Tracks

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Bob Mc

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OK, I'll do it again for the benefit of those who still can't tell the difference between a dog track and a lion track. These are lion tracks! There is also a deer track in the photo for comparison. I can't for the life of me understand how someone could mistake these for dog tracks.

C%20and%20D%20tracks.jpg
 
You can see the distinct 3 lobes on the bottom of the pad. The clear mark of a cat track.

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Let's further simplify they task of determining if a track is a feline track or a canine track. Here is a link that will explain the difference: http://www.bear-tracker.com/caninevsfeline.html


Weasel, it is important to note that the link you gave does not make the distintion between dog and coyote tracks, but more cat vs. canine. Dog tracks to not typically allow for a clean "x". The two middle toe pads on a dog are not forward enough.

Mark Elbroch has an excellent book

Mammal Tracks and Sign

This is from his his book.

paws.jpg


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The spaces between the toes, between the toes and palm pads, and between the individual interdigital pads form shapes that are incredibly useful to track detectives. I often look for an X, H, or C shape to help distinguish feline and canine tracks. The front tracks of gray foxes and domestic dogs tend to show an H, while those of red foxes and coyotes show an X. Look for a C in the front tracks of cats.



The left track is cat, the center track is coyote, the right track is dog.

 
That's a great set of prints and a great photograph, Bob.

I find that folks are more apt to confuse dog prints for ML prints, than the other way 'round, however...

Probably worth mentioning that adult lion prints are typically 3-3/4" to 4" wide, since this particular lion of Bob's didn't happen to drop any dollar bills along it's trail :)

One trait that can make cat ID somewhat harder at certain times like in the summer/fall dust here, is that cats (and I'm thinking of bobcats, particularly) tend to direct register when stalking, so they often to squash and blur out the heel pads. Too, deep lion prints in mud fill up and tend to weather quickly in the softer, lower spots during the wet season. So, lots of times, you won't have much of a heel pad to go by.

Yellowhammer's post, and especially that drawing, illustrates something that's very useful to know when the track is less distinct than in Bob's picture: the splay of the toes. Cat tracks have toes arrayed in more of a radius. The total print also has a more rounded shape.

Hope you'll all excuse me for being obvious, but if claws are plainly visible in the print, it's almost certainly a dog. I'd go so far as to say that any toenails showing in all but the very slickest of conditons are likely to be made by a canine, and not a ML. Personally, I've only ever seen a lion's retractable claws show up for extra gription--as needed, now and then--in tracks laid down in wet slush.

LionHo
 
Cat tracks most of the time will overlap, unless they are in a hurry there hind feet step just about on top of there front tracks.
 
The shape of the metacarpal pad (palm pad)is probably the best way to determine canine from feline. If the top of the palm pad has 2 lobes and the bottom 3 then it is definately feline. Canine will have one lobe on top and 2 on the bottom.

On mountain lion, the front track is larger, rounder and more asymetrical than the hind tracks.

Heel pad track measurements (width) used by researcher to differientiate between bobcats and mountain lios is:

lion: 1 9/16 - 2 7/8 inches
bobcat: 1 - 19/16 inches

Cats will have direct register tracks(not overlapping) in deep snow.
 
I found this print in a far remote canyon at the PM hunt with kmeyer. These prints were in some nice gravel sand and we followed these tracks for a good 200 yards in plain unobscured sight. It was two animals walking side by side we were thinking momma and cub since one was noticeably larger than the other. I can clearly see the "x" but I am/was pretty convinced that they were lion tracks. No claw marks on any of them. And I can only contribute the two lines behind the track as being from the two middle toes as the animal lazily dragged its foot across the ground. Seems more typical of a felines walking patterns than a dog. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

100_0384.jpg


Here's the walking pattern, not a good photo for deciphering the prints but you can get a good idea how it walked. This is of two seperate animals, one on the left and right. Thats my size 12 in the photo for size comparison, that gives it one heck of a stride.

100_0383-2.jpg

 
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Sorry to disappoint, but them's clearly dog tracks.



I'm not sure how you can say they are "clearly" anything based on those 2 pictures.

Tommy- I will say that if it were cat, it should display the overstep pattern in that type of terrain/strata.

It would be dog or coyote, but it looks like the "x" would apply, and that would mean coyote with pup.

Do you have any more close up pictures?
 
Tommy, is that a Skoal can in the top pic? If it is, that'd be one heck of a coyote. It's large enough for a cat if true, but first impression was canine for me, too (overall shape not round enough, two middle toes squashed together). Hard to say with any certainty from just the one photo with the sidelighting/shadow that harsh, and a surface that looks either like loose soft sand or else the track has weathered some since laid down (maybe enough to obliterate toenails?).

FWIW, among the hundreds of lion tracks I've followed, I've yet to see one that drags its toes like that.

Mexican Wolf?

LionHo
 
Another question: How do you tell wolf from coyote? I mean small wolf to large coyote? I understand now the difference between coyote and dog, I just wanted to know if you can tell them apart by anything other than size.
 
Yellowhammer I dont have anymore photos of it. The 3 prints on the left were of one animal, the 4 on the right were another, I took this photo to show were the two animals paths came together. I do have video footage of it and just watched it actually, and yes the tracks overlapped. Its actually sort of obvious in the picture now that I think about it, if they didnt overlap there would be a lot more tracks on the ground.

Lionho, thats a copenhagen can on the ground same size as a skoal can. Little over 2.5". That track is atleast 1.5 x's that. The photo of the two toes is the only one I found like that. I guess in all the dog tracks Ive seen, Ive never seen one do that either. I cant give an answer as to why theyre there. Maybe just a fluke. The mexican wolf idea is a good one. Never thought of it. At the time we felt the tracks were pretty fresh and crisp, no signs of weather. But we still never saw a claw mark. I was so exited we made a looooong stand. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Sorry for the bad photo. The two animals walked a pretty straight line through this canyon. Unlike dogs that investigate every scent they pass and leave tracks everywhere.
 
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Tommy, is that a Skoal can in the top pic? If it is, that'd be one heck of a coyote



Yes it would. I didn't notice that. I thought it was a silver dollar or something. I've seen some huge dog tracks though. The 2 middle toes forward are indicative of coyote, but there is a lot of variation when it comes to dogs, so it is hard to tell.

Tommy- in your picture you have front left, right front labels. Those will actually be both hind and rear left/hind and rear right, as this is a typical direct register walk. For it to be as you have labeled, it would have to stand with all four feet in place and jump to the next set.
 
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