Measuring tracks/ stride to identify Lions

mtwood24

Member
I’ve heard you can measure a stride on a lion to determine whether it’s a female, small tom, or a large tom. Just curious as to what those measurements are and how you are measuring them, as in toe to the back of the pad on the next track in front, center to center, etc... thanks!
 
i would look for 40+ inch stride. i would measure either side of the track(left side front to rear or right side front to rear) from center of track to center of track.
 
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There is some discussion about determining gender based on the shape of the lobes of the toes. There is some merit to it, but in most substrates it's still a guess, especially with smaller Toms, because you're just not going to get a perfect print. Even "perfect" snow prints can deceive when the sun comes in from one side or something.

Size of the actual print, and the stride length - - when the cat is walking predictably and likely not distracted or rushed - - is the best way to guess size. And since males are 20-30% bigger, it's a good guess on gender too.
 
I just figure if it looks like a real big sumbitch its a tom. If it looks not big its a female or juvenile tom. Me, ill take any cat. Ill hunt small hot tracks. No dogs allowed here, so any lion is a trophy.
 
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