Personally with my old eyes I can tell the difference between a full grown cow and something Small but I cannot really tell what the small thing is, i.e. like a calf, coyote, deer or dog at maybe 200 yds but this is Shape and movement only not detailed and I won't shoot one at that distance. I need to stalk within 100 yds to tell the difference of a calf, coyote or hog and again it's not detailed, mainly movement and overall shape. To tell the difference of a dog and coyote in detail I need to be at 50 Yards.
I am new to this and I can see my ability to ID an animal is getting better with time on the scope and experience. Also it can depend heavily on the topography you hunt. On cut hay fields I can see detail amazing well, over 200 in many cases but in fields of uncut hay I can only see a blob of something. That blob could be anything hot so I have to stalk in closer, how much closer to ID, sometimes less than 35 yards before I'm happy I know what I'm shooting.
You said 10k thermal and mine was only 7.5k 
. Would I make the purchase again? Not sure. I feel certain that I would not be able to see these animals in total darkness with out the thermal, I also think NV would miss more of these animals as well, but I must admit I was expecting more detail thru such an expensive scope. I'm using an IR Hunter Mark iii. I hope this was a detailed enough response to help u.
