Odd sighting

[Caustic Burno]

I would swear it was a cat too but I don't know enough about it to argue with them. Being a dog doesn't explain why my dog acted so oddly. A cat would explain it.

Jo look at your dogs track it will have a U in the back lobe same with a yote except the middle two toes
protrude further forward.

 

[Jogeephus]

I showed the photos to two veterinarians with a combined experience of better than 80 years and they both agreed it was feline. One even felt sure it was a cougar track. I let the biologist know this and he began some serious back peddling. I really don't understand why they are so he77 bent on denying we have panthers/cougars.

 

[Rafter S]

A couple of people said the tracks are too small for it to be a cougar, but couldn't it be a young one?

 

[Kingfisher]

Can you bait the spot and put up a camera? I'm not sure if a big cat just roams or roams a specific track. I hear they prefer deer and as long as there is a good deer population they stay put.

 

[Hook]

Big cats have a huge range usually. And right now a lot of fawns are on the ground so food is plentiful. They won't be moving anymore than they have to

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Bottom right of the lighter looks some what like like Dog pads, to right looks like bobcat.

 

[slick4591]

Can you bait the spot and put up a camera? I'm not sure if a big cat just roams or roams a specific track. I hear they prefer deer and as long as there is a good deer population they stay put.

I kinda remember that big cats can have a territory as large as 21 square miles. That's the reason they are not spotted often.

 

[3waycross]

Looks like cat tracks to me. I have seen plenty of them on the river here. Whats fun is when you are walking back to the truck after fishing a 1/2 mile of river and those tracks are on top of yours. Made my hair stand up like your dog's.

 

[Jogeephus]

Bottom right of the lighter looks some what like like Dog pads, to right looks like bobcat.

The picture doesn't do it justice since it has had time to dry. The pads show no sign of nails and they are twice as big as my dog's and he weighs 50 lbs. We have the florida bobcat in this area and they are the smallest of all the bobcats only growing to about 20 lbs this is why I believe it is either a freak bobcat or a florida panther. There have been sightings of panthers in this area and the guy who owns the land is a veterinarian and he is sure it is a panther.

I heard someone got a picture of one on a trail cam and I am trying to run it down. I'll post it if I can find the photo.

They say the florida panther is the most endangered species on the planet so this might be why the DNR plays it down so.

 

[Ouachita]

"Ghost of North America", its an interesting book.
Jo we have them here. I've only seen one that I know without doubt was a couger. Seen lots of tracks and other sign. Hear them sometimes. I found a dead calf on top a round bale a few years ago. A neighbor that raises sheep about 20 miles from me has had a lot of problems. He has found carcasses dangling from tree limbs, 10-15 feet above the ground. I understand the Florida panther is a bit different. Maybe they are the most rare species on the planet. I prefer to think they just keep to themselves. They probably don't give a shyt about the sexual orientation of their prey. My guess is they are not politically correct and are extreme right wing conservatives