Big cat sighting
Connecticut
How much does a huge bobcat weigh? 30lbs. And what does a mountain lion weigh? 130lbs and that’s not even a big one.
Yeah, they’re not even close, sizewise… and their tails are from different planets, so not at all difficult….. IF you know what you’re looking at… But the vast majority of people just don’t have any idea.
I just thought it was interesting that my initial read was that I was looking at a substantially bigger animal than bobcats are known to be…. So I’m thinking there’s something pretty hard-wired in human brains to overestimate the size of animals. You sure hear about a lot of #500 bears and #300 hogs, right? And talking to people around here, you’d think that #75-#80 coyotes are just kinda average…. Even though (for practical purposes) no such creatures actually exist.
So I dunno… Maybe there’s a Survival benefit to imagining that these animals are bigger than they really are… or maybe it’s just human nature to exaggerate so we have a better story to tell around the fire…
"I just thought it was interesting that my initial read was that I was looking at a substantially bigger animal than bobcats are known to be…. So I’m thinking there’s something pretty hard-wired in human brains to overestimate the size of animals."
I think there is something to that. I don't think it ends with size. From personal experience I think People come to a pre-determined conclusion on what they saw or are looking at. Years ago, I was Elk hunting in Eastern Oregon. I climbed up to the top of this mountain we had been hunting, in the dark. I sat on this rock right at the peak where I was overlooking this saddle that the Elk liked to cross. There was low brush maybe knee high to waist high. It was just getting light enough to be able to see, just that gray early morning light. I'm looking out over the brush in this saddle and I did a double take. I see a face just suspended in mid air at the top of the brush. All I could see was a face kind of like looking at a halloween mask suspended in mid air. I wasn't understanding what I was seeing. and my mind kept saying coyote although I didn't really believe it. I could not reconcile anything else. At that time, I had seen a large number of mountain lions in the wild and coyotes. there was no reason for me to think this was a coyote. It was most definitely a lion, I just couldn't wrap my brain around it. I think the circumstances played a roll in my confusion. It was very strange to see just a face hovering above the brush. It finally just disappeared without ever seeing a body. I never saw it again. It took me a long time, likely years of wrestling with that image to realize that it was in fact a lion. After that I understand how or why people see and mistake animals they run across. Even those that have experience seeing the animal they are mistaking.
All this conjures up memories of the time I was in a bar in NYC in the late 80’s….oh never mind!!
Nothing like a CT. cougar sighting to get Dr. W. revved up, LOL.
Where’s Spike? He’s convinced there are cats in CT. I think he went on a vision quest for them one winter. Never heard from him again :)
Seriously. Let’s do this.
Seriously. Let’s do this.
Hell, I've watched a deer in the woods for 20 minutes, just to later realize it's a tree stump. People see what they want to see sometimes.
Removed comment, didn't want to hijack thread
So what’s the verdict on this one?
Blood not much for snow on the weekends when I was off from work plus I got lazy after hunting season!
Estimates of size and weight, even by experienced Hunters, are notoriously inaccurate. Ever spend time in a Bear Camp or a Check Station?
Dr. Williams......wait for it.....LOL
As someone who shot a bobcat, lynx, and mountain lion I can tell you they are nowhere close in size. The bobcat I shot was huge. It was 42lbs on a scale- absolutely massive. It looks the same size as my 25lb lynx. Both are tiny compared to my 110lb empty stomach tom lion from arizona (which isn't "huge" by lion standards)
Ace is right. There are a gazillion 40lb coyotes and 300lb bears until they hit the scale. Just like 200lb deer.
Can't tell what that track is in the mud above. Here is one to ponder
If I had to put money on that one, BB, I would say that’s a large bobcat (assuming that’s a local pic). Pretty sure the track I found yesterday is a cat (about 2”) given the overall shape and absence of claw marks, though the main pad is more dog-like….
Last week’s candidate for Bobcat track; either that or someone is keeping Rover’s nails very neatly trimmed….
This shows you how difficult it is to judge from photos. The keys as they are sitting in this photo are approx 6". When stretched out they are 6 1/2" The [alm of my hand across the knuckles is 4" when pressed flat. The track was a good inch or so wider than my hand
I have been kicking myself for not including anything for scale, but the tracks I’ve been finding lately (and in these pics) are in the 2” range.
An honest 4” sounds like a lion, but I’m told that drying mud can exaggerate the size of a track.
I would like your picture better if it indicated stride length & offset….
And you still haven’t mentioned where you ran across that print ;)
This was in Arizona. It was most definitely a lion and a good size one It was a day old and it had rained in it, even so, the edges are still very crisp.
agree, 2" bobcat and 4" lion. huge difference, +100% (2X) bigger difference.
Im disappointed that the lions in Arizona can't levitate like the ones in New England.
How are you fooling yourself?
Good point. Process of elimination.
Interesting that the other posts disappeared
That IS pretty odd…
I wonder what I did to offend someone?
Well if you did offend someone, it was only partial. You're going to have to work on that.
I live in a pretty rural area of the state. Its not uncommon to see a fox or bear cutting thru my yard. I here fishercats scream once in a while, but my daughter came into my sun room the other day to say something and then she said what kind of cat is that. It was a bobcat sitting outside my room. As soon as it saw us looking at it,it scurried away. I've seen them in the woods. And seen a bobcat skeleton in the woods but not close to my house.
