We hiked the Burnt Knob/Windham loop trail today and came across this track just above the spruce forest.
About 3-4" in diameter facing downhill.
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Cougar or coyote tracks???
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sweethollow
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 10:20 pm
Cougar or coyote tracks???
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Jon
- Posts: 324
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:43 pm
- Location: Bangor, PA
Re: Cougar or coyote tracks???
Do you have any other photos?
I would probably say, from this one single picture that it's a canine print, you can see the impressions from the nails/claws of the canine at the top of the print.(circled in red)
Also the pad shape (circled in yellow) that is a canine pad, felines have 3 "lobes" on the back of the pad, this is only 2 giving it the Y shape. This print could be smudged a little, not all prints will show all features of the animal.
It could possibly be a cougar print, since they can sometimes show their claws when trying to get traction (like going downhill in the mud) but I haven't found any pictures to compare it to of a known cougar print with claw marks. Most websites say if there is claws, it's probably not a cougar. If you had other photos of other prints we could see if the claws/nails show up in every print which would mean it's probably not a cougar. The fact that the print seems to be the same width as height points to feline, but it could just be the perspective that this photo was taken. More photos, or pictures of other prints would be helpful.
To figure out if it's a wild coyote or a domestic dog it usually helps to get shots of more than one print to tell. Also if it was 3-4 inches then it is a very large coyote.
Coyotes will usually have different shaped pads (between front and back)
Coyotes will walk with one paw landing where the other paw made a print (single file prints), while dogs will be everywhere.
Also remember to throw down something for scale, remembering it was about 3-4 inches is nice, but having a compass with scale, or even a coin that you can put next to it will be helpful.
I would probably say, from this one single picture that it's a canine print, you can see the impressions from the nails/claws of the canine at the top of the print.(circled in red)
Also the pad shape (circled in yellow) that is a canine pad, felines have 3 "lobes" on the back of the pad, this is only 2 giving it the Y shape. This print could be smudged a little, not all prints will show all features of the animal.
It could possibly be a cougar print, since they can sometimes show their claws when trying to get traction (like going downhill in the mud) but I haven't found any pictures to compare it to of a known cougar print with claw marks. Most websites say if there is claws, it's probably not a cougar. If you had other photos of other prints we could see if the claws/nails show up in every print which would mean it's probably not a cougar. The fact that the print seems to be the same width as height points to feline, but it could just be the perspective that this photo was taken. More photos, or pictures of other prints would be helpful.
To figure out if it's a wild coyote or a domestic dog it usually helps to get shots of more than one print to tell. Also if it was 3-4 inches then it is a very large coyote.
Coyotes will usually have different shaped pads (between front and back)
Coyotes will walk with one paw landing where the other paw made a print (single file prints), while dogs will be everywhere.
Also remember to throw down something for scale, remembering it was about 3-4 inches is nice, but having a compass with scale, or even a coin that you can put next to it will be helpful.