Came across this animal print...
Wisconsin
Contributors to this thread:
If anyone can help me identify this animal print I'm sure it will be a hunter! I came across this last winter, there were deer tracks running across a trail and then I saw this huge print that just seemed to have came out of nowhere. There was a small tree nearby and I swear it looked like it came out of the tree, then these huge tracks started to follow the deer tracks ... I started to get a little nervous because I was alone at the time, it was snowing really hard and I had another mile to go before I was back to the car. The quality of the picture is not very good (not helpful, I know) but the black object is my boot, it's a size 8 (ladies) to the right is the unknown print and to the left is the deer it was following. I did show this picture to two people I know and they both suggested the same animal... which Is why I have not been back there since. Any ideas?
Could be half dog, half man. Yoggie! LOL Trespassing dog.
Not a clear pic my guess is probably what you and others are thinking. Big ktty? I cannot see if claws are out or not but your "our of a tree" comment leads me to that as well.
Everyone should now its a Firle track.
Your track looks like it was made by a canine and therefore is either a really big dog or a wolf. I have owned dogs of over 100 lbs. and their tracks weren't that big so I am strongly leaning towards a wolf track.
Track doesn't look round enough to be a cat but I haven't seen enough of them to even make an informed guess.
My guess, given all the info you supplied, is that the track is that of a mountain lion.
The size of it, the roundness, the lack of any toenail/claw marks, the fact it came from a tree, and that it began to follow the deer tracks ... all point to a lion.
I'm no expert, but I have seen six cats in the wild and have come across their tracks many times while living and hunting in Idaho and now Montana.
If the snow was deeper you might have seen the tail drag marks between the tracks.
Neat experience to see them!
It appears to be human, about size 10 wearing a black boot.
Ah yes, Firle track... wearing a size 10 black boot! Actually it's a size 8 but close enough!
I am an avid hiker and see countless dog and coyote tracks especially on the public hunting grounds where I usually go. The fact that there were no claw marks present in the tracks is what caught my eye, well that and the size obviously. With that being said I also am aware that claws don't always register in a print but when you have a deeper substrate such as snow or mud they usually do. From what you can see in my extremely poor quality photo is that the animal was possibly crouching with its front legs in the snow ready to pounce, thus the elongated print.
Yes, cougar is what popped into my head the minute I saw these tracks because I have not seen anything with those characteristics and of that size in Waukesha county before. Cougar or wolf, whatever it may have been passing through the area, I hope it was doing just that.