We have had alot of tracks as close as 75 feet to the front door, among them are what looks like cat tracks. A big footed cat. There aren't any big dogs I know of around here. My nueghbor no longer has Great Perenese I . Is there a site that tells about cougar, Bob cat and linx? We had sighted these close around outr area. Of course we have the usual coon, armadillo , deer etc.
Love Oma
Tex***Question
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annie oakley
- King Penguin
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Tex***Question
May I be more compassionate and loving than yeterday*and be able to spot the idiots in advance
Hi Oma,
My guess is that it is probably a cougar, if the tracks are that large. Contrary to what you read and hear everywhere, these days, cougars are not found only in remote, wild areas. They can be found virtually anywhere in Texas, (except maybe inside cities). Most people believe they are scarce, because they never see them, but you can live in areas that are heavily populated with cougars, and never see them - that's just their nature. We have cougars here where I live, and this is open farming country, so they are almost certain to be found in your part of Texas. They aren't always afraid of people, as the "experts" claim they are, and I have had a close confrontation with one, that proved that point, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
If the tracks are as big as your fist, or bigger, they were probably made by a lion.
Here's a link to a publication that describes everything you ever wanted to know about Texas cougars. It's going to be slow to download on a dialup connection, but it's a PDF file, and once you finish downloading it, you can save a copy to your hard drive, for future reference, (at the top of the PDF page, to the left, where it says "Save a Copy"). The reason why I picked this reference is because it has an excellent section on cougar tracks, on pages 9, 10, and 11.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publication ... 0_0274.pdf
Bobcat tracks can be fairly large, but not nearly as large as cougar tracks, of course. Bobcats are very, very common these days, since no one traps them anymore, but you seldom see them, because they tend to be masters at staying hidden, and they can be out in the open and not be noticed, because of their coloration, and their habit of sitting still, and moving very slowly and deliberately. That book I referenced above also shows how bobcat tracks compare with dog, coyote, and cougar tracks. If that doesn't allow you to figure out the tracks you are seeing, let me know, and I'll try to locate something else to go by.
The nearest lynx is over a thousand miles away, (except for zoos, of course).
If the tracks are made by a cougar, he/she is almost surely checking to see if any dogs might be out in the yard, to provide a quick snack.
Love,
Tex
My guess is that it is probably a cougar, if the tracks are that large. Contrary to what you read and hear everywhere, these days, cougars are not found only in remote, wild areas. They can be found virtually anywhere in Texas, (except maybe inside cities). Most people believe they are scarce, because they never see them, but you can live in areas that are heavily populated with cougars, and never see them - that's just their nature. We have cougars here where I live, and this is open farming country, so they are almost certain to be found in your part of Texas. They aren't always afraid of people, as the "experts" claim they are, and I have had a close confrontation with one, that proved that point, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
If the tracks are as big as your fist, or bigger, they were probably made by a lion.
Here's a link to a publication that describes everything you ever wanted to know about Texas cougars. It's going to be slow to download on a dialup connection, but it's a PDF file, and once you finish downloading it, you can save a copy to your hard drive, for future reference, (at the top of the PDF page, to the left, where it says "Save a Copy"). The reason why I picked this reference is because it has an excellent section on cougar tracks, on pages 9, 10, and 11.
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publication ... 0_0274.pdf
Bobcat tracks can be fairly large, but not nearly as large as cougar tracks, of course. Bobcats are very, very common these days, since no one traps them anymore, but you seldom see them, because they tend to be masters at staying hidden, and they can be out in the open and not be noticed, because of their coloration, and their habit of sitting still, and moving very slowly and deliberately. That book I referenced above also shows how bobcat tracks compare with dog, coyote, and cougar tracks. If that doesn't allow you to figure out the tracks you are seeing, let me know, and I'll try to locate something else to go by.
The nearest lynx is over a thousand miles away, (except for zoos, of course).
If the tracks are made by a cougar, he/she is almost surely checking to see if any dogs might be out in the yard, to provide a quick snack.
Love,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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annie oakley
- King Penguin
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- Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 5:56 pm
Thanks Tex, I will check out your refference. The tracks aren't as large as my fist, more like a the size of a great perenease or large shepard. I am trying to look out when I hear a noise at night.
I figured we had cougar, we saw one cross a field behind us last year. Believe it or not Mike and I saw a what looked like a linx about two monts ago. But our eyes could have been playing tricks on us. Mike swears it was a linx. We have seen a cougar around here a couple time when there were babies with her. There were two babies.
But I appreciate te reff I am curious about the cats we have around here.
Love Oma
I figured we had cougar, we saw one cross a field behind us last year. Believe it or not Mike and I saw a what looked like a linx about two monts ago. But our eyes could have been playing tricks on us. Mike swears it was a linx. We have seen a cougar around here a couple time when there were babies with her. There were two babies.
But I appreciate te reff I am curious about the cats we have around here.
Love Oma
May I be more compassionate and loving than yeterday*and be able to spot the idiots in advance
That may be a large bobcat. Some of them get pretty good sized. I've seen bobcats with feet bigger than the ones used for comparison with dog, coyote, and cougar tracks in that book. The easiest way to distinguish a lynx from a bobcat is by the ear tufts, (lynx have tufts of hair on the tips of their ears).
I doubt that you will ever hear a cougar, (or a bobcat, for that matter) - they don't make much noise, and they usually don't say much, either. You see and hear them snarling in movies and tv shows, but the only sound that I've ever heard them make is a low-pitched bawl, that sounds a lot like an old Brahma cow. They will bawl like that when something is aggravating them, such as a pack of coyotes trying to sneak in when they are feeding on a "kill". I've heard them make that sound several times, but never any other sounds.
Here's a distribution map that shows why you couldn't be seeing any lynx in Texas:
http://training.fws.gov/library/Pubs/lynx_maps99.pdf
Love,
Tex
I doubt that you will ever hear a cougar, (or a bobcat, for that matter) - they don't make much noise, and they usually don't say much, either. You see and hear them snarling in movies and tv shows, but the only sound that I've ever heard them make is a low-pitched bawl, that sounds a lot like an old Brahma cow. They will bawl like that when something is aggravating them, such as a pack of coyotes trying to sneak in when they are feeding on a "kill". I've heard them make that sound several times, but never any other sounds.
Here's a distribution map that shows why you couldn't be seeing any lynx in Texas:
http://training.fws.gov/library/Pubs/lynx_maps99.pdf
Love,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.