mystery animal in water of leith

my friends and i were enjoying some beers in the sun alongside the water of leith when we saw a little weasel-like creature swimming and exploring the canal walls for food. it seemed to disregard us all and carry on about its business for about 20 minutes just 6-8 feet away... it was all black/brown and about a foot long plus a bushy tale, no lighter areas on the nose or paws... it was too small for a ferret or weasel but i suppose it could have been a youngling... i didn't think weasels/ferrets liked water anyway.

any ideas what it could be? george you keep ferrets don't you? closest match i can find googling is maybe a mink? it certainly looked alot like this mink...

Was it a Fisher (yes, fisher) cat?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal)

it was fishing and mousing.

i think i've solved the mystery now anyway, i think it is a domesticated pet mink, bred for it's smaller size and tamer nature, possibly escaped or set free into the wilds of edinburgh's shore area.

escapes minks normally hang around water like canals/rivers

some animal activists released a lot of farm minks and our local canal was rife

saying that pole cats aren't unheard of around your neck of the woods

derek riorden

  On 5/3/2010 at 2:38 PM, soundwave said:

escapes minks normally hang around water like canals/rivers

 

some animal activists released a lot of farm minks and our local canal was rife

 

saying that pole cats aren't unheard of around your neck of the woods

 

i considered the polecat but this didn't have any lighter markings on the face

might have just been a bunch of spiders and beetles working together

that's also a feasable explanation

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Just what the shore needs - more mystery things lurking in the water.

Beats corpses in suitcases I suppose.

  On 5/3/2010 at 5:31 PM, Rambo said:

?

It's a koala, you can tell from the eucalyptus in the background.

  On 5/3/2010 at 3:01 PM, Coalbucket PI said:

might have just been a bunch of spiders and beetles working together

  On 5/3/2010 at 5:49 PM, hautlle said:

  On 5/3/2010 at 3:01 PM, Coalbucket PI said:

might have just been a bunch of spiders and beetles working together

I think that's unlikely considering beetle exoskeletons are made of potassium. That's why they explode when it rains.

  On 5/3/2010 at 5:51 PM, kakapo said:

  On 5/3/2010 at 5:49 PM, hautlle said:

  On 5/3/2010 at 3:01 PM, Coalbucket PI said:

might have just been a bunch of spiders and beetles working together

 

I think that's unlikely considering beetle exoskeletons are made of potassium. That's why they explode when it rains.

also, i saw one of these...

  On 5/3/2010 at 5:54 PM, keltoi said:

  On 5/3/2010 at 5:51 PM, kakapo said:

  On 5/3/2010 at 5:49 PM, hautlle said:

  On 5/3/2010 at 3:01 PM, Coalbucket PI said:

might have just been a bunch of spiders and beetles working together

 

I think that's unlikely considering beetle exoskeletons are made of potassium. That's why they explode when it rains.

 

also, i saw one of these...

 

That's just like, your opinion man. I'm pretty sure spiders and beetles working together can shapeshift into a very convincing facsimile of one of those.

  On 5/3/2010 at 2:17 PM, kakapo said:

Was it a Fisher (yes, fisher) cat?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal)

what kind of cat was that?

whod win out of a rhino or a hippo, i personally think rdj would win

Are you sure it wasn't an illegal immigrant trying to swim into the country? Some of those are quite swarthy and hairy.