What animal is this?
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jyoutz
Super Member
Absolutely. They are relatively common where I live. No doubt that’s a mountain lion.
jyoutz
Super Member
Not post #18
Rockbadchild
Elite Member
I don't know how you can say that with certainty on a black and white picture with no reference point (scale reference) and when the tail is not extending pass the legs and you can see some strips ...
ponytug
Super Member
We see both cats here, several times a year. Bobcats, even when hunting don't look like the black and white photo. The movement, and their way of holding their bodies and body build is much, much different. Cougars or mountain lions are beefy, stocky animals.
Just my opinion, but I've seen a hundred or so bobcats and close to sixty or so mountain lions over the years, often for many minutes at a time, one of the benefits of regularly being on horseback in the same areas. Having a horse with exceptional eyesight doesn't hurt either.
All the best,
Peter
Rockbadchild
Elite Member
how do you explain the dots on the one front leg and back legs?
I don't doubt your experience but body movement is out the window in a picture, the way they hold their body can be very similar as any cat when they are crouch up and stalking as their apparent size when there is no reference point to put anything in perspective, for all we know it could be a zoomed picture of a house cat ... there's isn't any evidence that tells me it's a cougar and to the contrary the dots on the legs tells me it's a bob cat... I wouldn't be ready to make that claim without the dots on the legs but the lack of the tails although it could be its positioning and I have mix feeling about the ears at fist glance they look round like a cougars but more I look at it more pointy and curl forward they are I think their invisible black tip (due to black and white pic) makes them look round at first. But hey I could also be wrong. I think the only way to identify it would be to cross reference and measure one twigs on the ground from the picture.
the question would be is that twig highlighted in yellow is 3ft long or 7ft long
ponytug
Super Member
I did not see that animal myself, and I could be wrong, but I think that it is a juvenile mountain. Juveniles have lots of spots and stripes that go away as the juveniles grow up. I think I can see the remnants of the black spot on the side of the nose. Here's a photo of a juvenile here;
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2GJENYB/juvenile-mountain-lion-cub-in-winter-montana-2GJENYB.jpg
As I wrote, I could be wrong. I've never knowingly seen a mountain lion hunt (other than watching one stalk a pair of deer in long grass, which is to say we saw it go in to the grass, and caught tiny glimpses. No, it wasn't successful, probably in part due to us watching.), but bobcats hunt beyond our den all the time, and they tend to keep their short tail more visible.
All the best,
Peter
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Rockbadchild
Elite Member
that make sense, I stand corrected, I didn't know juvenile have spots.I did not see that animal myself, and I could be wrong, but I think that it is a juvenile mountain. Juveniles have lots of spots and stripes that go away as the juveniles grow up. I think I can see the remnants of the black spot on the side of the nose. Here's a photo of a juvenile here;
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2GJENYB/juvenile-mountain-lion-cub-in-winter-montana-2GJENYB.jpg
Note how the tail can get tucked in along the hind legs as well.
As I wrote, I could be wrong. I've never knowingly seen a mountain lion hunt (other than watching one stalk a pair of deer in long grass, which is to say we saw it go in to the grass, and caught tiny glimpses. No, it wasn't successful, probably in part due to us watching.), but bobcats hunt beyond our den all the time, and they tend to keep their short tail more visible.
All the best,
Peter
ponytug
Super Member
Neither did I until I saw a pair. I was driving a remote road around 4:00am and saw two large white spotted cats by the side of the road. I knew that they were felines of some sort, but that was it. Later that day I was talking with a long time resident (80ish?) and she said she had never seen a juvenile mountain lion, much less twins. She thought that the mom had probably been close, watching me.
Since then, I've spent a fair amount of time in the backwoods of California and lucky to have seen more than a few mountain lions. We border some very large open spaces, and used to regularly ride fifty to seventy miles a week on horseback, often early in the mornings and towards dusk. I think it helped us become a "known" quantity for the cats, and that helped the cats allow themselves to be seen. Again, it really helps to have observant horses. Having grown up with someone who was extremely well versed in bushcraft, it is second nature for me to watch for prints and scat, and I have fun tracking animals. We have identified and photographed a number of species not previously known to be in the area. Plus lots of sightings of things like Tule elk and prong horn antelope that are known, but not common. I have a great time being out.
I think that we average a mountain lion deer kill within 100' of the house every year. A fat deer population is a local sign of mountain lions. (Keeps the overpopulation down.)
My wife walks the trails regularly and has a couple of bobcats that are quite happy to meow/grumble with her and just sit on the trail grooming while she walks by. I wouldn't recommend it to others, but they have it worked out. One of the local red tail hawks will also chatter with her when she comes into view. "Animal magnetism"?
All the best,
Peter