12 votes
Accepted

Did I see a wolf's pawprint?

That snow clearly isn't fresh and has been slowly melting and refreezing for a few days. The thing is, prints get larger as the snow melts. I own retrievers that weight about 34 kg (75 lb) and I've ...
Carey Gregory's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Are these prints in snow of a bobcat or cougar?

Based on your estimation of size, they're definitely cougar. Bobcat tracks should be half (or less) that size. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has a nice track comparison page 9with ...
Tom Gaskill's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Are these tracks in the mud tortoise/turtle tracks?

This does look like some sort of turtle. Snapping turtles can easily get to the size you mention, and are fairly common. The picture doesn't give the impression the tracks are really 10 inches apart....
Olin Lathrop's user avatar
  • 21.3k
6 votes

Are there resources for identifying dinosaur tracks?

Are there resources for identifying dinosaur tracks? No; Dinosaur tracks are called trace fossils Trace fossils are classified in various ways for different purposes. Traces can be classified ...
James Jenkins's user avatar
5 votes

How to find and identify mountain lion tracks?

For assistance in identifying them, I've added some photos that I took. Here is a picture I took recently of a mountain lion track on a log that crossed a stream. The knife is 4.2" long, so the paws ...
RamblinRose's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

What species of dinosaur made these 3 toed 6 inch long tracks?

The shape of that track reminds me of an ornithopod. There can be some confusion as to how to identify specifically which ornithopod might have made that track (Manus track preservation bias as a key ...
Jonathan E. Landrum's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

How to estimate the size and or gender of a mountain lion from its tracks?

There are two things that can help one estimate the size, Size of the individual tracks themselves. The stride length (distance between tracks on the same size) The size of the tracks will stay the ...
Charlie Brumbaugh's user avatar
4 votes

What animal is making odd footprints and squeaking sounds under my guest house?

Those look like fox tracks. We do have foxes in the Southeastern US. They are characterized by having the two middle toes noticeably (almost a full toe) forward of the outer two toes. I've ruled ...
Russell Steen's user avatar
3 votes
Accepted

What is the difference between a dinosaur true track and a natural cast?

The easy way to think of this is that tracks left in concrete sidewalks are true tracks while pouring plaster of paris into animals tracks left in mud would results in a cast. Sometimes the dinosaur ...
Charlie Brumbaugh's user avatar
3 votes

How to find and identify mountain lion tracks?

The easiest time to find them is just after a fresh snowfall. Optimum conditions are enough snow for the tracks to be clearly visible without preventing one from driving back roads. The way people ...
Charlie Brumbaugh's user avatar
3 votes

Do predators understand human footprints?

Generally they will avoid humans as much as possible, except for occasional animals that have become habituated to humans. This is especially so for animal species that have been hunted extensively at ...
bob1's user avatar
  • 9,040
2 votes
Accepted

Are these tracks on the sand in Portugal dormouse tracks?

This Cabo da Roca guide offers three options: a badger, an Egyptian mongoose, or a weasel. Badger is quite big and, according to East Surrey Badger Protection Society, "The front paws of an adult ...
Usurer's user avatar
  • 1,478
2 votes
Accepted

What do Tyrannosaur dinosaur tracks look like?

First off, the tyrannosaurus dinosaurs are in the suborder Theropoda, and were bipedal, which is a fancy way of saying that they walked on two feet. They had three toes and one dewclaw. The ones ...
Charlie Brumbaugh's user avatar
1 vote
Accepted

What animals have paw prints similar to a mountain lion such that the absence or presence of claw marks are the most reliable distinguishing feature?

The answer is members of the dog family of animals as they are the other type of animals with paws that a similar in size wolves coyotes (have to be a really big coyote or very small mountain lion) ...
Charlie Brumbaugh's user avatar
1 vote
Accepted

Are there resources for identifying dinosaur tracks?

There are resources, but be aware that it is rather difficult to get a definitive answer. Here is a digital book published by the Earth Sciences department of the University of Bristol with a section ...
Jonathan E. Landrum's user avatar

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