Mystery Animal in West Virginia Baffles Locals — Here’s What Experts Think

Look around your neighborhood, and you’ll probably notice the usual wildlife: squirrels, birds, maybe even a deer or two. But imagine stumbling upon a creature so unusual you can’t quite figure out what it is. That’s exactly what happened to one West Virginia resident, sparking a debate and a wave of curiosity in the local community.

It all started on October 24, when Brittany Keller, on her way to work, noticed an odd sight in Ritter Park in Huntington, West Virginia. Among a group of deer, she spotted a creature unlike anything she had seen before.

“When I stopped to take a closer look, I realized this animal was something I’d never encountered,” Keller told WSAZ. She quickly captured footage of the mystery animal, which has an unusual build, a long tail, and a pointed snout. Eager to identify the strange creature, Keller posted the video on Facebook, but it only added to the mystery as locals and friends guessed at its identity. Some suggested it could be a lemur—a primate native only to Madagascar, thousands of miles away.

Andy McKee, an animal expert from the Zoology Zone Science Center, commented on the footage, saying, “It would be extremely unlikely to see a lemur here unless it was someone’s pet.” Although lemurs are legal to own as exotic pets in West Virginia under certain conditions, they’re not commonly found.

So what might this mystery creature actually be? McKee believes it’s much more likely a fox affected by mange or another condition that distorts its appearance. Though this explanation seems the most probable, that hasn’t stopped locals from speculating on the possibility of an exotic mystery creature in their local park.