Xion Comrade Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 http://s14.postimg.org/fd0mm1vm9/20150316_163648.jpg http://s21.postimg.org/zesdz4hrr/20150316_163556.jpg Atleast 3.75" wide and 4 inches long the one that isn't pressed as deep into the mud, I figure I just missed it by a day tops, been good weather these past few days. Distance between those two tracks is 5 feet atleast, but probably just a matter of a couple inches longer(There was a third track as well in line), no claw marks whatsoever except for the one that is pressed deep into the mud you can just barely make out some pinprick sized marks, anything you see in these pictures that you think is a clawmark is the result of me only having a phone camera, trust me >.<
norseman Posted March 17, 2015 Admin Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) It's a canine, a cat's track is rounder with the forward two toes not being as extended. http://www.bear-tracker.com/caninevsfeline.html Edited March 17, 2015 by norseman
Guest Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) Mountain lion. They rarely show their claws when walking while a canine almost always does. Edited March 17, 2015 by Gigantofootecus
Xion Comrade Posted March 17, 2015 Author Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) It's a canine, a cat's track is rounder with the forward two toes not being as extended. Things that made me think it was odd was that it would be a real real big canine in a area miles away from any domesticated dogs(Or any people for that matter except on hunting season), and one with super short claws. http://www.bear-tracker.com/cougfrontsized22.jpg That is pretty dead on with what I saw, much wider proportionally than any coyote tracks I have ever seen and very easily 2x the size in every way than the biggest coyote track I ever saw, only problem is "there ain't no cougar in these thar mountains", but I just don't know what else leaves a track that size Edited March 17, 2015 by Xion Comrade
norseman Posted March 17, 2015 Admin Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) It easily falls into the scale of a wolf or large dog. https://graphicart.wcu.edu/~dwjohnson8/art271/assignments/assign1/index.html Claws or no it's a canine, and not a cat track. A cat track looks different. Notice the heel pad of the canine is pointed like your picture like so ^. A cat heel pad is indented like so M. Edited March 17, 2015 by norseman
Xion Comrade Posted March 17, 2015 Author Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) I'll keep a eye out for more of these, be a real surprise if there is some huge runaway dog roaming around here, because there sure as heck aren't any wolves here. http://s7.postimg.org/dll7t1ucb/20150316_163648.jpg Edited March 17, 2015 by Xion Comrade
Branco Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Both appear to be canine tracks, both appear to be the left front foot. Both suggest the canine was running hard.
Xion Comrade Posted March 17, 2015 Author Posted March 17, 2015 Both appear to be canine tracks, both appear to be the left front foot. Both suggest the canine was running hard. I can promise it wasn't running, there were several of these tracks just milling around this spot and all of them were the same size. The 3 best ones were in single file though. I think people are looking at the deeper pictures and are getting confused by the shadowy parts of it, I was sitting on the ground when I took those shots, so they are at angles to varrying degrees, not to mention the sun was casting shadows via the pebbles and walls of the indentation. http://s10.postimg.org/jnviaobdl/20150316_194913.jpg That was the biggest coyote track of the day, about 4 miles walking from where those tracks were at, it would take slightly more than two of these tracks to fill in one of the first critter's tracks.
BigTreeWalker Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Don't want to disagree with anyone, but I guess that happens a lot here. :-) Cougar, but yours is a better picture, Xion. Cougar Wolf Bear Guess what
Guest Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Here's a link to a page with photos comparing cougar, dog and coyote tracks, I hope this helps. I think it's a dog. http://westernwildlife.org/cougar-outreach-project/cougar-identification/
Guest Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 I'll go with clumber spaniel, 36lb, liver and white, docked tail, red collar. If the picture was a little clearer I could tell you if it had a license tag on or not.... Just kidding, But the squarer domestic dog tracks always make me think spaniel for some reason.
BigTreeWalker Posted March 18, 2015 Posted March 18, 2015 Xion, I looked at your tracks closer, and Norseman is right, they don't have the three lobed back pad. Which you can see in the photo I posted previously. But I still think they are big cat. I looked online and found this, also ID'd as cougar. http://www.crappie.com/crappie/illinois/242127-cougar-tracks-illinois-5.html But, they also mention other big cats that people have released into the wild. Interesting.
Xion Comrade Posted March 18, 2015 Author Posted March 18, 2015 Xion, I looked at your tracks closer, and Norseman is right, they don't have the three lobed back pad. Which you can see in the photo I posted previously. But I still think they are big cat. I looked online and found this, also ID'd as cougar. http://www.crappie.com/crappie/illinois/242127-cougar-tracks-illinois-5.html But, they also mention other big cats that people have released into the wild. Interesting. http://s14.postimg.org/fd0mm1vm9/20150316_163648.jpg This one looks to show the 3 lobes pretty well, or atleast as well as one could expect given the crap it was made in. The deeper track was made in fresh mud(And didn't show the lobes worth anything) and this one was made on ground just hard enough I couldn't leave a mark in it if I hopped around on one leg(I tried), but just soft enough I could make marks in it if I pushed my fingers into it hard enough. Deeper track is throwing people off because of the shadows cast on it and just the overall lighting(Phone camera is aweful with this crap). It is indeed a cougar, I knew that as soon as I saw it, I just wanted to hear other people say it and see what people would say in general. Funny how there "Aint no cougars round here"...Just gives me something else to do in the woods, keep a eye out for a photo op on this bad boy 1
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