Wolf or cougar track?

[Vancouver1234]

Fishing for bullies in squamish Valley, tons of elk sign, black bear track wolf and lynx or Bob cat track, but is this one a wolf or cougar,. Apparently can't upload the pic...But it was nearly the size of my average size hand and the claws weren't fully retracted and wen I check Google it looks like a cougar just as much as a wolfs but I don't know about size difference in the track and it was in the snow...Thanks fellahs

[boxhitch]

Cat tracks are more circular, dog tracks tend to have two toes centered out front

[Bonz]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/index.png

[Sambor]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/index.png

Thanks Bonz,
I have never seen cougar tracks yet, but I knew that they don't show claw marks. Now I have a few more things to look for.

On the other note, I have seen wolf tracks a few times (i think 2 or 3 times). They were as big as my palm. In comparison, how big cougar tracks are?

[Bonz]

the claw mark all depends on the ground to. if its muddy you can see them. should look at multiple things to determine a track
the main is the toe shape. usualy the easiest to see. cannine with them center toe more forward than a feline family
cougar and wolf will be close to same size.

[Bonz]

med sized cougar

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/cougar6.jpg

[Sambor]

Thanks Bonz,

I think you must be one of the most active members on this forum. You signed up in October 2016 and you have already 1300 posts! Congrats and thanks for your input!

[sausage lover]

http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu19/sausagelover1/100_1410_zpswylemaxq.jpg (http://s629.photobucket.com/user/sausagelover1/media/100_1410_zpswylemaxq.jpg.html)This wolf was following a black bear track near our property:shock:

[scotty30-06]

Saw a few cougar tracks in the snow this weekend checking cams....no mistaken those big kitty prints

[Bonz]

lol, i get bored easy. to much free time..lol, i dont even look at them post counts

[Sambor]

You guys make it hard on me :-D... I can't wait to move to BC and start hunting there. I have hunted black bears and shot a few coyotes, but I have always wanted to go after a cougar.

On the other note, I will have to be more careful and watch my 6 while hunting in BC. There are more predators there, but in numbers and species.

[ve7iuq]

Thanks Bonz,
I have never seen cougar tracks yet, but I knew that they don't show claw marks.


I used to travel with a cougar hunter. He quickly showed me how to distinguish cougar tracks from lynx tracks in the snow.
"Cougar always show their claw marks, lynx don't show claws."

[Sambor]

I used to travel with a cougar hunter. He quickly showed me how to distinguish cougar tracks from lynx tracks in the snow.
"Cougar always show their claw marks, lynx don't show claws."
Thanks ve7iuq,
Looks like I will have to review my knowledge. I have forgotten, that BC has also more lynxes and bobcats.

[Bonz]

depends where you are for more lynx to bobcat. i havet seen a lynx yet myself., seen lots of bobcat though

[Xenomorph]

http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu19/sausagelover1/100_1410_zpswylemaxq.jpg (http://s629.photobucket.com/user/sausagelover1/media/100_1410_zpswylemaxq.jpg.html)this wolf was following a black bear track near our property:shock:

doggie!
Big!

[Linksman313]

Great pictograph you posted there Bonz, very helpful, I too often confuse the heel pad lobes in the field. On the subject of Lynx/cougar/bobcat sightings, I was speaking to an older logger who worked in the day where fallers were out on their own for weeks on end 1960-90's. He mentioned that in his entire career (40 yrs give or take) in the E&W koots, boundary and VanIsle that he had sighted many wolves,bear and bobcat, but only sighted one lynx and never seen a cougar, plenty of track but no cat. Elusive to say the least. Good thread Sambor now get to BC asap lols

[Sambor]

...Good thread Sambor now get to BC asap lols

I know, but I made a few commitments that I want to fulfill, before i move out. I think if everything works out, July is when i make the move. I won't be able to hunt big game this year though, but then I get a chance to do some scouting, while hunting birds, small game and fishing.

[Vancouver1234]

okay hopefully these upload, they arent the best photos.....what do you make of it, i see some google cougar track in snow images and i lean toward it but i lean toward wolf even more when i see their tracks in real life....http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6235&stc=1

[Vancouver1234]

trying to upload another but that m,ay be the best one

[RiverOtter]

Looks to me like 2 lobes on the front of the pad, so I'd say cougar.

[Bonz]

canine , has that clover leaf shape to it. if a feline the 2 outter would be forward more
id call it coyote.

[RiverOtter]

Unless buddy has the world's smallest hand, that is one prehistoric size yote track....

[Vancouver1234]

bad pic, they were preeettyyy big, and following elk track, if canine i feel like they had to be wolf, as ive seen a lot of them in the elaho area..................then again im a rooky with this i mainly fish and hunt grouse .....deer one day, so you do have a better eye for that than me

[Bonz]

smaller one then, ill stick with cannine. safer choice..lol

another wolf track

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/49733cc127734998a174831ff7cea8baPhoto_Marcus_Eldh_ 5_wolf_track_hand_2.jpg

[horshur]

That pic looks like a dog..But I have seen cougar tracks that looked doglike...For to be sure you need to look at several of the tracks..Try to get another perspective..Look at gait..See what they look like with less snow.. conditions change things Alot.

[Bonz]

on his pic on last page, you can make out the 2 front claws break through the snow also for cannine

[RiverOtter]

I've seen cougar tracks with claws registered. And there was no confusion, as they were smack dab in front of my trail cam, along with the pic of the cat.

[RiverOtter]

Look at the pic you posted, then the original poster's. Your track is oval(elongated) while the other pic is round. Same as the track identification pics above.

[Bonz]

sure they can, just more common in dog track. i dont look at any 1 thing to make my decisions either.

[Vancouver1234]

do you think its possible this is a cougar track? its been buggin me haha! in the back of my mind i think it is as i once saw cougar tracks with a seasoned guide, with claws showing....anyway i walked further on the river to deeper snow and saw what were definetely cougar tracks same size i checked with hand, but no claw

[RiverOtter]

Also, canine prints are symmetrical, cats are not. Another difference between your pic and the poster's.

[Bonz]

hard to compare the 2 images, way diff aged tracks. his is older. washed/,elted out some

[Bonz]

Also, canine prints are symmetrical, cats are not. Another difference between your pic and the poster's.

the one with the hand i posted was just a google pic

[Bonz]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6237&stc=1http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=6238&stc=1

[RiverOtter]

I agree one pic is better, but unless the track melted crooked, it's still quite telling.
Run a straight line up through the middle of the pad on a canine and it goes between the toes. Do the same on a cat track and the line intersects one of the center toes.

[RiverOtter]

With all due respect, the diagrams you copy/pasted don't accurately depict the cat prints. The toes aren't centered in relation to the pad. I've looked at a LOT of cat tracks running trap line.

[Bonz]

was more for size.

[Vancouver1234]

with all due respect i am sure your very knowledgeable, and know more than me. But that track was just too big to be a coyote, my hand was the same size and i do not have small hands

[Vancouver1234]

but then again can a coyotes paw get as big as a normal//bigger human hand??

[hoochie]

dogs have non retractable nails. when a canine walks in snow there are claw marks. cats do not leave the nail marks.

[Ohwildwon]

My boot size is 11.5.. measures 4.5" across..

Remember, unlike a domestic dog, when wolves are on the trot,

the rear paw steps into the front paw most of the time..

Depending on the condition of the snow, a Lynx track can have an unrefined outer edge, due to its long fur..

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll37/mikemcclement/Wolf%20Print_zpsc7tmgg1r.jpg (http://s284.photobucket.com/user/mikemcclement/media/Wolf%20Print_zpsc7tmgg1r.jpg.html)

[Vancouver1234]

yeah but where i was, lots of bush wacking, there was no sign of any other human being there within that snowfall and like i said no human with the dog, unless when you say dog you mean wolf?

[Ohwildwon]

yeah but where i was, lots of bush wacking, there was no sign of any other human being there within that snowfall and like i said no human with the dog, unless when you say dog you mean wolf?

If there are no human prints around, highly doubtful its a domestic dog,

unless your near an Indian Reserve..

[Elkaholic]

The washed out track looks like a dog(wolf) track to me, but hard to say fully unless you checked out the track more. Following it for a bit see it under a tree or different depths of snow can give you a way better idea on what your looking at. Just by going on that washed out pic I say its a dog.