Cat track in big city ?

[Joel Stave]

Joel,
As I thought more about this, what about a lynx? I still don't see enough feline characteristics to the print, but some lynx tracks I've seen have such a small heel pad that it could look like five pad marks.

The pictures I've seen of lynx paws show that they're really fuzzy. I've never seen a print in person ,but all the pictures I've seen are of prints in snow, clearly showing the fuzziness of the paws, and the pad impressions are not so distinct as seen in these pictures. Maybe if the hair gets wet (as from walking through mud) the pads would show clearly like these?

 

[hutch762mg]

I also see what I think are claw prints around the toe pads. Neither cougars nor bobcats leave little dots in front of the toe pads. That's a wolf or a dog... and based on the two-lobed heel pad, it's not a wolf. Indeed, it's a dog who doesn't get a lot of attention, as exercised dogs have short nails, and house dogs tend to get nails groomed. I may be wrong about those dots being claw marks because....

That was the first thing I noticed.

H

 

[Watchful]

...but all the pictures I've seen are of prints in snow, clearly showing the fuzziness of the paws, and the pad impressions are not so distinct as seen in these pictures.

That's probably the case in soft dirt, but in semi-solid mud, the hair doesn't have enough mass to blur the print. Yet, there's a lot of weathering on this print, so I'm not too confident.

That was the first thing I noticed.

There's also this: the photo looks to be in a fairly developed area--stats alone favor a dog over a cougar. Not saying it's impossible for a cougar (esp. in Idaho) to stroll around his home, but until we can rule out a simple Labrador retriever...And if those dots *are* claw marks, that's no cougar.

Sadly, tracking is rarely what we want to see... only what it was.

 

[Joel Stave]

There's also this: the photo looks to be in a fairly developed area--stats alone favor a dog over a cougar. Not saying it's impossible for a cougar (esp. in Idaho) to stroll around his home, but until we can rule out a simple Labrador retriever...And if those dots *are* claw marks, that's no cougar.

You know, that's a pretty good point. I've been staring at it again and I'm sliding over into the dog camp. If what we're seeing in the closeup is, in fact 4 toes and a heel pad. The heel pad is kinda small for a cat.

As the guy who teaches me this stuff says: "ayuh, gonna hafta live with the mystery"

 

[Watchful]

I've also learned something from this thread: you really can't deduce a questionable print from one or two photos.

I'm starting to think, and would welcome discussion, on the minimum requirements.

1. I would think a close up of the prints; try to get front foot and rear foot in the same shot, because the relationship of the rear foot print to the front foot print often tells you what type of animal it is.

2. Get a shot, if possible, of a few of the prints so we can gauge the stride. This isn't always essential: it can help us determine if the animal was walking, trotting, or running.

3. If there's snow, try to look for any other spoor left with the tracks--such as snow displaced by the animal's body. For example, a possum leaves a wider track than a skunk because his body drags along his footprints.

4. If there's deep snow, and your photo only shows patterns of two, three, or four holes in the ground, we're probably not going to determine what it was. *Most* animals leave holes in the snow, and against a white background, we won't accurately get the size of the stride. In snow, stride can be more important--because a snow print even a few hours old in sunny conditions will expand, and your house cat print will look like a freaking lion. That's where stride helps eliminate the exaggeration caused by melting or sublimation of snow.

5. Also, grab a flashlight and shine it into the prints. Do a closeup photo of the prints (like number 1), but use the flashlight to eliminate shadow. Shadows distort prints, and also hide important details that help identify claw marks, etc.

I've really enjoyed this thread, so far.

 

[Watchful]

As the guy who teaches me this stuff says: "ayuh, gonna hafta live with the mystery"

By the way, he sounds like a hoot! Tell us more about him sometime!

 

[Joel Stave]

By the way, he sounds like a hoot! Tell us more about him sometime!

Gladly. Gordon is in his late 70's (a New Hampshire boy, born and bred), a retired science teacher and one of the founding members of the Piscataquog Land Conservancy (www.plcnh.org) -- the group I do the tracking for. He usually has a college intern or two that he mentors (forestry, field biology, ecological studies -- that sort of thing). The joy and enthusiasm with which he explains things makes any outing fun. Actually there's a picture of Gordon at http://www.plcnh.org/naturenotes.htm near the bottom of the page.

He gets out into the woods pretty much every day, which is probably why he's as energetic as he is. He's slowed down a little, but the joke used to be (back when he was in his early 70's) that we'd have to kneecap him so that we could keep up.

We (the PLC tracking folks) do several transects for data collection -- each transect 4 times per year. Except for the winter, we're usually looking at poop, so the general level of humor starts in the gutter and goes downhill from there. I've been doing this for 13-14 years now and you'd think we'd run out of ways to make puns involving feces, but it hasn't happened yet.

Each outing is a learning experience along with the data collection -- not just tracks but all sorts of natural history: plants, birds, animals, history of the area -- you name it. Gordon's teaching style often involves simply leaning against a tree with a smug smile on his face. The fact that he stopped walking is the clue that there's something to see. (Its fun when we have newbies along, so I get a chance to be smug too).

Now that I think about it, a thread about our mentors/teachers might be fun.

 

[Joel Stave]

To add to Watchful's list:

- Scale. It was provided here, but isn't always. I always have a little rolled-up tape measure in my pack for just such occasions.

- Several pictures of the same print from different angles can help identification greatly. It kind of lets you 'walk around' the print, just like you might if you were actually in front of it.

 

[Watchful]

Actually there's a picture of Gordon at http://www.plcnh.org/naturenotes.htm near the bottom of the page.

He looks *exactly* as I imagined him! That's great. He looks like a heckuva neat guy to know--not just for tracking of course, but for all sorts of things in general. He should post here!

Each outing is a learning experience along with the data collection -- not just tracks but all sorts of natural history: plants, birds, animals, history of the area -- you name it.

Joel, that's a very impressive list of things. No wonder we value your contributions here so much! I'm quite awed, actually. :thumbup:

To add to Watchful's list:
- Scale. It was provided here, but isn't always. I always have a little rolled-up tape measure in my pack for just such occasions.

- Several pictures of the same print from different angles can help identification greatly. It kind of lets you 'walk around' the print, just like you might if you were actually in front of it.

Agreed. I totally missed the scale, and that's dumb, since I earlier made a point about the size of the track often being the only thing that identifies the animal!

The only concern I have with the second one is that the same track from different angles with the same shadow may not provide more information: that's why I suggested the flashlight--sort of lets us get our head down to the trail, as it were. Other than that, I think your multi-angle suggestion and my flashlight idea should be combined into one step.

This has been a great thread. I'm surprised Brian Jones hasn't jumped in here with one of his Socratic questions!

 

[tonym]

We live in danbury ct, fair amount of open space in the nicer areas, The last week or so have been having problems with racoons pulling baby birds out through the wire of my brooder cages! Have lost maybe 25-30 so as our bedroom is within 20 feet we had everything off and the windows open so that i could end the problem with my centurion! friday morning I nailed a old boar coon about 5:30 am. I had left the mangled corpses in a wire cage for additional bait with a good shoot window! Saturday morning my wife shakes me awake and i look out the window to see a large shape in brown with my sleepy vision, thought another coyote, turned around and grabbed my ruger rancher in 7.62 and dropped the screen, what was in my scope was a large male bobcat checking out the carcuses. Had the wife look and go for a camera, but i coughed and he was gone! I would not shoot, although I have killed countless coyo's and foxes! It was a pleasant suprise as he was the first i have seen in about 10 years here at this address! I grew up with a large population of them in central Pa! And this in a city the size of Danbury Ct.

I 'm in Bethel, and I saw a bobcat last fall on a little trail by my house. He was gone as soon as I reached in my pocket for the camera. Haven't seen one since, but we do have a few foxes and coyotes running around here.

 

[Joel Stave]

Thanks for the kind words, Watchful. In the mean time (not because of the kind words) I think you're right about the prints.

I've been looking at some pictures of cat and dog prints. I've been looking at my cat's paws and my dog's paws. I'm now firmly convinced that these are dog prints. The heel pad is just too small (relative to the toes) to be a cat. It's a dog print, although one with rounder feet than most. Kind of a let-down but a really interesting set of prints.

 

[Watchful]

Thanks for the kind words, Watchful.

Well, you earned 'em!

The heel pad is just too small (relative to the toes) to be a cat. It's a dog print, although one with rounder feet than most. Kind of a let-down but a really interesting set of prints.

Well... I wouldn't rule out a male coyote, then: they tend to have slightly rounder prints than a domestic dog. :thumbup:

 

[Brian Jones]

This has been a great thread. I'm surprised Brian Jones hasn't jumped in here with one of his Socratic questions!

Why does one ask Socratic questions and why do you think I would do so?

 

[Watchful]

Why does one ask Socratic questions and why do you think I would do so?

Does one hope to foster futher conversation?

Is there benefit to pulling the questions along to see how much one can reveal he knows about a topic?

Maybe?