Need Some Track ID Help

[WolfTracker]

Hey all,

I was out on the trail yesterday and came across a set of very large cat tracks. I've come across a ton of bobcat tracks, and these were much larger. I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say panther.

Looking at the images, which were grabs from a video that I shot, you can see my hiking pole as a reference. Each graduation is 1".

What sayeth thou? Looks like a panther to me.

Tanks in advance,
Chris

 

[Les]

I'm thinking Bobcat.

 

[Hobo-Jack]

Good old Florida panther

 

[DH1]

The tracks look pretty deep, and deep tracks usually mean heavy animal.

 

[scotsmanspride]

The size is more consistent with a panther. Bobcat should be around 2 inches in diameter give or take. Panther is upwards of 3 to 3.5 inches.

 

[Les]

That's very soft ground.
Cougar would be even wider. And they are most often double registered (rear on top of front).

Thanks for the pictures! It's always fun to analyze tracks!

 

[coaldigger]

That's very soft ground.
Cougar would be even wider. And they are most often double registered (rear on top of front).

Thanks for the pictures! It's always fun to analyze tracks!

I'm going with Les on this one...A cougar in the mud would make some really big tracks & they would be really close togather...It looks to me like a Big bobcat has been thru there Bein in soft mud the tracks are gonna look bigger than they actually are.

 

[Mistwalker]

Your near the Everglades right? Could just be a young panther and besides they tend to be smaller down there than out west.... just my 02

 

[absolutindian]

I'm with mistwalker. I'm thinking a younger panther... those just look too big and heavy to be a bobcat.

 

[Mistwalker]

I'm with mistwalker. I'm thinking a younger panther... those just look too big and heavy to be a bobcat.

That's what I was thinking...heavy...if it's a Bobcat it's eating well.

 

[PayetteRucker]

Here's my guess. when the tracks were made it was very mucky and probably raining. As your balance shifts when you step in slick mud, your foot will shift slightly and stretch the track, making it look longer than the foot actually is. That in combination with rain or water in general running over the track erodes the edges and washes the track in making it wider than it initially was-the track is shallower and wider than when it was first made. thus it was probably a bobcat.

 

[Watchful]

The answer is in this photo, specifically the upper print.

A bobcat would have a fairly cat-like print, with a W-shaped heel pad at the bottom. This print lacks that: see how the heel pad looks a bit like a dog's print, but flares outward on the sides?

That's fairly unique to the leopard family, which makes this a panther track.

Check out this photo of a leopard print, and tell me if you think the general shape of the heel pad matches up. To me, it's a perfect match.

I'd like to have seen more tracks, and I could tell you more about the animal.

I can surmise it walked that way within 24 hours, because there's already straw and debris in the track, but the edges are still sharp and even moist. I'd guess six-to-ten hours at most before you got there.

Also, he (or she--although I guess it's a male because of the lack of gap in the rear prints over the front prints...females often, but not always, register a little less directly due to the pelvic girdle...this is where more tracks would have been great) was having trouble walking in the mud. You can see the claws were digging in pretty deep to get better traction.

Usually, whenever someone produces a large cat picture, I can tell pretty quickly that it's a dog. But I think I can rule a dog out pretty well. The unique shape of the heel pad in the upper print (the right legs) is a clear leopard/panther sign. In the lower print, I cannot easily draw an X between the toe pads and the sides of the heel pad, which is almost invariably easy to do on a dog track.

I gotta admit. I think you found yourself a panther trail.

 

[Watchful]

Here's my guess. when the tracks were made it was very mucky and probably raining. As your balance shifts when you step in slick mud, your foot will shift slightly and stretch the track, making it look longer than the foot actually is. That in combination with rain or water in general running over the track erodes the edges and washes the track in making it wider than it initially was-the track is shallower and wider than when it was first made. thus it was probably a bobcat.

If you look closely at the terrain, you can see it was raining, and fairly hard: there are tiny dimples in the mud. But there is no water inside the track--so I would suppose that the tracks were made after the rain. Also, the bottoms are pretty neat and compact, so I don't see much stretching. There's a little bit of debris on the sides where the mud was sticking a little to his foot, but not too badly.

Also, I think I can rule out a bobcat. A bobcat's heel pad is cat-shaped, and this heel pad is far too wide. Further, the second toe on a bobcat's foot usually comes out quite a bit further than the other three toes, and I really don't see that here. The toes--especially in the top picture--look uniform. A different angle on the photograph would have helped.

 

[WolfTracker]

Thanks for all of the feedback and discussion here fellas. I'm going to hold my ground and agree that it was indeed a Panther.

 

[Mistwalker]

Well...I was just going by my own experiences, which are a bit out-dated. Years ago when I lived in South Florida near the 'glades I saw a few panthers here and there and once I watched a mother with her young at a distance and I've seen quite a few tracks with some smaller than others. I never saw a Bobcat once. Doesn't mean they aren't there...I just never saw one in the few years I lived down there.

 

[KEmSAT-Survival]

Looks like a Cougar to me:

http://www.nynjtc.org/science/docs/bobcat_track_guide.jpg (bobcat)

http://www.easterncougar.org/Images/tracks.gif (cougar)

 

[mikeal]

Nice find. Where was that?

 

[onebagnomad]

Florida panther. Don't know where you are in SE FL, but there is a nice little block of counties down here with a decent breeding population. I've got at least one on my property. Only seen him once but he gets around. Likes to pass by my house at night and leave me fresh tracks to examine in the morning. I've got bobcats as well but the ones I've seen haven't left tracks anywhere near the size of the panther's.

 

[Watchful]

Looks like a Cougar to me...

Too small for cougar, and the cougar lacks the wide-based heel pad that's in the photograph.

 

[blgoode]

great thread!!! I am a big on thinking we have alot more big cats in teh US than given creadit for. Looks like a mach to the tracks in that african picture to me.