What lives in this hole?????

R

REKCUT

Joined
Nov 28, 2008
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267
Went on a quick day hike yesterday and did a little walking on the beach. The beach has been eroded badly and on the side of the eroded hill I found an almost perfect Six inch round hole. I climbed up to investigate what it might be and didnt find any knid of animal tracks leading to or from it. I snapped these pictures and wondered if anyone might know what kind of critter make this his home?

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And before anyone asks, NO I wasnt going to stick my arm in there to find out what it was. Who do you think I am Bear Grills??:)
 
REKCUT said:
And before anyone asks, NO I wasnt going to stick my arm in there to find out what it was. Who do you think I am Bear Grills??:)
Click to expand...

That was my first thought.

The second was that it was a bird living in it since it didn't have any tracks around it. Third, it is most probably a tunnel that was revealed by the erosion of the hill. Meaning that the picture shows a random part of the tunnel and not its entrance. Finally I realize that I have no idea.
 
That looks like fairly loose, sandy soil: probably not the easiest or safest for a critter to live in. There's a lot of white lime-like material around the base of it, which would suggest water.

Is it an old creek buried by dirt trying to re-establish itself by cutting a hole through the soft soil? I dunno. It looks as if roots were cut out of it, though: water wouldn't cut roots.

Don't see any tracks or signs of life in it or around it.
 
I don't think it's a bird...You can see the tunnel is more square at the bottom, which to my mind indicates that it was dug with paws, rather than a beak, like I think Kingfishers do. Plus, I think the hole is too big for any ground-dwelling birds that might live in Virginia. I'm nowhere near an expert, but I would say some sort of medium-sized ground-dwelling mammal. Maybe a rabbit, weasel, or even a Fox. Hmmm...

EDIT: Or maybe a groundhog...:confused:
 
REKCUT, how's the weather in Hampton? I'm gonna be there in a month for the Phish concert. Any recommendations of cool places to go/things to do while I'm there. I'm only going to one night of the concert and am sticking around all weekend because the friends I'm driving with are going every night, kinda looking for something to do.
 
Don't know what animals you have there but I have seen similar (although slightly bigger) holes made by sea otter, and similar but smaller ones made by muskrats.

That looks like such fresh erosion that I wouldn't expect to see much in the way of tracks.
 
I haven't seen in in NC yet, but a few sources say they are moving North. I doubt that it would one of those though, they tend to have more horizontal holes.

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It might have been a stump hole that lost the log some how.
 
Looks like thers only one way to find out REKUT.:D You know ya gotta do it man, reach in there and just start yankin!!!:p
 
As I said I'm gonna be in Hampton in a month, so PM me the GPS coords and I'll man up and stick my hand in the hole if you wont.
 
Obviously a tunnel used by a juvenile Graboid.
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Go ahead cm. Stick your hand in there.:D
 
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