Lawn Critter Identification

[Clueless Morgan]

Can't tell anything from your photos and scale is hard to judge but here's a website you might find useful:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard...ing-holes/

Based on what I can see and infer from the size of the hole and where it appears to be (smaller hole based on the scale of the grass to the hole, sounds like it's probably in the middle of your yard since you almost mowed over it) than I'd guess, based on this website, some kind of ground squirrel:

Entrance 2 inches or less, in open areas with short grass–thirteen-lined ground squirrel

Though the visible markings of the animal in the photos don't look like that of a ground squirrel... (they're stripy with spots, a very recognizable pattern) and the ears are really small and the second photos looks like the animal has large ears - if I'm even seeing what I think I'm seeing.

I would guess a rabbit as well, but their holes are more conspicuous and not as well hidden, and I think they're also much bigger than this one looks.

Take better pictures.

Or set some traps and see if you can catch one of whatever is in there to identify it.

[Godscreated]

Hey city boys their rabbits, I recognized them as soon as I saw the picture. They're harmless unless you happen to be made of grass.

GC

[Anomalocaris]

Hey city boys their rabbits, I recognized them as soon as I saw the picture. They're harmless unless you happen to be made of grass.

GC

Uh, rabbits do bite, and those buck toothed incisors are not there for show.

[Chad32]

I've never heard of rabbits biting people. I guess it could happen, though. Of course if these are babies, they're probably less likely to bite.

[The Valkyrie]

[Anomalocaris]

I've never heard of rabbits biting people. I guess it could happen, though. Of course if these are babies, they're probably less likely to bite.

Trust me, it doesn't have to have rabies. If you corner a non-domesticated rabbit or otherwise make it feel threatened without a satisfactory retreat, it will certainly scratch and bite. It has a very powerful bite too, and will not just make a pair of holes in your skin but take a sizeable chunk right out of your hand.

I know.

[Faith No More]

Rabbits will scratch the shit out of you if they get scared. Their claws aren't sharp like a cats, but they'll make you drop them.

[Faith No More]

Looking at the picture again, it appears as if this rodent has a tail much longer than a rabbit's. I'm not sure GC is right.

ETA: Well, maybe that's a leg and not a tail. And I guess GC is probably enough of a redneck to know.

[Mystical]

Bah ha ha. I'm a mountain redneck and I guarantee that there's a rabbits foot. I've seen a lot of dismembered rabbits feet, so I'd know. But I do agree with Chuck here, they're DANGEROUS! They're gonna get you and your whole family if you don't stop them soon and they're breeding right beneath your guys' feet into a formidable army of incising teeth and dog-sharp claws! With squeals that will put chills right down your back if you ever have the misfortune of encountering one of these creatures in the open with no possible hole, cave, or shrubbery for the monster to run and hide in which is its' first nature to do. The babies are the most dangerous of all--if you catch them, they just stop breathing. I suspect they come back to life at night..
Plus, we all know what happened to these guys:



So go get thee a holy hand grenade (regular hand grenades do not work on such creatures).
I'm sure Godschilds people can help you with that..

[Chad32]

Rabbits will scratch the shit out of you if they get scared. Their claws aren't sharp like a cats, but they'll make you drop them.

I have been scratched by a rabbit. I had one sitting on my bare arm, and he decided to try to run.

Actually I'm not sure I've handled completely wild rabbits. There was that one time I caught a baby rabbit trying to escape my lawnmower by climbing the house wall, but that's it. The rest weren't pets, but they did have some human contact.