Dave -- where and at what altitude. I'm with you that it's a bobcat. Although it's a big one, and there appears to be some tufting on the ears, there's not enough, the feet are too small, some spots are visible, and the kicker is that the underside of the black-tipped tail is clearly white, whereas in lynx its black all around. The tail tip marking is considered the key identifier. What's the deal with the barbed wire strand. Had the deer been tangled in a fence? My wife treed a bobcat here yesterday and I got pics, but am too dumb to use photobucket. If anyone wants to post them, send me a pm with your e address and I'll forward them along.