squirrel
• Simple tan and white fur • Striped body
• Long skinny black tipped tail • Brown, orange, and white
• One white stripe along sides
• Social and live-in colonies in a
large burrow • Tail fluffy and held above body
• The tail acts as an umbrella
• Not a prairie dog! from the sun!
• But they do look like mini
versions of them • More solitary
• Not a chipmunk!
• Chipmunks are found at higher
elevations and have more
stripes
Meagan’s opinion: Both are similar size and are active at the hottest part of the day,
but have very different appearances and behaviors.Round tailed ground squirrel (Xerospermophilus tereticaudus)
White undersides
Jane Dixon
Sandy tan colored
Long skinny tail
@TucsonEmily MiddyHarris’s antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus harrisii) @TucsonEmily
White line along body
Orange brown
and white
White eye ring
Fluffy tail held high
PJ Cicero @TucsonEmilyStriped squirrels
Harris’s antelope squirrel Cliff Chipmunk
• Found in deserts • Higher in elevation
• Below 4,500 ft • 5,000-12,000 ft
• Ears small and round • Ears tall and pointed
• Face not striped • Face boldly striped
• White eye ring only • Orange and white stripes on eyes
and cheeks
• Body has a single bold white
stripe on each side • Back has multiple black and faint
white stripes
• Tail almost always held above
body • Tail held behind bodyThe Procyonids
Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) Raccoon (Procyon lotor)
Black mask,
Tail shorter than body
Small tan body,
Long black and white tail
Jim Rorabaugh
White-nosed coati (Nasua narica)
Long nose and tail
Both ringtails and raccoons
are primarily nocturnal
while coatis are diurnalVirginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana californica)
Tail bicolored, dark base
with lighter tip
Pointed face
Long skinny tail
Much larger than packrats
Dark stripes across
eyes and foreheadGould’s turkey Turkey birds Turkey vulture
Colorful head
Pink head
Waddles
Shorter legs
White tipped feathers
Iridescent feathers
Solid dark
brown color
Long legsThank you to all
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