I love animal butts. Please don’t think I am odd since I like all the body parts, but butts make me smile. I hate to see those butts moving away from me, and yet I find them most amusing.
Although usually fleeting, my favorite butt to see is the swishy tail of a marmot sashaying across rocks, meadows and the tundra. Their most common butt behavior is flipping, flagging, and wagging their tails. Territorial adult males display this behavior to patrol boundaries and assert dominance. During aggressive interactions, a marmot may arch and raise its tail stiffly to appear larger and more threatening. My favorite action is their swirling tails when they are running quickly. They use their bushy tails in an erratic circular or figure-eight pattern to maintain balance.
Another rearend type that frequently makes me laugh out loud are duck and goose butts as they dip into water to eat aquatic plants (e.g., pondweed, algae, and roots) and aquatic invertebrates such as insects, snails, small fish, and crustaceans. Sometimes when I walk around Lake Estes, I see numerous ducks submerged with only their butt feathers showing.
The rear ends of bighorn sheep look like long john bottoms. I don’t see those sheep often, but when I do, their rears are noticeably distinctive. The most definitive feature of the sheep is their horns. Males (rams) have curled horns, while females (ewes) have much smaller slightly curved spike-like horns. Nevertheless, regardless of the sex they have light bottoms that extend all the way down to their knees.
Bighorn Ewes and Lambs
Elk also have a much lighter bottom compared to the rest of their bodies. An elk’s backside is characterized by a light-colored patch (buff, cream, or stark white in color) known as a rump patch. The visible rear rump patch on these animals is so iconic that “Wapiti,” the Native American name for elk, translates to “white butt.” This butt beacon helps members follow each other through brush or low light,
My kitty, Gitch, thinks he has an adorable rear end and frequently lifts his tail as I run my fingers down his back and along his gray tail. Cats use their tails to signal their emotions. For example, a low, quick flick or slow swish may indicate that Gitch is irritated, and I need to stop touching him. A rapid side-to-side swish or a “bum wiggle” may mean he is playful. A tail held high in the air with a quivering tip shows excitement. Gitch demonstrates this behavior often when he greets me or before mealtime.
As you can see, butts intrigue and amuse me.