In that kind of mud I am surprised this is the only print in the area you found. Hopefully there were more and you just took the pic of this one.

Having said that, this is a small body print, not a 3 foot bodied cat. It didn't sink down much in that mud as best I can tell so it was a light cat too boot. The couple bobcats (and coyotes) I have seen shot have very large paws for their bodies. I will admit I have never seen a mt lion print, but I would think they would be much bogger than this, esp given the mud situation you collected this print in...

I mean a yearling buck should show dew claws in that mud right?

Just curious why does it take do long to put game cameras out?

Compare the track to the green blade of grass laying in front of it... small track.. good job trying to use a 1" knife with a close up pic to make it look larger.. I don't believe u ever said where your lease is located? To me that looks like a coyote track, it may not have the nail marks but in mud they don't always look the same. Surely there were other tracks besides just that one? You're just another statistic, I saw a big black cat, my buddy saw a big black cat, someone I know saw a big black cat, ect ect.. but for some strange reason Noone has pics of one, Noone has videoed one, Noone has killed one. I wonder why that us??

I don't believe the OP has any intent to 'deceive', but certainly an object of known scale next to the print would be of more benefit.

A better 'track/impression' would be helpful as well.

This is what a true Cougar track looks like:



We have a lot of Bobcat on my property and surrounding areas. I have game cam videos of them almost weekly and often see their tracks. A bobcat track...even a large one, is only going to be about 2" wide at most and about the same in length. A cougar track (if mature) will be twice that span. It will be readily apparent that a large animal made it.

I shot this Bobcat recently while out hog hunting:



While not the heaviest, nor the most mature cat I have taken, it was a fairly tall and long Tom. The position in the picture above exaggerates the 'walking' length of the cat, but if it had been viewed running, jumping or otherwise stretched out, it would indeed appear to be about 4' in length. The AR in the picture is 38" long for reference.

I do not contest anyone's claim to have seen a large cat, even a claim clearly identifying it as a cougar, they exist in many parts of Texas, though rare.

Where I have to stop the bus and get off....is the 'black' part. While I have no doubt some folks see 'something' that is black (or appears black), I think it is almost always a case of mistaken identity, or just a house cat, the size of which....is misjudged.

But I am happy to be proven wrong. Sadly...still waiting for anyone to produce a valid picture of a black panther though.

Quick look at the rear pad says bobcat. That particular knife is 3-7/8 ths in length which would make the track about 3x2. Mud makes it look larger than it actually is. Right front foot from most likely a male due to size. Steep angle om the right toe leads me to believe the foot was either slipping or the incline leaned right, debris in the right toe marks but none in the left supports it.

Don't know what model Spyderco that is (maybe a harpy?), but yes...possibly close to 4".

Hard to tell much about the track without seeing more of the surrounding soil. Debris in the track could have been kicked in by the hind foot, though this is not an overlapping track. The lighter colored soil (dried out) is in contrast to the darker moister soil, proof that the track is fairly fresh.

You have a good eye for detail, something that many folks lack.

Fun thread!

There were three prints that all looked the same. It was a place in the road that had been filled in to get rid of a large hole. The entire area is only about 3ft in diameter. The rest of the road is gravel. There were no other tracks that we could find. It had just been patched earlier in the day and the dirt was just starting to dry out. The knife is a 4" Spyderco.

We have four cameras across the creek area (where the neighbor has been seeing her) and two covering the woods where we first saw her. These tracks were out on the road that runs between both properties.

So far, no one has been armed with a proper rifle to take her. When we first saw her, we were having breakfast in the house. Only rifle we had close was a little 22. The neighbor has seen her early in the morning while he was feeding the cows and moving across his far pasture, a good 300-400 yards away, in the evening.

Thanks for the pics of tracks for us to compare and what to look for the next time we find something.

Wishing you good luck with the cameras. Hard to know just where to set them. A water source, naturally...but also edge cover and any terrain features that tend to 'funnel down' travel.

If any of the cameras are capable of taking video, that is what I would set them on.

Look forward to some pics.

Interesting. I'm waiting on when the first thermal hunter shows up with the first black cat and sasquatch trophy... but I've heard that panther scream in deep east texas bottoms. Makes your hair stand up and shiver for sure.

Keep us posted.

Funny stuff.....

LOL

All I know is Hwy Man's kittie there ain't black but it looks to be doing vulgar kitty things...

We took a large bobcat recently (40-45 pounds) could have been the one that made this print, but the rancher on the property has seen a larger cat also..... we have yet to see her again...... when we get a good pic of her (we have 5 game cameras across the area), I will post.... until then, it is only speculation............ but two of us saw her that first day..... large and dark colored...............

I am eagerly anticipating this large black LION.

(Or maybe small normal bobcat)

Either way...

Need to pop a pig and put out some pork near the cameras to increase your odds.

"If you're sure it was black, you saw a dog or a house cat".

Don't let these comments get to you. I had a large black cat with long tail run in front of my mule, mid day in Coleman County. Stopped 20 yards in front of me and my buddy and just looked at us.

Was clearly no house cat, dog, bobcat, or mountain lion. Way too long and low to the ground. Looked up a picture of a jaguarundi - bingo - the exact animal I had seen. Posted my story on here - got blasted for 3 pages.

I hope one of these nimrods calling us liars gets to see one up close one day. When nobody believes them they will understand.