Animal Track Help.............

Shipper50 said:

bogydave said:

Looks like a metric tape measure, but maybe not.
Coyote here have pretty sharp toe nails but may not be visible in loose snow, but can see the toe nails in wet snow pretty good.
The bushy tail usually is a dead give away. 35 lbs average a big one 40lb here. Eastern coyote are a little bigger , the fluffy fur makes them look bigger.
Medium dog size tracks.
150 lbs would be a wolf, & the track well when you see it, the hair on your neck stands up, (You just know) it is big. ain't many large dogs that compare, a real big track, 5" or so.

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Dave, its an all American yard stick in the snow. I guess I should have taken the picture as soon as I saw it. But didn't think till later.

Shipper

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Was a joke, I knew it was inches.
Definitely a big track. Maybe it is a wolf track. Coyote track here are not that large.
Just a wolf track is huge (size of a mans hand) & have long legs , to get around in the snow well.
Could be a few wolves in your area, who knows. They are making a comeback in many areas. Rarely seen here, so would be more rare there.

There are allot here & just recently a confirmed human killed by wolves here in AK (remote village school teacher).
Not as many trappers, few ways to hunt them with the new laws. Fish & Game have a tough time managing them due to political pressure
from the lower 48 states & animal activists. Fort Richardson & Anchorage just had issues with them, so F & G are planning some population management
in that area.

I never want to see wolves gone from the wild, but one in my back yard, I'd be concerned & do what I thought needed done.
Some FYI photos, old moose hunt pic. wolf came in on my kill site, old male, worn teeth (like me now)

Chubacabra----oh wait that is only in TX. not sure about indiana

My 100lb Golden's paws are close to 3" wide and a gait of 19-20"

I have a friend with 2 dogs, Great Dane/Newfie mixes and they are each 165lbs and are 32" tall to the SHOULDER. Their paws completely eclipse my x-large (glove) sized palms.

St. Bernards, Newfies, Bernese Mt. Dogs, Mastiffs, etc, can all me much larger than that. There is also someone in a near-by town that has wolf-dog hybrids that are absolutely massive.

It is not unreasonable that is is a large dog, but be aware that you might have some wolves in your area. Call your state's fish and game / DEM or whatever, send them the pics and ask them what they think it might be, also find out the rules of dealing with them if they are wolves. Generally wolves are protected, but you are justified (in most states) in shooting them if they pose a threat to persons or animals.

our mastiff leaves huge feetprints

Beetle-Kill said:

ironpony, I'm having a real tough time seeing "coyote", and your pups profile. Can you post a pic. of your beast?

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not for looks...
just the size of her paw print in the snow
for comparison of size
here is a pic anyway