How big was it, compared to a grey squirrel?

Just putting my two cents in. After checking a lengthy list of small mammals found in Maine I'd say your critter is definitely a woodchuck.

It was fun looking!

I've seen a marten in Boothbay, coming down the rocks to the water, and it looks more like a weasel, and we had otters at our cottage near Sebago Lake, you'd know what they look like.

It looks like it had a tough winter, it's thin, probably hungry.

Enjoy

A muskrat also slopes without a pointy nose.

The fur on the back is raccoon but I am puzzled with the face. The white on the nose could be in response to an injury. From the picture showing the side view it appears that the white goes arround the muzzle.

Would it be posible to have a picture of your lost one showing the rear. Or maybe a discription of any tail appendage.

I see one of the feet and it appears to be webbed. Is it?

The closest to a ground hog/woodchuck I have been is a youngster that was rolled by several cars in front of my neighbors. The paws did not look like what I see in your picture.

My monitor does not show the best pictures and many are too dark for details so if you could take a picture with the sun hitting the animal it would help.

When you saw it eating could you tell what kind of teeth it had?

Always more questions.

I was also stumped by this photo until I compared photos of different small mammals. Take a look at this one:

www.pbase.com/muskrat/image/113002328

I think the photo of the baby groundhog fits, no?

Hope this helps -

Marmots live in the western U.S. and Canada (one took up residence under our cabin in Yellowstone). They do look a lot like groundhogs though.

I truly did a pretty thorough check through the "small" mammals living in Maine (New England area) and really, groundhog seemed most likely.

Also, I didn't presume anything about muskrats. I was just referring to the website, which also had a photo of a groundhog that seemed to be a close match to the "critter" in question.

Hope this is helpful -

Some old tales mention marmots in the maritimes. What they were who knows. I think for now the best suggestion is groundhog.

Seriously... groundhogs ARE marmots, there are just regional differences and as a result they also go by locally different names. Our midwestern "groundhog" is marmota monax, and there's yellow-bellied marmots (aka whistle pigs out west),woodchucks, etc...
I agree this is one messed-up individual. By the pictures I would initially say it seems to be a younger groundhog with some serious spinal issues or muscular afflictions or something like that going on, maybe it was struck by a car and survived?? In the first photo the face does initially seem to have a coon-like pronounced nose/muzzle, but when you go to the next photo, the side view shows more of a continuous line from top of the skull to the bridge of the nose, which is more consistent with 'hogs. I keep going back to the first photo, though, and staring at those feet! This should settle the debate...find a good clear set of tracks or just get out your binocs and count the # of toes up front...a groundhog will have four and a coon will show five. And before anyone gives me a pat on the back for thinking of this, I have to be honest...I was initially going to go with "how does it walk?" first, not # of toes. I know that coons move in a completely different manner than 'hogs and was going to suggest watching for this behavior next time you saw it, but then wondered if this would be a dependable diagnostic given the way this thing is standing, which is pretty FUBAR for a groundhog. So, while I was scratching my head I had hunted up a reference sheet to double check my stride comparisons when I spotted the toe discrepancy. I learn something every day!
So there you go, this should help narrow the field.

BTW, don't be surprised if it chatters its teeth at you or gives a really loud, piping squeal. And don't corner it... a healthy groundhog will try to get away from you, even shimmy up a tree ( have seen this personally), but if it feels cornered it can fight like the dickens.

Well, you do learn something everyday, such as the fact that a groundhog is a marmot! I had no idea, and am glad to find that out.

Having rechecked other photos and the ones on this post, I still have to say groundhog. In the photo above I would even say four toes. And there is no way this animal is a raccoon.

Thanks for the info - this has been a really interesting post to think about!

I really don't know about other places but I have lived in Maine(all over) my whole life and it seems like we are overrun with them!

Just a link about marmota monax
http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/96/2.1.96/facts.html

I have read with interest the recent posts suggesting the critter might be a beaver or a fisher. After viewing photos of both and comparing them with the posted photos I could see similarities.

Then I came across the photo at this website:

www.groundhoginformationlearningzone.com

I wonder what folks will think after seeing this photo. This has been a fun puzzle to try to solve!

www.groundhoglearningzone.com

What about a mink?

Sometimes they have white on the chin.

Revisiting the "critter" -

I've considered the possibility of the "critter" being a mink, and I guess I still think it's a groundhog, for the following reasons:

if you look at the photos to compare, the critter's claws are more suitable for digging than the mink's, and so would more likely belong to a digging animal, i.e. the groundhog;

the shape of the head doesn't jive with a mink's; the critter has a more bluntly shaped forehead, and almost no neck compared to that of a mink;

the critter's legs seem to be longer than a mink's, and its body shorter. Minks have a very distinctive way of moving close to the ground, because of having short legs and a long torso.

The coloration of the critter is very different from a mink's - varied, several shades, light and dark.

I hope you don't mind my posting this response; I really love learning about wild animals and have really enjoyed trying to pinpoint what this critter is; and I like hearing what others think and checking it out.
This critter has been worth 26 posts already!

What about a gopher? A Weasel? I know it probably is a gopher, but it just looks so pitiful and not like the ones I see everyday.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21769439@N02/2105518342

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8478696@N05/3053753127/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elron6900/525719929/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/eldin/2153321164/

These are all gophers. It's worth a peek, but you are probably right. I think it resembles the gopher more.

Just checked some facts to help on the "what's this critter" adventure and am still convinced that the critter is a groundhog.

Went through a state of Maine mammals list and the groundhog is the only mammal on the list that makes sense with the two photos. I have to say, though, I think this was one really difficult id -