Do these look like Bobcat tracks...?

[Limitool]

Howdy all.... Girlfriend took this pic of the tracks near the end of our driveway. She asked me what they were. I think Bobcat but I'm not sure. Tracks are 2.5" wide. Any thoughts folks..?

 

[Oregon Viking]

Brad.. from my last hunting trip, I watched him make these tracks.

 

[Limitool]

Brad.. from my last hunting trip, I watched him make these tracks.

View attachment 2188970

Does look like a match to me.... Thanks O.V.

 

[Mine Shaft]

Sorta looks like the Cat that roams around my claim except this kitty's paws are 5" across 😯

 

[DizzyDigger]

Yep, Bobcat tracks..or a huge domestic kitty..

 

[DizzyDigger]

Sorta looks like the Cat that roams around my claim except this kitty's paws are 5" across 😯

Yeah...I wouldn't be kneeling down working on something unless someone's watching your back.

 

[Mine Shaft]

@DizzyDigger Yep I do think about one sneaking up behind me. I do have my Colt in my back pack but that's useless if one is hanging off my neck. I check my surroundings quite often.

 

[DizzyDigger]

@DizzyDigger Yep I do think about one sneaking up behind me. I do have my Colt in my back pack but that's useless if one is hanging off my neck. I check my surroundings quite often.

In my experience with big cats there's three primary reasons why a cat might approach you.

First, it's curious as to what you are, or what you're doing in it's backyard. If you see this cat, they are generally pretty easy to spook away from you.

Second, a mom with little ones doesn't want you in her backyard. She's going to make herself known, and she's asking you to leave, and in no uncertain terms. She will not spook away so easily, but generally physical confrontation can be avoided.

Third, you are on the menu. It is most likely that you will neither see nor hear this cat before it charges. Be prepared to fight. If no handgun, hopefully there's a sharp, fixed bladed knife in a belt sheath. If no knife, the next choice is to get an arm free and gouge it's eyes.

In those situations, I keep the thought in my head: "If you don't look or act like prey, you won't be prey."

No idea what it looks like today, but I used to hunt quail and rabbits in Fontana.

 

[releventchair]

Bobby just passing through.
Not hunting humans. Rather , avoiding them.

Sand is a magnet where sand isn't exposed a lot and available.
Think litter box. But expect a fox track in it too.
somewhere along the cats route are scratchings in sand or loose soil . Both covering and scenting.
Way out back here was an old pine stump well worked. I suspected Bobby after a vehicle thumped a big one on the main road. That and big round tracks atop the snowbank along the dirt road made one night.

Bobcat screaming at night sounds like a stabbing victim. Listeners hair standing up type screaming. Bloody murder meets terror.

I arrived home to the century old farm I rented part of in the wee hours one day to hear the worst screaming out back.
I grabbed a ballbat and flashlight and went to check my fox sets/traps.
Nothing!
Oh boy.

Biggest feline I've seen free ranging was near there during a hunt. No it wasn't Bobby. Jet black long tailed and two Bobbys at least in length without including the tail.
It wasn't wild , but certainly not domestic either.
I'll spare the reader the seemingly tall tale.

 

[Mine Shaft]

Thank you @DizzyDigger for the 3 tips lol, I have been hunting for around 50 years so hopefully what I have learned in the field will come in handy when prospecting.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Bobcat screaming at night sounds like a stabbing victim. Listeners hair standing up type screaming. Bloody murder meets terror.

Near a place called Little Lake in Calif, I was sleeping one winter night in the back of my '72 Blazer. Got woke up when I started hearing the most gawdawful squalling and screaming coming from a spot close by.

Threw on some clothes, grabbed a flashlight and started working my way towards the location of the screams...which had gone silent. You can't imagine the thoughts going through my head.....I fully expected to walk up on a murder scene.

Shining my flashlight on the low hills in front of me, I picked up two sets of eyes, side by side, and the source of that blood curdling racket.... turns out it was two bobcats making babies.

Releventchair..My comments (above) pertained solely to cougars. A bobcat is most likely not going to charge you unless it feels cornered, or is rabid, and I'd suspect they'd leave the immediate area until you were gone.

 

[IDAu]

Howdy all.... Girlfriend took this pic of the tracks near the end of our driveway. She asked me what they were. I think Bobcat but I'm not sure. Tracks are 2.5" wide. Any thoughts folks..?

Nope. Canines make an X felines make and H. If you can draw a straight line between the front toes at 45 degrees and not hit the pad it’s probably not a cat.

Also looks like you have claw indents. For the most part you don’t see that with cats since they usually keep them retracted. Canines cannot.

Pics of the actual cat vs yours for reference.

 

[rginn]

Chupacabra tracks. Nah, I think bobcat. Or my neighbor's giant house cat.

 

[Mine Shaft]

Nope. Canines make an X felines make and H. If you can draw a straight line between the front toes at 45 degrees and not hit the pad it’s probably not a cat.

Also looks like you have claw indents. For the most part you don’t see that with cats since they usually keep them retracted. Canines cannot.

Pics of the actual cat vs yours for reference.

I don't see any claw marks in my photo too many pebbles and sand in the way but i did a little research on photos of Mountain Lions some look the same and some don't so not 100 percent sure. That's one Big Dog if Dog tracks.

 

[IDAu]

I don't see any claw marks in my photo too many pebbles and sand in the way but i did a little research on photos of Mountain Lions some look the same and some don't so not 100 percent sure. That's one Big Dog if Dog tracks.

I don't see any claw marks in my photo too many pebbles and sand in the way but i did a little research on photos of Mountain Lions some look the same and some don't so not 100 percent sure. That's one Big Dog if Dog tracks.

Have you seen it leave these tracks? Yours looks like a large domestic dog or wolf with clear claw marks to me.

Not trying to be rude or argumentative (I could be wrong) but the difference between yours and Limitools compared to Oregon Vikins is stark to me. Hound hunted cats, trapped wolves, and it really jumps out at me. The pebbles and sand don't matter. That's actually a nice clear print and almost textbook. Lobe shape, claw marks, negative impression, non leading toe, etc.

Here's a good example of a wolf that ran through my set before I got him. You can see the claw mark in one toe, but in the other it melted or caved in which results in more of a point than a defined independent claw indentation.