Whose is that?

     I think I have mentioned this before but I’ll tell you again; I love to look at tracks in the fresh fallen snow.  I can usually tell the difference between moose and deer and I know what a rabbit track looks like but after that I get kind of lost.  Of course I have a track book and the internet helps but I have alot to learn.  

  The fresh snow on the Gunflint Trail the other day provided me with some new tracks to look at.  There were little marks like from a bird, and bigger marks possibly from a squirrel, one that i was pretty sure was a fox and then one that I couldn’t quite determine what it was.  That in itself is pretty normal but this track was big and it’s stride was too.

     This intrigued me enough to investigate the track further.  With camera in hand and visions of CSI in my brain I went back to the track(back tracking!).  The snow doesn’t leave a good impression of a track and the blacktop beneath the track probably didn’t help either.  The unidentifiable track was about 4" in size and had a stride of about 20".  I knew this was from a fairly big animal but that was about it.   

  I’ve looked at my track books and can’t quite determine the animal that the track came from.  A Wolf is possible but what makes me think it is a Mountain Lion is the fact the tracks are almost always on top of one another.  I don’t think a wolf walks like that but I know cats sometimes do.

     I’m not sure if someone can determine what kind of a track this is based upon this information.  But, if you think you know what it is, then please let me know.  I’ve ruled out Rugby and myself already…