Can you please help me work out what animal I just saw

[YellowJellyfish]

In the UK driving down the narrow country roads when this animal ran/waddled across the road.

It was bigger than a cat, smaller than a badger, slower than a fox.

It kind of waddled, was quite round and had no tail.

I really can't think what kind of mammal it was.

Any ideas?

Was it a weasel?

Did it have hair? Might be an escaped gerund.

You get ginger badgers...

Could it have been a mara? A bit like a small, less stocky capybara. I'm not sure what one would be doing in your part of the world, but I suppose it's no more unlikely than a capybara or coypu.

Ok, this thread is brilliant for all kinds of reasons.
The diagrams.
The haggis.

But mainly for the fact that I am obsessed with capybara and had no idea they are potentially roaming the uk in the wild... so I now have a new hobby. Capybara spotting!

There are colonies of wallabies living wild in the UK. I think there's some in the Peak District?

Not that I'm saying that's what the OP saw. I think it was an alien. Did you see any strange lights in the sky just before spotting the beast OP?

Oh no! I find that really sad Twenty2. However, having hit a few wallabies in my life , they certainly don’t waddle anywhere.

I think I want to go to the Peak District to see them, now.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchconnachan

Thanks Coldhandcoldheart. And interesting history, particularly about the endangering the Capercaillie population.

There are animals being mentioned on here that I’ve never heard of!
There was an owl in the news the other day that was too fat to fly and had to be dieted before it could be released back into the wild.
That would waddle, I guess.
Have I missed which part of the country this was in?

Maybe it was a chupacabra on holiday, wearing a coat to keep warm, on it's way to send a "wish you were here" postcard?

Either an otter or a capercaillie.

Ooh, got it! Wild Alot!

hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html?m=1

It was a Billy Bumbler.

Thanks for this thread - I now have this as my new phone screensaver which has cheered me up no end!

Wombat? Used in Australia for playing the little known game of Wom.

Moorhen?

They scuttle about.

To the people talking about wallabies I've seen them in the Peak district.

About 35 years ago saw a whole herd of them on Axe Edge moor. Watched them for about ten mins. Must have been nearly 30 of them.

Then rumour was they'd gone extinct but after the extinction reports I saw a solitary one at The Roaches. That would have been about 1999.

I don't know of any sightings since then. So probably not about anymore.

Are there any wildlife parks near where you are OP?

I reckon either a juvenile capybara or an agouti.

Whoever the fuck that friendly grinning fellow is, twirlypoo, I don’t think it can be him as the OP said no smile. I’d be happy to have him living in a burrow in my garden though, assuming he’s the sort of chap who lives in a burrow. 🤔

Ah bugger I have been beaten to it o was going to say a escaped haggis too

A kiwi (bird, not fruit or backpacker)

Porcupine? Big hedgehog

I didn't know capercaillies existed until one wouldn't move out the middle of the road in the Highlands! I was "What the godamn actual fuck is that!!"

This was in the days before google and more importantly Mumsnet! Prior to actually seeing the beast bird I thought Capercaillie was a Scottish band. Who'd have thought such an amazing creature was a native of the UK!!

Anyway UPDATE I now know what it was/is ... sadly neither a ufo, mr man or nova virus!!

Drum roll ..... yes it was a BADGER! But not any old badger .... oh no .... an Albino one!! My local Facebook Spotted page was all agog at the latest sighting of our amazing creature. Although it wasn't totally white and it wasn't full size, it was more silvery brown with no stripes on his face!!!

We apparently have a pure white one too, I wonder if it was the cub (yes I had to google to find out what a baby badger was called) of the pure albino one and a normal one!!

Anyway it's all very exciting and this thread has made me guffaw! Thanks :)

I have attached a picture of a similar albino badger, although mine had ears and a smiley face.

I was talking to a DS after school today about this! As well as saying 'well, this is definitely more interesting than the usual how did school go', his immediate response was 'a young badger with a dirty face from rooting around for food in the mud and earth'. Which is what I thought too, really.

Wow! That's quite special. And some of the suggestions here weren't too far off the mark.