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Bobcat Track

    Hey, everyone. I came across this bobcat track the other day in a remote area. Notice that it has four toes and a rear pad. Also notice that there are no evidence of claw marks. This happens because the cat family keeps their claws sheathed until they are ready to use them. Unlike the dog family; dog, coyote, wolf, whose claws show all the time. This print was 2.5 inches across the widest part. A mountain lion's is very similar but they will measure about 4 to 4.5 inches for a mature lion. As big as a man's fist.
   If you look in the bottom right of the print it appears that the cat, or some other critter, has overstepped the print and smushed it down a little bit. Also notice how the print is beginning to crumble a bit at the edges, but not much. This print is not all that old. Maybe a day? It certainly had not rained since this animal passed by.
    Note also that the track of a bobcat or mountain lion is more rounded than a dog, wolf or coyote. In the picture just above you can see the claw marks and the track is not as round. This was probably a dog or a coyote. I don't consider myself an expert, but it is a fun hobby and doesn't cost anything.
    Bobcats are fond of deer meat but have to kill a smaller deer, usually a fawn. They are not powerful enough to pull down a large deer. They eat rabbits, squirrels etc. A mountain lion can kill a deer with one swipe of its paw but will often jump on a deer and bite its neck, severing the vertebrae. Mountain lions will drag a deer from high ground to low ground before it feeds. They like to eat in a thicket or somewhere they can remain unseen. I once found a deer carcass in the woods and could see where it had been dragged about a quarter of a mile from a ridge top. You could see the drag trail plainly in the snow. I have a picture of the body but it would gross you out. If you find a mountain lion kill, it would be good to vacate the area. They are protective of their food. Two days after I found this kill, it was completely devoured. The lion even ate the skull, bones and hide. Once I heard a lion crunching bones behind my house and it sounded almost like gunshots. Their jaws are very powerful. When the one lion bared his teeth and came at Carley and I, I was very impressed. That is a story that you can read in my free ebook, Scary Beast. Below is the link.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/17600
    From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
P.S. Hey, if you have time, go to Amazon or I-Tunes and listen to an old song by Jackson Brown titled The Pretender. It has some nice piano music and I meditate on the words at times. He say's "I am aware of the time going by, they say at the end it's the wink of an eye". Ain't it the truth?
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