[Tilden Hunter]

Not all toes always print equally in a track. That is part of the point of having toes instead of hooves.

 

[red wolf]

Man made.

 

[LTH]

Chupacabra

 

[Rowdy Bandit]

The pad of the prints, with relatively indistinct number of lobes, had me flip flopping between canine and feline. But finally, the overall squareness/width and lack of any claw marks (as opposed to rectangular/long, and with claw marks) pointed to feline.

Now I suppose it could've been a neighbor's declawed three-toed dog.
:spin-nana:

 

[Rowdy Bandit]

 

[Joe Archer]

Once met his cousin that played baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers in the 70's; Sixto Lezcano (Pronounced Six Toe).
<----<<<

 

[PWood]

It does look feline.

 

[red wolf]

Do you find it odd it is on top of the snow for a very short distance?

For the size of the track you would think it would compress deeper in the snow

 

[cmuchip989]

I’m struggling to label these and imagine something walking that way.

Front right, front left, back.....uh
Well that’s an odd step...and kind of a stretch without making a deeper impression.

Maybe I’m not thinking right



Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman

 

[Rowdy Bandit]

Do you find it odd it is on top of the snow for a very short distance?

For the size of the track you would think it would compress deeper in the snow

I wouldn't, not after what I described. There were areas where I was almost supported even without snowshoes, others where I sunk down about a foot with; nearly ten feet of snowfall since late October, with layer upon layer of ice, snow, and rain, along with what the winds do.

 

[Rowdy Bandit]

I’m struggling to label these and imagine something walking that way.

Front right, front left, back.....uh
Well that’s an odd step...and kind of a stretch without making a deeper impression.

Maybe I’m not thinking right



Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman

Read this, it's fascinating:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_lynx

For your question particularly, see the section on physical characteristics.

 

[Wild Thing]

Here is a bobcat track from Dickinson County Bandit. Not sure what you've got over on the east side??

 

[Trap Star]

That is a moose knuckle.

 

[BulldogOutlander]

obvious Snipe tracks

 

[eucman]

If

One of the finds (unfortunately no recent deer sign) on a scout into hardwood stand Friday evening has me stumped.

Been searching animal track publications for the last two days and my best guess on this is an oversized Bobcat or a small / young Canadian Lynx with only three toes.

View attachment 495065
​

The snow base was about two feet, with lots of varying surface (blown drifts, stiff crust, four to six inches powder, ...) when I ran across these tracks and found a section of very clear tracks on some crusty snow. I looked long and hard, thinking some toes on furry paws just blended together making two look like one. But no, the 'middle toe' was just too distinct. Could there be vestigial dewclaws? IDK.

They measured about 2 3/8" wide, no claw marks, and appeared feline to me. Staggered sets and size made me think more toward a small Canadian Lynx. I need to get more camera traps out.

Now that I 'pulled my pants down' with a long post to show how little I know, I await someone's short simple definitive explanation (even better if from a wildlife biologist).

If all else fails......”To The Internet!”
My first uneducated guess would be the tracks are cat but the toes aren’t showing for some odd reason in all the tracks. Unlikely on every foot though, right?
My second guess would be the cat was born with a birth defect that affected his toes on all four feet.
Polydactylism is a more common defect. Cats born with more toes than normal like Hemingway cats have a mitten like appearance to the front claws.
Syndactylism is a condition where they are born with digits fused together. Maybe it’s that?

 

[Rowdy Bandit]

Saw three-toe tracks again yesterday. Looked like it was chasing snowshoe hare. There's a crazy number of hares around this year, could it be the ten-year peak(?) That would help make case / sense of Canada Lynx presence if so.

Also had three "special" visitors trot through back meadow headed south last night.

The first below shows three spread out then following in-line in softer snow, and more clearly, tracks going from more hard-icy snow surface to less-supportive deep snow (someone mentioned difficulty imagining this)...

​

... measured
5" long by 4 and 1/4" wide = Gray Wolves. :cheeky-sm

At least maybe we won't see as many coyote tracks around here for a while. All-ways look on the bright side of life.

 

[motdean]

Saw three-toe tracks again yesterday. Looked like it was chasing snowshoe hare. There's a crazy number of hares around this year, could it be the ten-year peak(?) That would help make case / sense of Canada Lynx presence if so.

Also had three "special" visitors trot through back meadow headed south last night.

The first below shows three spread out then following in-line in softer snow, and more clearly, tracks going from more hard-icy snow surface to less-supportive deep snow (someone mentioned difficulty imagining this)...

View attachment 497947
View attachment 497949​

... measured
5" long by 4 and 1/4" wide = Gray Wolves. :cheeky-sm

At least maybe we won't see as many coyote tracks around here for a while. All-ways look on the bright side of life.

Sorry for asking if you mentioned it before, but what county?

 

[Rowdy Bandit]

Sorry for asking if you mentioned it before, but what county?

NP. Schoolcraft

 

[wpmisport]

I count 4 toes but I haven't had a 4 cups of coffee yet.

 

[Wild Thing]

I count 4 toes but I haven't had a 4 cups of coffee yet.

That is from the Canine (likely wolf) track from yesterday's photo. 3 Toes is in the original post.