Need Help In Central Texas.........

[Bigtex]

Sounds like a good idea to me Sunflower......do you know how to do that? 

[Bigtex]

Here is the end of the BF Trail along Creek #1 Eastside, and heading towards the Power Lines......aka the BF Highway. There's not much water in this area, so I don't go through there with the doggies this time of year. If we ever get some decent rains soon, I will get some detailed pictures of the last stretch of trail, and shown in the first pic from a ridge, with the Power Lines over the distant ridge line. Gotta watch the pups though, they can get heat related issues just like us. For a 2 hour hike in the heat and no running/standing water, I gotta pack 2 gallons of extra water for the 3 pups. Right now and through the summer, I'm limited to where I can hike with the pups without extra water, and I go from one spring or pool to another so they can cool off and drink.

[Sunflower]

Sounds like a good idea to me Sunflower......do you know how to do that? 

 

You have a pm.

[Kiwakwe]

Enjoying your adventures here BigTex.

Here is what I came up with, odd as it is. Pulled down highlights, exposure and contrast added some blacks in Photoshop. not sure what the pixelation/"3's" are about, Trailcams don't have the best sensors in them. Maybe it was blinded with a LED flashlight?

That or Mothman.

[Bigtex]

LOL Kiwakwe, that's it.......Mothman! Need to go to a different forum now:) The picture happened at night.......I have another same Bushnell, and was gonna do some experiments with my arm, see what that looks like. Also, thinking that I could rig a little trap......use my remaining Bushnell to be tampered with from behind, and set up one of my camera traps on the back side of the tree. I might try that if my arm experiments come out positive.

[Sunflower]

Bigtex,

 

Check your email.

 

Sunflower

[Bigtex]

Getting some rain finally, hope it keeps up, and will be out soon looking for new prints. Here's a smaller 'juvie' print, good detail, near a spring, and was last week when it was dry. Also a recent picture of my pool, pictured many times over the years, and almost dried out.......hope it's getting full and ready for spring swimming:)

 

And lastly.......some worn downed trees located a long the suspected BF Trails, and in remote areas.......something is stepping on these logs leaving worn sections, and one that's broken.

 

One thing that I always do when approaching a good track area near springs or if I see a disturbance up ahead is to stay well clear of the area in question, and not mix any of my own tracks.

 

Also, and this is my own opinion based on years of finding tracks and other sign in Central Texas, is that there is a resident year-round population of the smaller RACE of Bigfoot that live in the area, and the bigger/larger race seem to migrate down this way during the colder months, and start heading North in pre-Spring. Races of Bigfoot, just like people, would certainly explain the differences in appearance & habits Worldwide.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Bigtex

[Sunflower]

Great pics, and I am leaning towards your assessments.

[Bigtex]

Here is a sad picture of an abused Wolf........NOT!

 

Got a little rain, and filled my pool:)

 

Also, will be doing some metal detecting........found another small 'neighborhood' of pioneer home sights. The 12' X 12' log homes, or thereabouts, are long gone, but a lot of the stonework is visible in several places, very interesting new find for sure.

Edited June 4, 2014 by Bigtex

[SWWASAS]

BT:   Since you have a wolf and there are not supposed to be any in my research area,   do you think this footprint find is a wolf?      I spent a lot of time looking at dog footprints at the beach last weekend and none looked like this.   In particular the rear pad seems different than dogs paw prints.    What do you think?     This sure looks like the wolf prints in my footprint book, "Mammals, Tracks and Sign".    The tape is inches.  

[Bigtex]

Looks like it could be.......the ones mine make have a tendency to splay out, mainly because there is more webbing between the toes than a normal dog. 

 

Here are a few pictures, and I tried to grab her foot to take a pic of the bottom, but she is active now, and wolves don't like to have there feet touched.

 

Another thing about a Wolf foot, is the claws are somewhat retractable, almost like a cat except no sheaths, and they can control the in or out very well.....pic below is out.

 

I'll get one when she's resting, and take some more out in the field......stay tuned.

 

Could be a Coy-Wolf too.......hybrid wolf/coyote mix. 

Edited June 4, 2014 by Bigtex

[Bigtex]

Another interesting thing I had never heard about wolves is the teeth......of course it's hard to feel & examine on a live one:) There is a serrated edge that runs from the gum to the point, down the backside of all 4 canines, obviously for ripping meat more effectively, and is very noticeable to the feel.....dogs do not have this. 

Edited June 4, 2014 by Bigtex

[SWWASAS]

Good to know on the claws.   You notice in my picture that there are no evident claw marks.   Makes sense if they can retract them.     I emailed our local DNR region and they never got back to me.     The wolf rear pads seem to fill out the paw rather than be sort of an island in the footprint at the rear of the paw like a dog.     There are not supposed to be wolves in SW Washington.    There are some in Eastern Washington that moved there from the packs in Idaho.   Recently there was a paw print found on the East Side of Mt Hood in Oregon.       So they are moving into Western Oregon.     Unlikely that one would swim the Columbia river but some apparently swam the Snake River to get into Oregon and Washington from Idaho, so who knows.     My dog would never let me look at his paws either so no hurry on any pictures.    I know what to do with bears and cougars but have no idea how to deal with a wolf I encounter in the wild.      I need to read up on that since I mostly do solo field work.      Randy 

[Bigtex]

They seem to leave no claw marks when in a casual walk or trot, toes together, and when running and maneuvering, the toes splay out and the claws come out.

 

I have seen wolf tracks and one wolf at my place in Granite Falls Washington......started seeing tracks about 14 years ago, and the wolf 4 years ago.

 

What you see is what matters most.....ya got wolves.

[SWWASAS]

I just got in touch with the DNR and they had a wolf sighting in the same area two days later.      So one is out there.     A week later I spotted a pregnant female coyote very near there.     Can they interbreed?     Seems like I have heard of that.    At least their offspring would be smaller.    For those interested in Washington,  there is a wolf sighting website, and you can pull up a map of where the sightings have been reported.    The numbers and distribution really surprised me.    There are lots of reports in my research area that extends all the way down to the Columbia River to the South.     

Edited June 4, 2014 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT