I'm thinking canine. The edges of the print aren't sharp, and it's a bit distorted from thaw, so the print's more than a day old. Judging from the size, and locale, probably a larger canine...wolf perhaps?
Wonder if there are active packs in that area? If there are wolves, there likely won't be larger felines, such as cougar. right?
Commonly, yeah...But this one looks like a print from a large male...
I encountered a pack outside Gooseberry a couple of summers ago on a solo trip, and the tracks I saw were pretty close to those. Your pic looks to be quite a bit bigger than your average domesticated dog, though it is possible. You'd have to have seen scat to be sure.
Owing to the fact that cougars are *extremely* rare in Minnesota, I think it unlikely it is a cougar print. However, there have been sightings of cougar north of Duluth in recent years...
It *could* be a wolverine, although looking at some photos of Minnesota animal tracks, to me it looks most like a lynx track, which is exciting in itself. :)
Upon further reading, it's interesting to note that the lynx track is longer and wider than the cougar track, because of the way the lynx's paws are set up for them to stay up on top of the snow...
Comments
Me. That's the print I leave during a full moon.
Posted by: Xenolith | April 10, 2006 09:18 PM
Most def. a Samsquanch monster.
Posted by: ian | April 10, 2006 09:53 PM
Gotta be a cat of some kind. Dogs always leave prints with claws because they can't retract them. Cats can. Mrowr!
Posted by: Kitty | April 11, 2006 08:16 AM
I'm thinking canine. The edges of the print aren't sharp, and it's a bit distorted from thaw, so the print's more than a day old. Judging from the size, and locale, probably a larger canine...wolf perhaps?
Wonder if there are active packs in that area? If there are wolves, there likely won't be larger felines, such as cougar. right?
Posted by: in.dog.neato | April 11, 2006 04:59 PM
Z - There are wolves in the area, but don't they travel in packs? These were a single set of prints.
Posted by: vicarious | April 11, 2006 05:22 PM
Commonly, yeah...But this one looks like a print from a large male...
I encountered a pack outside Gooseberry a couple of summers ago on a solo trip, and the tracks I saw were pretty close to those. Your pic looks to be quite a bit bigger than your average domesticated dog, though it is possible. You'd have to have seen scat to be sure.
I'm sticking with wolf.
Posted by: in.dog.neato | April 11, 2006 06:02 PM
Owing to the fact that cougars are *extremely* rare in Minnesota, I think it unlikely it is a cougar print. However, there have been sightings of cougar north of Duluth in recent years...
It *could* be a wolverine, although looking at some photos of Minnesota animal tracks, to me it looks most like a lynx track, which is exciting in itself. :)
Posted by: tamara | April 12, 2006 08:07 AM
I think it's way to large to be a lynx (they're not a very large cat).
Posted by: Bad Cat! | April 12, 2006 10:23 AM
Interesting site on canine vs feline tracks: http://www.bear-tracker.com/caninevsfeline.html
Posted by: Bad Cat! | April 12, 2006 10:27 AM
Thanks for the site, Bad Cat - that was really interesting. It didn't have a lynx print, though, so here is a website with lynx tracks:
http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/wilderness/animals/lynx.htm
I do think it's a cat print...
Posted by: tamara | April 12, 2006 12:34 PM
Upon further reading, it's interesting to note that the lynx track is longer and wider than the cougar track, because of the way the lynx's paws are set up for them to stay up on top of the snow...
I think I need a hobby.
Posted by: tamara | April 12, 2006 12:37 PM