What animal left this track

[Triumph_Dave]

I will start by saying this is not a wind up.. Yesterday was a bright sunny day with a hard frost start to the day. I was asked by the wife to go out for a walk with her in the nearby forestry area as it was such a nice day.. So we were out and about by 1030 hrs, parked the car up in the allocated forest parking area ( only one other commercial pickup parked ) and off we went for a stroll downhill along the hardened track area. The upper part of the forest area had been hit by the winds of the last month, so a fair bit of debris about with the odd tree down.. It was a very quiet morning except for a lot of cock pheasants alarm calling ( The area is right on the edge of a very large commercial shoot, so a lot of remaining birds around ). As we were walking downhill along the path I saw to my front and right what looked like the tip of a fawny couloured tail flicking up and over a downed fir tree trunk, and I thought to myself thats a bit weird, what the hell was that.. The motion was when an animal jumps over a log and you just see the last microsecond of the tail movement.. We walked on another 10 metres to the area on the path where I had seen the movement off to the right and on the side of the walking path where the sun had softened the soil was a set of 4 prints of an animal that had climbed up from the stone path into the tree area toward the downed log. The attached photo is the best of the 4 prints, the hankerchief in the photo is for scale and is 4 1/2 to 5 inchs wide. The thing that struck me was A: the size of the prints and B: there were no claw marks showing in any of the prints, so I reckoned it was not from a large dog/hound. The prints had a stride length between them of approx 34-40 inchs. There was no scent in the air, such as you get from a passing fox.. the wind was still.
Now I hate to say this ( and I can feel the flack coming ) but could it be from a big cat, or was it just a very large dog who somehow had not left any nail marks in the prints.

 

[finnbear270]

Looks Mustelid to me, but my eyes are getting on.

 

[Triumph_Dave]

The print was about 4 inchs wide.. is that not too wide for Mustelid??

 

[bowji john]

What is the context?

Is that very soft ground?

Are there any other prints ?

Can I see 5 digits or 4 ?

River nearby?

It’s not clear if there are two prints, one on top of the other (direct register)

 

[JTO]

How far were you from Longleat?
I looked at the picture before I read any of the message and thought Lion!

 

[.25-06]

Just appears to big dog print. Seems toes to pointy and pad wrong shape for a cat

 

[Triumph_Dave]

Set of 4 prints, seemed like an animal striding out, coming off a stone vehicle access forest path up a approx 1 ft rise into pine trees and forest floor. Prints in direct sunlight, the sun had thawed the frost, so top of soil damp. Area is West Somerset on high ground, no rivers. Prints had 4 digits and a large heel pad no sign of any claw marks,

 

[Swedish]

The harder I study the pic the more I'm convinced I can see 5 toes, two extreme left almost squidged together...bloody big badger though lol!

 

[bowji john]

Direct register of two prints of large dog accelerating as it bounds (hops) up the bank ??

Pure guess

 

[Triumph_Dave]

Sorry, there is just the one photo, I took another as well, but the angle of the sun was poor for the photo and you cant see the print clearly.. I can say for sure though the other prints were just 4 digits and a heelpad.. and no claw marks showing in any of them. Its the lack of claw marks that made we think.. what the hell is this.

 

[75]

It's big but looks bigger than it probably was as there is a fair bit of sliding at the back of the print. Aligns with animal coming down from the road and slowing / controlling it's descent.

 

[bowji john]

It's big but looks bigger than it probably was as there is a fair bit of sliding at the back of the print. Aligns with animal coming down from the road and slowing / controlling it's descent.

Ah yes

If it is decelerating then that might account for the absence of claw marks as they would be scrubbed

I had it my mind that the bank from the track was higher rather than lower

Had the animal been accelerating (as i suggested) the claw marks would be accentuated

 

[BenBhoy]

It's dropped its handkerchief so be on look out for panther with the sniffles

 

[Triumph_Dave]

It's big but looks bigger than it probably was as there is a fair bit of sliding at the back of the print. Aligns with animal coming down from the road and slowing / controlling it's descent.

Dirn of track was upward, from road into forest, so upward over the 1ft rise.

 

[75]

Dirn of track was upward, from road into forest, so upward over the 1ft rise.

Animal is still sliding forwards slightly - if you look at the main pad, it has slid forward before settling and leaving the pad imprint.

 

[Bluey]

I will start by saying this is not a wind up.. Yesterday was a bright sunny day with a hard frost start to the day. I was asked by the wife to go out for a walk with her in the nearby forestry area as it was such a nice day.. So we were out and about by 1030 hrs, parked the car up in the allocated forest parking area ( only one other commercial pickup parked ) and off we went for a stroll downhill along the hardened track area. The upper part of the forest area had been hit by the winds of the last month, so a fair bit of debris about with the odd tree down.. It was a very quiet morning except for a lot of cock pheasants alarm calling ( The area is right on the edge of a very large commercial shoot, so a lot of remaining birds around ). As we were walking downhill along the path I saw to my front and right what looked like the tip of a fawny couloured tail flicking up and over a downed fir tree trunk, and I thought to myself thats a bit weird, what the hell was that.. The motion was when an animal jumps over a log and you just see the last microsecond of the tail movement.. We walked on another 10 metres to the area on the path where I had seen the movement off to the right and on the side of the walking path where the sun had softened the soil was a set of 4 prints of an animal that had climbed up from the stone path into the tree area toward the downed log. The attached photo is the best of the 4 prints, the hankerchief in the photo is for scale and is 4 1/2 to 5 inchs wide. The thing that struck me was A: the size of the prints and B: there were no claw marks showing in any of the prints, so I reckoned it was not from a large dog/hound. The prints had a stride length between them of approx 34-40 inchs. There was no scent in the air, such as you get from a passing fox.. the wind was still.
Now I hate to say this ( and I can feel the flack coming ) but could it be from a big cat, or was it just a very large dog who somehow had not left any nail marks in the prints.

Otter

 

[Triumph_Dave]

Otter

I think its on the big side for an otter print? and they have 5 digits and normally show their claw marks.?

 

[Triumph_Dave]

Direct register of two prints of large dog accelerating as it bounds (hops) up the bank ??

Pure guess

The print marks were in a stride pattern.. I thought at the time the print photo might be a direct register, but in the end I came to the thought that the print in the photo had slid a little and then found traction, the other prints were single prints..

 

[HonestJohn]

Yeti?

 

[sh1kar]

I'm going to say thats a fox. The direct register of rear print on top of and slightly forward of the slid front foot print makes it look bigger than it really is. The rear pad has also obliterated any front foot claw marks and I think the type of ground (moss, leaf litter etc) is not conducive to the rear claws leaving any mark

S