What made this track ?

[oldrank]

While scouting my property this weekend I found a large track. It was easily 5" x 6". What do you guys think this is? It was in the big woods of northern lower peninsula in Michigan. Wolf?

[Jdw]

I was thinking coyote until you said how big it was.

[Horizontal Hunter]

No claw marks means cat so an old bobcat track or maybe a cougar depending on location are my initial thoughts.

Bob

[Ghost Hunter]

My first thought was bobcat.

[Swamp_donkey]

Based on the size and photo, it looks like a good size cougar.

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-3 ... --,00.html

Any idea on the gaite or length of stride?

[oldrank]

I was thinking coyote until you said how big it was.

It was as big as the palm of my hand. We have coyote all over down by my home. I would say it was 3 times the size of a coyote. About the size of a big Labrador track but it was in the middle of the woods and no houses close.

[Marshbuster89]

Bobcat

[oldrank]

Based on the size and photo, it looks like a good size cougar.

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-3 ... --,00.html

Any idea on the gaite or length of stride?

I only seen the one track. Snow was very patchy.

[oldrank]

No claw marks means cat so an old bobcat track or maybe a cougar depending on location are my initial thoughts.

Bob

Cougars are very rare. Im not sure if we have any confirmed in the lower peninsula.

[oldrank]

If you look at the oak leafs in size comparison, you can get a better idea of how big it was.

[Jdw]

It looks fairly old. The edges and detail are lacking due to some thawing but it doesn’t look like a cat to me.

[Dewey]

Here are confirmed cougar tracks from just north of me a few years ago.



How does this compare to what you found oldrank?

Claw marks are the easiest way to tell a cat from a canine. Cats have retractable claws so they don’t usually show up in a track. Hard to tell in your pics. I don’t see much detail to tell.

Here is a northern WI wolf track I found for comparison. Much larger.



Here is another different wolf.

[Jackson Marsh]

Mountain lion...which will make walks out in the dark fun

[KRONIIK]

Feline track too big for a bobcat or lynx at 5x6 inches even with any melting effect.

Certainly NOT a canid of any kind.


Congratulations; you are on the trail of a mountain lion!

[Lu Rome]

It's not a lion. Toes are in the wrong location and the rear pad is too small in comparison to the toes. It's also overall the wrong shape, lion tracks overall are much more round not linear like a coyote track.
It's a canine of some sort. It appears to be fairly melted out which will enlarge the size and eliminate details like the toenails.