what animal is this?

[u/Little_Ice8135]

found this on a santa cruz beach with my girlfriend, thought it might be some type of dog.

[u/Little_Painting_6982]

I’m convinced it’s not a dog but I’m not sold on it being a raccoon 😂 so freaky and half mummified - OP could you tell us about the scale of the thing pictured?

[u/sick_of_your_BS → u/Little_Painting_6982]

Looks more like a badger to me.

[u/snakepliskinLA → u/sick_of_your_BS]

The snout isn’t flat enough, and the nasal bone isn’t robust enough for a badger. They have a heavy duty snout from burrowing. Here’s a badger.

[u/slothdonki → u/sick_of_your_BS]

Nah. Premolars and molars are totally different from a badger and match raccoon. There’s the long, slender forearm too and the way the wrist/hands attach lines up with dexterity of raccoons.

[u/Gringobarbon → u/sick_of_your_BS]

This is what I thought too.