I have an odd mystery for you today. But don't worry, I know the answer, and I'll give it to you at the end of the post. I found a very strange track while I was out hiking the other day. I've seen tracks like this before in different parts of this same nature park. They seemed very strange then too. Let's see why.
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| Cat Track |
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| Dog Track |
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At first, second, and maybe even third glance the track at the top strongly resembles the cat track on the left. In comparison it doesn't really look much like the dog track on the right, does it? So that must solve this little mystery then, right? The track was made by a common ordinary house cat. Wrong!!!
Take a look at the picture below to find out more evidence to why this track is not what it seems. Very strange indeed!
Here is another picture of this track, but this time my own boot is next to it. I have to tell you that I have very big feet. My boot size is a men's 14. Huge, right? Now think about the size of that supposed house cat track. Melting snow can make tracks appear larger, but not by that much. That must be one really big cat that made that track! We now know that it was no house cat. But what is it? I've heard some pretty strange sounds out here at night.
Okay, here is another track from the same type of animal. This one looks a little bit different than the first one. The toes seem to be a little bit more pointed. That's partly because you can see the claw marks at the front. If you go back to the first picture you can also see claw marks. What does that tell us?
This last picture's track is from a dog. I wanted to show you this so you could see what a typical dog track looks like. It resembles the illustration of a dog up further on the right. Not all dog tracks are exactly alike though. Notice how pointy the toes seem to be. That's because a dog's claws stick out wherever it goes.
So what is the identity of our strange creature that made our mystery tracks? It's not a cat. Not a house cat. Not a mountain lion, or a bobcat. Even though it somewhat resembles a cat, the identity of our creature is just an ordinary pet dog. Cat tracks never show claws. The tracks are odd for a dog, but that's exactly what they are.
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| Rock |
Snow can sometimes distort the tracks we are seeing. Other times it's just the way an individual animal steps down. Tracking an animal sometimes takes a little research to get it just right. After learning about them, you can identify even the strangest tracks in a matter of seconds. That's what I did.
Tracking animals, even pets, is one of the most fun parts of winter. I could give you a hundred mystery track posts like this, but I'll limit them to just a few. I always wanted to be able to identify animal tracks, just like the heroes on TV and in the movies. A cowboy, an adventurer, a detective. I can imagine myself as all of them when I'm out there.
I am horrible at identifying tracks. You had me going there for a minute, I thought that maybe there had been a wild cat roaming around. How nice of Rock to assist you in today's story.
ReplyDeleteI always wanted to be able to recognise tracks. It's interesting to follow them sometimes, some animals take a really strange route!
ReplyDeleteI always thought that would be a cool skill to develop; my husband can do it pretty darn well. My identification skills are loosely grouped into two main categories: A)Oh, Cool! or; B)We're Outta Here (maybe I'll improve on my *cough* tracking skills one day, but I'm not counting on it (and neither is hubby :o)
ReplyDeleteOne of the best ways to separate domestic dog tracks from those of the wild variety of canine (coyote, fox, wolf) is by the gait of the track and the pattern. Domestic dogs tend to walk in a four footed pattern, whereas wild dogs often place the print of their rear foot in the print of their front foot, but the best way that I have discovered is pattern. Domestic dogs sort of wander all over the place from side to side, wild canines are determined and seem to walk in relatively straight line as if they have a real purpose, like hunting!
ReplyDeleteI have size 14 feet also Ratty, so we both make very big tracks!
Bill:www.wildramblings.com
As the momentum in your story heightened I thought more and more that it was some sort of wild cat, even a mountain lion :D Ya scared me there for a minute.
ReplyDeleteLearning some thing new today! Is Rock your dog?
ReplyDeleteNicely done, Mr. R. The claws showed in the first one, if you were looking, but the progression of the story was great. OK, your feet aren't dainty... I'll give you that!
ReplyDeletei am not good in identifying tracks, there are so many animal tracks in the desert sand dunes as well, which kind of fascinates me since i do not see them when the sun is out. but anyway, as always, like your story.
ReplyDeletevery curious.....thanks for the guide on animal tracks..:-)
ReplyDeleteSize 14 - demands respect
ReplyDeleteI'd hate to get a swift footprint on my backside from that
You had me guessing there for a while, Ratty. My first instinct was a dog, but I kept changing my mind as I read on....turns out my first instincts were right! Today we were riding in the woods and came upon some tracks by a frozen river but beside them were (what looked like) outlines of a large bird's wings...very strange. The only thing we could think of was that a hawk or an owl swept down by the river to catch a mouse or something. We saw no blood or feathers, but there was the definite outline of wings involved!
ReplyDeleteYours is 14, how about tha of the dog?
ReplyDeleteIt must be 6. LOL.
Here is hoping we can all stay on track for the week LOL
ReplyDeleteI was thinking mountain lion too. But now I've learned something new.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking it might be a bear mark :P It's a very prominent mark indeed.
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought it was a bobcat. Glad the mystery is solved. Since it doesn't snow here, I didn't know that about tracks. Thanks for the lesson.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your detective work on this one! I knew it wasn't a regular kitty from the start - our paw prints probably would not go so deep. I thought it might be a mountain lion, but when I saw your foot next to it, I knew it was too small (even if you DO have size 14 feet!), and I also figured a smaller wild cat (bobcat, lynx) would probably be too light footed to make such a deep print unless it was making a really big leap! So I guessed it was a canine print of some sort. It was fun reading everyone else's guesses too!
ReplyDeleteGood detective work Ratty, I like the way you reached your conclusion. The claws in the first photo were the main clue for me. Plus most domestic cats don't like snow, my cat will just look at it from the patio and then run back in the house.
ReplyDelete@Icy BC
ReplyDeleteRock is a dog I featured in a nonsense post about a year ago. I know him well, but he's not mine. He's a good dog though. He's also very afraid of the dark.
You really know a lot about the life in the wilds. My husband understands tracks too, and he can tell how long ago the track was made. Me I barely can see the track, even less identify it. I like your pictures in the post A beautiful Day – the clouds in the sky have great color and shape and the snow is so bright in your first picture.
ReplyDelete