Any idea?
 

Below is a footprint my OH found on our property today (acreage about 15 minutes south of Calgary)

The smaller one on the left is one our male Akita made. What the hell made the other one?

I am informed that it is larger than a female human hand spread out

Re: Any idea?
 

That would be a bear wouldnt it?

Or maybe a great dane or mastif or some other big dog?
http://www.knowledgebase-script.com/...st_dog_paw.jpg

http://fortheloveofclouds.files.word...-footprint.jpg

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Godzilla?

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We had some tracks like that last winter, we were informed it was likely to be a cougar but I don't think you would see claw marks with a cougar as cats retract their claws when walking, so I think Wolf.

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Cougar

and not the ones that are usually in high heels

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I rarely wear high heels :rofl:

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I'm going to go with wolf for the same reason.

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My guess is cougar.

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I believe it is large enough to be a bear, but it doesn't have the claw marks one would expect

I thought cougar too but, as there aren't many trees around here (as in ones that would provide decent coverage), I don't know how realistic is is for cougars to be about.

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Is it realistic to expect wolves around here (east of Highway 2, between Okotoks and High River)?

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This link suggests a cougar. I will have to get the measuring tape out when I get home: Canine tracks v. Feline tracks

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I had a look at that link, but your photo doesn't show the toes as being out of alignment, they are about the same length - and it states that cat tracks will show toes as not being even. I can't see the 3rd 'lobe' to the pad on your photo either.

http://www.bear-tracker.com/wolves.html

Interesting article on how to identify whether it's cat or canine: http://homepages.dordt.edu/~mahaffy/..._print_id.html

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Have you heard any wolf calls? They do move around a lot looking for food. I'd say it's more likely to be a cougar, I've seen a cougar but not a wolf. Which I realize is a sample size of one.

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A picture of the same print with a quarter alongside to give scale.

Unfortunately, it has been snowing

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It's obvious now - it has to be a "cougar" that was looking for change for the taxi ride home from the bar.

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None at all. We get loads of coyotes around here; one was at our front door the other day as I went to our garage.

Apparently, there is a single line of tracks leading from our drive in the direction of a neighbour's property. I think I will need to walk around with something a bit more useful that a set of car keys in future.;)

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If it's not a cougar, my guess is that it's your dog's paw print from a couple of days ago, following changes made to it by the weather conditions.

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So its a shade under 4" wide and about 4" long...

Too small for a wolf probably and no visible claw marks.

Id say Cougar.

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Or maybe someone from Oldham... :lol:

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just asked hubby to have a look, he reckons a wolf. Now he's changed his mind and goes with cougar!!!!! (and they say women are indecisive!!!)

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apparently "oh yes" (that was a quote!) when we were out a couple years back just west of Ponoka Elk hunting we saw lots of wolf prints

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+1 many prints are mistaken for a larger animal after it's melted slightly and expands

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I don't know about wolves but it's not rare to find a cougar lurking in that area. My daughter lives in Okotoks and they've had a few sightings.

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Cougar tracks have a tail swish marking as well that you can see in the snow. We get lots of them in the Okanagan and that's how we usually know for sure if they are cougar tracks.

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Buy yourself a trail cam and set it up in the vicinity. It's pretty cool what you catch on those things :)

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Yes, this. Although mostly I get the neighbours dogs.

Dog/wolf/coyote tracks have the claws shown.
Cougar tracks don't
Bear tracks look more like footprints.

As everyone else has said, it's probably a cougar.

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Yeah, it's the size that's the clincher. I have no personal experience, I've seen bear rtracks and wolf tracks, but only pictures of cougar tracks. In any case it's great to see a new story in the snow. Hold the presses! I just realised that I can forward this thread to my friend who is an experienced hunter of African lions and he should be able to tell us. It may take days, though we could get lucky.

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If he says it's an African Lion I call bullsh1t ;)

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Nobody mentioned 5feet tall wolves yet?

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:popcorn:

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I think he may know, the Bwana's quite a naturalist.

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+2. Our dog's footprints end up two or three times the size after a thaw/freeze cycle.

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My friend says it isn't a cougar. "Cougars, like all cats, have rounded paws. This is likely the track of a wolf or another, larger dog."

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It looks like the bobcat prints we had around the tent when we went camping in the Adirondacks last year. As you do have Cougars in your area I'd say Cougar.

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Probably a big rabbit.

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Yep. I agree. The Easter Bunny come early. :)