• The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
    Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
    Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.

  • Today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11. I pray that this nation does not forget the loss of lives from this horrible event. Yesterday conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was murdered, and I worry about what is to come. Please love one another and your family in these trying times - Spark

Paw Print ID - What do you think it is?

It's hard to tell with old prints. If the soil/substrate was soft when the animal made the print, then it might sink in and the print will be deeper (and bigger) than normal. There are no claw marks, so that says cat, but the soil looks loose, and the claw marks could be obscured by weather wear. Two years ago someone discovered a dead cougar (Felis concolor) in Northern Oklahoma (that's just south of Kansas), and the biologists figured it might have traveled as much as 700 milfes south. It was found near a RR track, and they thought it might have been killed by a train.
Richard
 
I can't see due to the shadow, but if there are nail dots above the digits, then canine, if none, feline. Also, generally felines have a round, more circular compression shape. Canines have ovular.

From what I can see in the photo, Canine.

The average mountain lion/cougar track is about 6" in diameter. I have tracked several, they are rounder.
 
Green - OA shape of a feline track is round, canine is oval/egg.
Blue - Canine has nail marks, Feline almost never.
Yellow - Can you draw a X between the heal pad and the toes, without the pad or toes disrupting the lines? - If you can than it is probably canine, if not most likely feline track.
Red - i belive the soil has been push in toward the track. I can see that it has crumbled into the track. this may have covered the nail marks.

BFTrack.jpg
 
Rick, I get your argument, but the two things that at least raise some doubt that the print is canine are the lack of clear claw/nail prints (which you acknowledge) and the fact that the two middle toes aren't parallel. Its possible that the print is deformed or the animal slid, but the inside middle toe appears further ahead than the toe to its right, which is more typical of a feline print, right?
 
Definitely a cat. All canids have non-retractable claws, therefore claw prints. Every north american cat has retractable claws. The only things large enough to make a print like that are cougars, panthers, and jaguars. If you are close enough to the Rio Grande, jaguar may be the one (panther is highly unlikely). It would be exceedingly cool to see evidance of a jaguar, as they are so rare.

A friend in the far southeastern corner of Colorado (I call it Oklatexarado) shot 4 large male mountain lions in one night. They were after his goats, and got one. If they can make it 250 miles from the mountains, they can make it another 250 to Texas.

In any case, big cats are the primary reason I carry a side arm and my off-leash bait named Arabica.
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
IMG00298.jpg
Click to expand...

The more I look at this print, the more it looks like a canine to me. For one thing, it is longer from top to bottom than it is wide, which is a canine trait. Also, it looks like the right-most toe (next to the knife) has a nail print above it. And on top of that, the toes are more oval than rounded, and the print looks really symmetrical... again more like a dog.

From that same site that Rick linked earlier (www.bear-tracker.com)...
Wolf tracks are robust, often measuring 4¼ to 4¾ inches long.
Click to expand...
So that's about the right size.

From the picture, it sure seems like a wolf/dog to me. I'm no tracker, JMO.




BTW I'm in Kansas. If there are jaguars up here, I need to change the way I do things! :eek:
 
I vote big dog, in loose soil -- I see light but visible claw marks and and a typically canine elongated overall print shape.

Cool exercise, in any case.
 
That would be a HUGE dog wouldn't it? The knife is 5" long. I just measured my dog's paw at 2 1/2" and he's a pretty lean 85 lbs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top