Animals on Mars??

[rdunk]

I am posting what appear to be two animal statues in a Mars Rover Opportunity photo. Because of difference in size, I would just assume one is an adult, and one is a "cub"(?). When I saw these, at first, I thought they were alive, because the adult is looking straight toward the Rover camera. But, after having found them, in the same place and position on several different Rover Sol day photos, they must be lifeless forms, resulting from taxidermy, or could just be another type of fabricated statues. The bodies are completely covered with fur or something else. Actually, in my view of the smaller animal, I can see what seems to be a quill of feathers, down the side of the front leg???? One can just see that the lowest part of the back leg looks bare. The front leg areas look very full and wide, by comparison.

These anomalies/animals can be seen in Rover Opportunity Nav Cam photos Sol day 2138, and they can be seen in Rover Opportunity Panoramic Cam photos Sol days 2139, 2140, and 2143 (and probably others).

For FYI, I will post a link to a Rover Opportunity Panoramic camera Sol day 2139 photo, and will post a screen shot.

marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/all/1/p/2139/1P318075869EDNAB66P2277L1M1.JPG

So, what are they? How did they get here? What does this say to us?

Enjoy! And please comment on what you see, and think.

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In this case I really have problems to identify these stones as animals. You say there are other pictures showing these "animals" from a different perspective. Could you post these examples too? These stone formations look natural for me. But the look can be deceiving.

How did they get here?
If they are artificial, there is unfortunately no way to tell how they got there.

What does this say to us?
If we look at our own culture/history, animals are a frequently used element. There are many reasons for this. These are elements that belong to everyday life or they are connected to something special, a special meaning. Perhaps they were beloved pets. Sometimes we can find also sculptured farm animals. Also popular are mythological animal figures or dangerous animals. But a more precise statement can only be made if we can clearly identify more details.