lion tracks

[Ian johnson]

they have been spotted in south east louisiana in the area I hunt a few times over the last five years or so, they can pop up in some of the most unlikely places, mabey they were overhunted years ago in that area, but there are still a few left

[Gatekeeper]

It is hard to tell from this one track. The lighting makes it difficult to see a good outline of the track. The track is in poor condition and it is obvious that the track is several days old because it is full of debris.

I am not convinced that it is a mountain lion track.

I just measured the front paw of our Lab-Rottweiler mix with and without pressure on it and it measures 2.75" long x 2.5" wide. This was done on a hard surface.

The measurement of my thumb from the base to the tip is 2.75" long. Using this picture it would appear that the track is not as wide as your friends thumb is long but it does appear to be the same length.

According to the site given below the average dimension of a mountain lion track is 4" long x 3.75" wide. This is the size of my palm. A bobcat's track is approximately 1.75" long x 1.875 wide and a coyote 2.5" long x 2" wide.

My guess is that this is an old coyote track.

Thanks for sharing, this made me investigate a few things and I found it entertaining and educational.    

http://www.cougarsanctuary.org/tracks.html

http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/circ561.html

[Dirty Bill]

Originally posted by recurvericky:
Usually when a cat is walking it's claws are retracted, unlike a dog or coyote.

that's my point,cat tracks don't show claws.  

[Dirty Bill]

I don't think it's a lion track either.It's hard to say,like I said before,without the right measurements,stride,straddle,and other measurements it's just hard to do with one track.  

[Flyinghunter]

For what it's worth, I've seen with my own eyes Mountain Lions less than 60 miles from where this picture was taken.  That does not mean that THIS track is from a ML but the size is comparable to those i've seen in the past.  At any rate it's WAY to big to be a coyote track.  Possibly a large dog but not likely.

[Dirty Bill]

Time for a trail cam and a sheep tied out..  

[Flyinghunter]

In for trail cam