Weekly Puzzler #173: A Mammal with a White Striped Face and Short Legs

Happy Saturday and Happy November! Are you ready for another month?

While I was out west on my recent road trip I saw many animals that don’t live in my home state of western North Carolina, like bison, brown bears, wolves, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs and this animal, my next puzzler.

Check out these photos that were taken in South Dakota one morning while I was visiting a prairie dog town. I was watching the prairie dogs when this mammal came ambling out of the grass and waddled towards the vehicle I was in. The prairie dogs were going crazy, making all kinds of alarm calls and doing what I call “the wave,” where they stand up, arch their backs and throw their hands in the air while calling loudly. Obviously they were not a fan of this mammal! I, on the other hand was absolutely THRILLED because though I knew what it was, I had never seen one before.

I was able to watch it for long enough to get some decent photos  and spend some time observing it. Do you know it? Does it live near you? Can you identify this mammal?

If you have a guess or a story about this mystery animal I would love to hear from you! Use the comment box below to give your guess. Starting today, I will be collecting responses to the puzzlers again for the chance to win a prize. This quarter  I will be giving away a sampler pack of my greeting cards, which by the way, would make an excellent holiday gift for a nature-lover on your shopping list. All correct responses will be entered in a drawing. A winner will be chosen on the first day of  winter–a day that seems a long way off now, but is really just around the corner! For multiple chances to win, answer as many puzzlers as you can between now and then.

Have a great weekend! Don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour tonight. (Officially at 2 am on Sunday, November 4th)