Track ID/thoughts

AdamT

AdamT

Well-known member
Any thoughts on the ID of what made this track?
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In the last couple weeks, one neighbor had a couple of ~300lb hogs attacked inside a lot. Not killed, but had claw marks, some chunks of meat gone, several cuts. Hogs were put down and taken away for disposal.

Another neighbor had some goats go missing and found one dead drug through the fence.

Been hearing some coyotes close by, one sounds like large adult male judging by vocal tone being deeper and very raspy.

One other neighbor passing through wooded area on the road one night stopped to take a leak and called to say he saw what he thought was a large cat, he wasn’t sure but said it had a long tail and was dark in color but was enough to put him back in the truck.

Just looking for some opinions of you guys with more experience and exposure to different types of tracks.
 
Might just be angle but looks like claw prints. Cats retract claws when they walk, k9s do not. Cats usually have a V notch at the top (toe side) of the main pad as well but not always.

I think it's a farm dog
 
BBK said:
Might just be angle but looks like claw prints. Cats retract claws when they walk, k9s do not. Cats usually have a V notch at the top (toe side) of the main pad as well but not always.

I think it's a farm dog
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I am not a cat track expert but I agree I always thought if you saw toe nail imprints it wasn’t a cat.
 
My personal thoughts are cat. Coyote/dog tracks you can draw an X between the toes and pad cats not. A dog or coyote wouldn't leave. Law marks on the carcass. It would have to be a hell of a single coyote or dog to take down a 300 lb hog..
 
My pure guess is not lion. But, it could be. Between the tendency to put the hind foot track right on top of the front track, freeze thaw, I'm really not too confident in my guess.

These are lion track a few minutes old. You can see how putting the hind track on top of the front makes the lobe identification iffy. You can sort of see what might be seen as claw marks even. These are lion for sure though.

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- DAA
 
Thanks for all the replies so far.

I honestly have no idea what to make of all the circumstances or what to say made the track.

When the first event happened with the hogs, I thought maybe a black bear. I didn’t see the hogs before they were disposed of or the lot where it happened to see the tracks left behind.

I didn’t think much of the goat situation either because I don’t know the exact number gone or killed and I know we have coyotes so just assumed that they were behind that and not really unusual.

The neighbor reporting seeing the “large cat” when passing through made me wonder because he wasn’t aware of the hog attack event and isn’t known to lie or exaggerate and there was a sound of excitement and slight fear/concern in his voice when he called.

This is in SW Virginia. The “official” status of the Eastern Cougar is that of declared extinction. I’m skeptical to believe it is a lion, but also not naive enough to say it is 100% impossible to be a lion. The home closest to where that track was photographed has a German Shepherd dog, but I don’t think it was from it, yet could’ve been. I have an adult Bloodhound and a very oversized adult Labrador, and both of there tracks were smaller in comparison to the one in the photo. They were more skinny and longer where as the pictured one was more rounded.

At any rate, the quality of that track isn’t the best and would be hard to tell from these pictures alone I imagine for most anyone without seeing it in person. I am considering bating some trail camera sites to see what, if anything, comes through. The big hope is to get the opportunity to get out there this weekend and put in some quality hunts in the area and maybe see first hand.
 
If you can get some Bobcat Gland lure and put a little of it in front of your trail camera the lions will stay in front of the camera for a bunch of pictures or videos.

In the below pictures I put trapping lure on the old tree stump.
MFDC3750 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156463377@N08/, on Flickr
MFDC4067 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156463377@N08/, on Flickr

I have some pictures that I can't find that were taken in the same spot. I put Bobcat Gland lure on a rock n the middle of the same trail and I got at least 15 pictures of a lion sniffing and moving the rock around. I even got some pictures of a lion laying down next to the rock.
 
Thanks for the tip Bob. I’ll see if I can find some of that and put it in front of a camera. Be curious to see what all would come to check it.
 
I have some great locations for trail cameras and a few drops of trapping lure gives me way more pictures. Without the trapping lure or some kind of scent on the trail I would only get one or two walking by pictures.

Good luck!
 
Looks like a lion track to me as well but I wouldn’t rule out domesticated dog. I can’t image any coyote having a track significantly larger than a large lab.

It is understandable to be skeptical of the track coming from a cougar but there have been sightings in Virginia and your neighbor saw what sounds like a mountain lion. Could also be an escaped cat that someone had as a pet.
dwr.virginia.gov

eastern cougar (puma)

dwr.virginia.gov
 
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