What Is It? Unidentified Creature Captured On Video In Worcester

WORCESTER, MA — A Worcester resident recently captured an unidentified creature on a home surveillance camera. The homeowner posted the video on the Neighbors App on Christmas Eve, and wondered whether the animal was a fox or coyote.

Both of those animals, it turns out, are common in Worcester.

Foxes are the most common type of carnivore (although they will eat almost anything) in Massachusetts, according to the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. There are two fox species that live in the state: the gray fox and the red fox. But both types weigh a max of about 15 pounds, and the creature in this video looks a little bigger than that.

There's a good chance the creature could be a coyote. Before Thanksgiving, Worcester At-large Councilor Morris Bergman floated the idea of the city creating a map of coyote sightings. He got the idea from Natick (which had a problem with coyotes), and after hearing about some coyote sightings in his Tatnuck neighborhood.

Can you identify the creature? Here's the video, as seen on the Neighbors app :

Ring, the owner of the Neighbors app, is a Patch advertiser. Patch received no compensation for this article.