MISSION, Texas — Have you seen this animal? A State Park in Texas has taken to the internet to solve an important mystery, exactly what animal did one visitor capture in a Trail Cam photo one night?
Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park and Texas Parks and Wildlife shared the photo in a Facebook post to see if any of their followers could help identify the "elusive creature".
Offering possibilities like a new species, an escapee from a nearby zoo or a park ranger in disguise, the Park opened the floor to suggestions for other possibilities as to what the creature could be.
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Commenters had all kinds of guesses for the identity of the mystery animal, from a coatimundi, a capybara, a particularly odd-looking wild hog or even a hippopotamus.
So what was the final verdict? Well, the most common answer that commenters decided on was that the creature was a badger, a possibility that Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley agreed was probably the most likely culprit.
"We agree with most of the comments that this is very likely an American Badger (not to be confused with the Honey Badger that lives in Africa and Asia and is rumored to not care very much)", the Park added on to their post.
The Park said American Badgers are rarely seen in the valley, mostly due to them being nocturnal, but it is within their natural habitat range (unlike some of the other suggestions such as the capybara or hippopotamus, which sadly are not native to the state).
Since the exact location the picture was taken is unknown, there may never be a definitive answer to the mystery of the creature's identity, but the Park said that regardless of what the animal actually was, it was still "thrilling to see such an amazing animal in its natural habitat".
Do you agree with the Park's guess? What do you think this mysterious creature could be?
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