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buckfever321

buckfever321

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I followed these tracks on a frozen creek for well over a mile before I gave up. They obviously were left after the last snow, which was Wednesday. I think?

They're every bit of 3+ inches wide. Each stride was probably 3 feet long. I've seen bobcat tracks in the snow before, those things are everywhere in southern IA. I'm fairly certain I've never seen them this big though. What are your thoughts?
I hope the pictures are showing up.
 
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I don't know, it would have to be a mighty big otter with long legs and no claws. In over a mile that thing never broke stride... no belly slides, no milling around, just a steady walk. Might be an otter but I'm not convinced.
 
buckfever321 said:
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I don't know, it would have to be a mighty big otter with long legs and no claws. In over a mile that thing never broke stride... no belly slides, no milling around, just a steady walk. Might be an otter but I'm not convinced.
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With the 5 toes I will tell you it is obvious what it isn't. Not cougar, bobcat, wolf, coyote, black lab. If not an otter, what do you propose it could be?
 
Badgers also have 5 toes but I wouldn't think they'd travel that far... too small for a bear. Otter or badger are my only two guesses
 
That's pretty big for an otter and I don't think an otter could go a mile without sliding on its belly. At the risk of sounding nuts, check out wolverine tracks.
 
crietveld said:
That's pretty big for an otter and I don't think an otter could go a mile without sliding on its belly. At the risk of sounding nuts, check out wolverine tracks.
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I was thinking the same thing, they do look similar and it's more in there nature to travel that way. Be crazy
 
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I'm not buying in to the otter thing just yet. When I get by the home computer tonight I'd like to share a couple more pictures.
 
Same set of tracks. The 5 toes imo are double prints. My father went back this morning and looked again out of curiosity. He went to where this creek went under the bridge on the next mile north of where we stopped following them Saturday and the tracks were still going, this small creek begins to fizzle out shortly after this bridge. I just can't understand why an otter would walk over two miles UPstream in a VERY small creek where it for sure isn't going to find any open water especially this time of year.
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