What is it??

[Robhuntandfish]

Went to lease today and moved a pile of brush. In a tree just behind one of my stands this was in a tree.  I could see it from a ways away and went over to check it out. It was an off white and to me it looks like a tail .  I thought it was some kind of animal til I walked over there.  

What animal did it come from? All I can think is skunk? But no black on it.  It's prob 12-14 inches long.  

Edited April 19, 2020 by Robhuntandfish

[Daveboone]

I aint sayin it was me, but when I was much younger and foolish we used to shoot the tails off of squirrels...We had a whole woods of tail less squirrels running around for a few years. Mebbe …?

[Robhuntandfish]

I think it was way to big for a squirrel. Unless it was a real big squirrel. 

[Robhuntandfish]

House cat tail is all i can come up with

[Paula]

It could be an all white skunk tail?

[doebuck1234]

4 minutes ago, Paula said:

It could be an all white skunk tail?

My great uncle one night thought he had a white shopping bag in his lawn so went out to pick it up.sure enough that bag started running

Very well could be skunk tail!!

House cat would be my 2nd choice

Edited April 19, 2020 by doebuck1234

[Pygmy]

Great horned owls LOVE skunks...Perhaps an owl had a skunk feast and left the tail there....

[stubborn1VT]

Also, skunks come in all variations and patterns.  Saw quite a few skunks on Martha's Vineyard that had no stripe.  They were mostly white. 

I found a skunk tail in my pasture a couple days ago.  I figure an owl caught it and sat on the fence to eat it.  The tail was much smaller and had the distinctive stripe.

[Pygmy]

17 minutes ago, stubborn1VT said:

Also, skunks come in all variations and patterns.  Saw quite a few skunks on Martha's Vineyard that had no stripe.  They were mostly white. 

I found a skunk tail in my pasture a couple days ago.  I figure an owl caught it and sat on the fence to eat it.  The tail was much smaller and had the distinctive stripe.

I have seen a number of skunks with little or no black stripe on their tail...Back in the 1930s and early 1940s, skunks were a valuable  furbearer, often bringing $5- $10, which was big money in those days...When the furs were graded, the ones with the LEAST white on them were graded the highest, thus worth the most $$….The lower grades tended to have the most white...I have seen more skunks with all white tails than those with a lot of black on the tails..

[airedale]

Through the process of elimination Skunks are the only animal in the wild I know that would have a tail like the one pictured. I would say Dan's explanation of an Owl kill is the most plausible.

Al

[turkeyfeathers]

26 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

I have seen a number of skunks with little or no black stripe on their tail...Back in the 1930s and early 1940s, skunks were a valuable  furbearer, often bringing $5- $10, which was big money in those days...When the furs were graded, the ones with the LEAST white on them were graded the highest, thus worth the most $$….The lower grades tended to have the most white...I have seen more skunks with all white tails than those with a lot of black on the tails..

My Pop always talked about the grades of skunks and how they varied greatly on white versus black 

[Pygmy]

21 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

My Pop always talked about the grades of skunks and how they varied greatly on white versus black 

I got my info from my Dad also,  Jay...I may be old, but I ain't THAT old...Hehehe...I also have some old trapping books that illustrate the grading on skunks....P.S.  The most I ever got out of a skunk pelt was a quarter... Even in 1962, that wasn't worth the effort, not to mention the stink...Hehehe...