Note: we are republishing this story which originally made the news in November 2024.
A mysterious creature caught on video walking alongside a group of deer in a West Virginia park has locals scratching their heads and wondering, “What exactly is that?”
The strange sighting occurred on October 24 as Brittany Keller was on her way to work in Huntington, West Virginia. As she passed Ritter Park, she noticed a strange animal among a small herd of deer grazing on the grass. Intrigued by the sight, Keller stopped and managed to capture footage of the creature as it scurried along with the deer.
A fox on a walking path (for illustrative purposes), Photo Credit: Wikimedia
Once she shared the video with her neighbors and posted it on social media, the community became abuzz with speculation. Many residents of Huntington were left stumped, unable to identify the creature. Keller herself admitted that when she took a closer look, she realized the animal was something she’d never encountered before.
“I thought it was something strange, and when I stopped to get a better view, I could tell it wasn’t something I’d seen in the area before,” Keller told WSAZ News.
As the video spread online, some viewers speculated that the creature could be a lemur. While this theory might seem plausible to some, it was quickly dismissed given that lemurs are native to Madagascar—over 9,000 miles away from West Virginia.
Animal expert Andy McKee weighed in on the mysterious sighting, telling WSAZ that the creature in the video “resembles a fox suffering from mange.” Mange, a contagious skin disease caused by mites, can lead to hair loss, itching, thickened skin, and scabs. McKee’s assessment suggests that the creature could be a local fox with a severe case of mange, which would explain its unusual appearance.
But this wasn’t the only strange animal sighting to make headlines in October. On October 22, the Bristol Zoo Project in England shared an equally puzzling photo captured by one of their trail cameras. The picture, taken in the park’s ancient woodland, featured a “mysterious winged and horned creature” alongside a muntjac deer. The zoo, which focuses on wildlife conservation, was left baffled by the sighting and turned to the public for help in identifying the creature.
In their social media post, the Bristol Zoo team explained that their camera traps are used to monitor wildlife in the area, but the animal in the photo was unlike anything they had seen before. The zoo included a daytime photo of a muntjac deer, a species known for its short antlers that can resemble horns, to help viewers compare the two animals.
The mystery animal’s silhouette visible from inside a car driving by, Photo Credit: WSAZ NewsChannel 3/Youtube
While these odd sightings continue to stir up curiosity, it’s clear that the animal world still holds plenty of surprises—leaving both West Virginia and the UK with lingering questions about what might be lurking in the wild.
