Visitor?

[RobS]

I was out at the property yesterday and noticed some tracks that I assumed were a large dog. I also noted there were no human tracks to go along with but didn't think much of it since it is rural.

The following article shows up on the front page of our paper this morning (must be a slow news day). The people quoted live just down our new street...

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2002/02/11/local.20020211-sbt-MARS-A1-Mystery_cat_seen.sto>South Bend Tribune</A>

 

[forestcreature]

just don't toss it your tractor keys!

 

[Egon]

There be a big difference between cat and dog tracks.

Egon

 

[MossRoad]

Rob,

MEOW!!!

There have been rumors of cougars in that area for several years. The outdoors writer at the Tribune has interviewed several folks that swear that they saw a panther(same as a cougar or mountain lion). When I was a kid there used to be bobcats north of town( and I don't mean the skid steer type). One even stole some of our food at a boy scout campout. But they had short tails and pointy fluffy ears and looked like a jacked up big house cat.

As far as the tracks go, dogs usually leave claw marks in their tracks. As best as I can remember, the bob cat didn't.

This summer my daughter and I are going to make a sandy area in our back yard and rake it smooth. Then we are going to put an X10 camera and motion sensor out there and have it record to the computer. We want to start making plaster casts of animal tracks and this way we'll know what animal made the tracks. Also, this looks like a fun project for a 9 year old and her dad /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

 

[MikePA]

From personal experience, cats will leave more than just their paw prints in a sandy area. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[cedarranch]

We did something similar. We wet down softened dirt and baited the center a few years back for a project for my nephew.

 

[MossRoad]

/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Daddy, why is there playdoh in my sandbox?

 

[MikePA]

Yep, that's what happened. In your case, this could add to the educational experience. A picture, footprints and droppings!

 

[MossRoad]

You know, we were at a state park a few weeks ago and they had fake animal doody for the kids to look at. They were all very interested. Seems you can gather all kinds of information about the animal by what it eats.

Looks like animal doody.
Smells like animal doody.
Feels like animal doody.

Good thing I didn't step in it /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[MikePA]

Speaking of doody.../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

When our oldest daughter (soon to be 18) was young, she was outside playing and decided to immitate one of our dogs and leave a deposit on the front lawn. "Hey, if it's good enough for the dogs, I can save some time and not go inside. Why interrupt play time." was her reasoning. When my wife found this present and asked about it, our daughter replied, "I think a chipmunk did that.". It was all my wife could do to not bust out laughing which would have not been conducive to the disciplinary process. The mental picture of a chipmunk producing the evidence that she was looking at was almost too much to bear! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[dmccarty]

Mike,

Thanks for the Laugh! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I needed it today!

Do you remind your daughter of her "deposit" in the yard? 18 seems like a real good age to be reminding her of these sort of things! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Later...
Dan

 

[Thomas]

New Hampshire won't come foreward and admit we have the big cats,but people in the north claims they have seen the cats all hours of the day.
I hope it won't take a car vs mountain loin for proof. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

 

[MikePA]

<font color=blue>Do you remind your daughter of her "deposit" in the yard?</font color=blue>

Oh yes, we remind her! Any time she seems to be getting a little too big for her britches, we just say the word "chipmunk". /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[RobS]

I did some digging last night and found this site which covers the differences between dog and cat tracks <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/7076/caninevsfeline.html>tracks</A>

Here is a cougar print from that site...

I'm heading out to meet the Electric company later this morning. I'll grab the old digital camera and see if I can still get some shots of the tracks I saw. Stay tuned /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

Good link!

 

[RobS]

False alarm...

Here's a shot of the tracks I saw. Not that someone else didn't see a cougar, but this is pretty clearly a canine when I compared it to the tracks in the link I posted. Wolf maybe? It's still a large animal no matter what it is /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Youare]

Since New Hampshire was mentioned. I live in the southwest corner of the state about 2 miles through the woods from a 13,000 acre state wilderness park, Pisgah State Park.

It is a habit of mine to take Sunday afternoon walks in the woods all around my house. Back about 12 years ago right around this time of year I went for a walk. The snow had a thin crust that would almost hold my weight if I walked slow.

I came across a large set of tracks that broke through the snow so I decided to folow them for a while. I noticed the tracks went from a walk to a bound then stopped went around the back of a tree and faced my direction, then turned and bounded off again. This pattern repeted itself several times.

A couple of times I stood still an listened, I could hear the animal breaking through the crust when it ran, but never caught sight if it. A few weeks later in another part of the state I saw a game warden at an event and asked him what kind of animal would make tracks the size of the ones I saw.

The first thing that came out of his mouth was you live in the Winchester area don't you? I confirmed that and he said they believe there is a mountian lion in that area. This summer some people in the next town over from me took picyures of large cat tracks in some soft sand. I don't think they found any scat form the big cat.

I would love to see one.

Randy

 

[looch]

We have lynx a little furhter north in Quebec. Seeing as how the state of Maine extends further north than this, and that VT and NH are higher in elevation, I should think that you have some of these cats too.

 

[MossRoad]

Well then WOOF! not MEOW! Probably someones pet out inspecting its domain /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif. As you start building, you'll get to see all sorts of tracks in the disturbed soil. Dog, cat, racoon, skunk, deere /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif