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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: recurvericky on January 13, 2008, 07:25:00 PM

Title: lion tracks
Post by: recurvericky on January 13, 2008, 07:25:00 PM
This is a track that a friend of mine found while scouting yesterday around Hillsdale Lake in eastern Kansas. He also found a entire deer leg, minus the meat.

(http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg58/recurvericky/hunting/MountainLionpawprint-1.jpg)
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Gehrke145 on January 13, 2008, 07:27:00 PM
Not sure myself, hard to tell in the pic.  Looks more like a dog to me I could be wrong though
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Dave2old on January 13, 2008, 07:56:00 PM
Looks like five toe prints? Dogs and cats have only 4; the fifth is the dewclaw, several inches up. I've seen deer and elk prints overlaid that look like something else. Is there scientific evidence of mtn. lions in that area? Whatever, it's all good fun ...
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: JBiorn on January 13, 2008, 08:03:00 PM
If thats a lion---its a small one. Looks like some sort of dog to me. I think Coyote.
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Dirty Bill on January 13, 2008, 08:08:00 PM
Definately not a lion.That's a coyote track,and it's not very fresh. Maybe 3 days old.   :campfire:
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Aeronut on January 13, 2008, 08:12:00 PM
Looks too round to me for a coyote but it's real hard to tell in that ground.

There have been lots of sightings reported throughout Kansas but there has been no hard evidence yet.

You can scoff at me but I have been fortunate to see two here since 1975 and both were within 30 yards of my vehicle, one for about a minute near Big Hill Lake.  I got a very good look at that one.

Dennis
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Matty on January 13, 2008, 08:13:00 PM
Oh No guys!!!!..... I's Back... The New Jersey Devil!!!!   :scared:
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: recurvericky on January 13, 2008, 08:15:00 PM
If that is a coyote track, it must have been the size of a Great Dane. The track is as big as my friends entire palm. The track only had 4 toes, they were counted by my friend. When compared to Mt. Lion Tracks on the net and coyote tracks it matches the Mt; Lion Tracks. By the way there have been sitings of Mt.Lion in eastern Kansas.
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Dirty Bill on January 13, 2008, 08:17:00 PM
The track is distorted.It was made in the mud,then froze,and everything has changed shape. It's a coyote track.
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: JBiorn on January 13, 2008, 08:19:00 PM
Ricky---coyotes can have big feet. And I have to agree with Bill here----that is an old track, so has been distorted by the weather.
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: recurvericky on January 13, 2008, 08:22:00 PM
I understand that the weather can distort tracks, but the fact is the track is as big as my friends entire palm, the picture may not show it, but it is. Now that would have to be one monster coyote.
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: JBiorn on January 13, 2008, 08:37:00 PM
Some 'yotes can be fairly good sized. Killed a 50 pounder last year with my .17
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Dirty Bill on January 13, 2008, 08:45:00 PM
This is a lion track.It's a few days old,it was on a sandy road in the mountains of utah.

(http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u33/dirtybill521/liontrack.jpg)
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Dirty Bill on January 13, 2008, 08:48:00 PM
This is a lion track.It's a few days old,it was on a sandy road in the mountains of utah.

(http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u33/dirtybill521/liontrack.jpg)

Freezing and thawing makes tracks look bigger,what you guys are looking at is the out side edges of the track,when in reality,the true measurement is inside the depression of the track.

I wouldn't turn a lion dog loose on it.
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: JBiorn on January 13, 2008, 08:50:00 PM
Bill---I think that track you put up actually looks a lot like the track originally posted. Maybe there IS a lion in Kansas.
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Gene Roberts on January 13, 2008, 08:56:00 PM
Oh no,The Black Dog has returned.
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Dirty Bill on January 13, 2008, 09:20:00 PM
QuoteOriginally posted by Gene Roberts:
Oh no,The Black Dog has returned.
:confused:    :confused:    :confused:
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Dirty Bill on January 13, 2008, 09:27:00 PM
QuoteOriginally posted by JBiorn:
Bill---I think that track you put up actually looks a lot like the track originally posted. Maybe there IS a lion in Kansas.
I'm not convinced.it could be though.We have lions in West Virginia,but the dnr denies it. My buddy saw one while we were bowhunting the cranberry backcountry,about 74 or so.We talked to the ranger,and he said he saw a pair of them drinking water in the creek.

Anyway,to be really sure we need another track to measure the stride and a lot of other measurements. One thing that I notice now is the lack of claw marks in the print,are they gone from the weather,or were they never there? Hmmm...   :saywhat:    :campfire:
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: recurvericky on January 13, 2008, 09:54:00 PM
Usually when a cat is walking it's claws are retracted, unlike a dog or coyote.
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: recurvericky on January 13, 2008, 10:00:00 PM
I am originally from NC and have seen three Mt. Lion in NC and not in Zoo's. The First was when I was about 12. We were riding around, my dad and younger brother, looking for dogs from the previous day of deer hunting. We ran dogs alot back then. We spotted something unusual walking across a field. We then realized that it had a very long tail and was very dark. The other times were while deer hunting on a path and the cat walked across slowly. My brother had one sneak up on him along the Roanoke River in eastern NC. The cat disapeared behind a large cypress and my brother could not see it again. He freaked out and left the woods very fast.
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Ian johnson on January 13, 2008, 10:01:00 PM
they have been spotted in south east louisiana in the area I hunt a few times over the last five years or so, they can pop up in some of the most unlikely places, mabey they were overhunted years ago in that area, but there are still a few left
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Gatekeeper on January 14, 2008, 12:17:00 AM
It is hard to tell from this one track. The lighting makes it difficult to see a good outline of the track. The track is in poor condition and it is obvious that the track is several days old because it is full of debris.

I am not convinced that it is a mountain lion track.

I just measured the front paw of our Lab-Rottweiler mix with and without pressure on it and it measures 2.75" long x 2.5" wide. This was done on a hard surface.

The measurement of my thumb from the base to the tip is 2.75" long. Using this picture it would appear that the track is not as wide as your friends thumb is long but it does appear to be the same length.

According to the site given below the average dimension of a mountain lion track is 4" long x 3.75" wide. This is the size of my palm. A bobcat's track is approximately 1.75" long x 1.875 wide and a coyote 2.5" long x 2" wide.

My guess is that this is an old coyote track.

Thanks for sharing, this made me investigate a few things and I found it entertaining and educational.   :thumbsup:  

http://www.cougarsanctuary.org/tracks.html

http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/circ561.html
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Dirty Bill on January 14, 2008, 12:52:00 AM
QuoteOriginally posted by recurvericky:
Usually when a cat is walking it's claws are retracted, unlike a dog or coyote.
that's my point,cat tracks don't show claws.   :campfire:
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Dirty Bill on January 14, 2008, 12:58:00 AM
I don't think it's a lion track either.It's hard to say,like I said before,without the right measurements,stride,straddle,and other measurements it's just hard to do with one track.   :campfire:
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Flyinghunter on January 14, 2008, 12:58:00 AM
For what it's worth, I've seen with my own eyes Mountain Lions less than 60 miles from where this picture was taken.  That does not mean that THIS track is from a ML but the size is comparable to those i've seen in the past.  At any rate it's WAY to big to be a coyote track.  Possibly a large dog but not likely.
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Dirty Bill on January 14, 2008, 01:12:00 AM
Time for a trail cam and a sheep tied out..   :campfire:
Title: Re: lion tracks
Post by: Flyinghunter on January 14, 2008, 01:28:00 AM
In for trail cam  :)