Photo: Are these cougar tracks?

L

longhairlover

New member
Hi... this is my first forum post here, and I never introduced myself yet. I just wanted to show some people these photos and see if anyone else thinks that this is a cougar. I am in Pennsylvania, and the Men In Black told me that these are coyote footprints. The government's official statement is that cougars are extinct in Pennsylvania, but I disagree.

I might even consider doing things to attract a mountain lion - and I see that other people in this forum have attracted lions by using various calls - and then I could photograph it.

I hope this forum lets me upload photos when I have never posted here before. I will give it a try. I have taken about 75 photos, and some of them are from different animals - not all were exactly the same - so some of them might be 'wrong' while others might be 'right.' I will try to pick the very best ones that seem to be most like a cougar. I know that I might make mistakes.

This is a photo on the net (not mine), which claims to be a cougar. Compare it to my photos.
cougpr.gif



Now here are a couple of my own photos that are similar to that.

[img:left]http://imgur.com/TX4KpDa[/img]

[img:left]http://imgur.com/Dh9rpLc[/img]

[img:left]http://imgur.com/1Ey26uB[/img]

All the rest of the photos are here: eagledove9's albums . There are some photos of other animal footprints, like dogs, and probably a bobcat. I just want to know if the big huge monstrous ones look like a mountain lion to anybody else. Thanks...

TX4KpDa.jpg


Dh9rpLc.jpg


1Ey26uB.jpg
 
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Looks like you can see nails in the pics with the snow.. I had tracks that I showed the MO dept of conservation and they told me they were dog tracks.. PM me your phone no if you want and I will mail you the pics I sent them so you can compare them if you want...
 
I myself personally have never seen cat tracks like that , if thats what they are . But I would think that if it was a cat the nails wouldnt show up . Are there any houses nearby that a BIG dog could of ventured through ?
 
With the claws out as they walk I would say its a Big dog, or a Wolf. They have released some wolves in the east but they are in same boat as Lion, they "Don't exist" But if you shoot them you will be fined kinda deal.
 
That's something that you posted that! In the past 2 weeks we've been finding those exact same tracks here in NY 10-15 miles from the PA border. Also I noticed that wherever those tracks were, there was a ton of coyote tracks too.
 
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A farmer where I just started hunting has been seeing what he swears is a wolf hanging with coyotes. He has seen it all year and says it is twice as big as the coyotes.
 
FieldMedic has a very good point

Also have to think that when snow melts a track will get bigger,them tracks are melted out for sure!!

What did the DNR say they was ?

I am not trying to be a na sayer..But I do believe cats are around on the east WV,PA,NY etc etc
 
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Just my opinion : the photo you show in the mud is feline, you can tell that by looking at the leading edge of the rear pad. It has two lobes , the rear of the pad has three lobes. Defiantly a cat track ! Cat tracks may also show claw marks when running or pouncing. Cats center toes are not even, the inside center toe will be longer just like your index finger, thus you can tell a cat track when looking at them , which is the left or right foot. A canine track will have 1 lobe on the leading edge of the pad and 2 on the rear. Which leads to your photos : I say canine, first indicator are the claw prints. Next the center toes look to be even with each other. I can't tell for sure by the photo but a wolf and coyotes toes are splayed inward which I think these are. A dogs are not. My guess is wolf looking at the size of the print next to your hand. A wolf track would be 31/2 "to 41/2 "long x 3" wide. Another thing I noticed is a wolf or coyote will walk in a straight line with the rear foot stepping behind the front foot. A dogs rear foot will be beside his front foot. A dog will have tendency to meander around while walking. The larger print is the front foot, the smaller is the rear. If you find a good print make a plaster cast of it. Just so you know our coyotes do have wolf DNA in them. You guess where that comes from !!! Trail cameras show a lot of what is in our woods nowadays . Hope this helps. Mick
 
I seen some tracks that looked like that in wv. But they werent that fresh i could barely tell what it looked like..don't no what it is. there's a guy who said he saw a mountain loin in that area not even 200 yds from where i found the tracks but I don't believe him..
 
Originally Posted By: wvyotehunter68I seen some tracks that looked like that in wv. But they werent that fresh i could barely tell what it looked like..don't no what it is. there's a guy who said he saw a mountain loin in that area not even 200 yds from where i found the tracks but I don't believe him..

Where was this at?
 
The mud track IS a cat.. The poster was using that pic as a comparison to the tracks he found in the snow . " Or that's the way I read the post" the MO Dept Of Conservation has a "Mountain Lion Team" that follow up cat sightings and tracks ... I have a track we found in the Mud during deer season that was in the vacinity that we were discarding the deer carcassess from the weeks hunt.. I talked to the field biologist several times and sent photos of track..He classified the track as a Big Dog!! I haven't taken the time to learn to post photos.. If someone wants to PM me I would be more than happy to send you the photo to post.. It's very similar to the snow track posted..
 
PA Mick I would love to get your opinion on the track that I have... I'm in total agreement with the statements you made In your post.. Would really appreciate your opinion on my track to compare with the snow track!!
 
I'm no expert. The Internet is a great thing. I use it as a learning tool as in the case of these tracks. I did a search on cougar tracks. I've hunted canines and bobcat but I had to do my homework on cougar tracks.
 

I don't know what tracks those are, but I will say one thing about cat tracks. They aren't
always round and neat like we tend to think of them.

Here is a track of a 27 pound male bobcat. I watched him walk an old logging road before
shooting him, then noticed his tracks. This one is a bit more elongated than I would have
thought of a bobcat. It would almost pass for a coyote track in my mind, but I admit I'm
not an expert tracker.

BobcatTracks.jpg


Bobcats1.jpg





Here is the male bobcat that left the track above. I'm curious if a cat's track ever shows
claw marks. They certainly have claws long enough, but most of the time they are retracted,
to my understanding.

BobcatFoot.jpg


BobcatClaws1.jpg





This track I found just recently that appears more cat-like, and I assume it's a small bobcat
or maybe even a large house cat.

BobcatTrack-2.jpg


 
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