Track I.D.?

Nature Boy

Nature Boy

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Bushclass I
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North East GA
Nature Girl & I went out today scouting around for a good spot for our over-nighter we want to knock out. Went to the Yonah Dam area where they have some primative and vehicle camping areas. We went off the beaten path and found a good site close to the river. However near the water we found these tracks. They were the only tracks on the bank. Any idea what the critter is? Dog, coyote, sasquatch's bush buddy? Didn't see any sign of nails on the tracks...

Scaled next to my size 11 hiking shoe....
DSCF1135.jpg


Area we plan on using (hopefully if its safe....)
DSCF1144.jpg
 
Not know what kind of critters you have in your part of the world I won't hazzard a guess; but it's not canine or cat.
 
The one next to your shoe is a double print and it's hard to say. But with the double print it makes the track larger then it is so I'm going to say red or grey fox.

Edit:
I couldn't remember what the term was for the hind track inside the front track so I had to Google it. It's call "Direct Register" found in cats and foxes.
 
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Yup, dog/coyote. look at the four toes, claw marks, but they are short. Rounded pads, triple round center pad, longer than it is wide but not by much...canine. I'd guess a shepard-sized but I don't know how big your foot is for scale.

Coon are more finger-like, long and slender. Cats have a different center pad and the whole track is more round with no visible claw marks. Way too small overall, too short claws and wrong shape for bear.
 
That left print looks like it was a bit of a "slide" or as was said before a double print. Is the sign to the right, s that part of the trackset? Just lookin at it in the pic, going with what I can see in it & a guess, I say it could be canine. but with lack of toenails, it could be cat-like( retracted nails). I spend a lot of time in the woods & always looking at sign. But looking at a pic it's hard to say how long it been there... indicators like> sharp edges/leaves in it? Is it tracking about or direct travel, etc.? Those types of things. Track degradation can tell ya some things, but it can also mask some too.
http://www.bear-tracker.com/caninevsfeline.html
BTW. coon tracks look a lot like skinny hands/feet...Not so broad ;)
http://www.bear-tracker.com/coon.html
No matter, just looking at your area in the info, being in Ga.. I'd say canine or cat without more to go on. but most likely cat if no nails show.
:)
G'luck!
 
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Dogs are sloppy and will tend to move from side to side cause they are fed every night so they tend to expend energy, wild canines move with a purpose mostly in straight lines to conserve energy. A dog track is also sloppy in comparison to wild canines. the pads will appear tight If you have a track that is devoid of claws your culprit is most likely a gray fox, as they have semi retractable claws which in fact allows them to climb trees. Because of the substrate it's in (sand) the track appears bigger than it would actually be. Personally I do not see direct register it could be the photo in my opinion. What I see could quite possibly be remnants of claw marks at the front of the track. If this was a coyote most likely you would see claws inside the track as the rear foot is smaller than the front to support the weight of the head. It's a canine I'll give you that I would have to look at the gait and take measurments to further narrow it down. Again just my opinion
 
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Looked to me like claw marks on both right toe impressions, and a faint one on the toe next to your boot. I'm guessing someone's dog that gets its nails clipped.
 
Clovishunter said:
Not a cat feline toe pads are tear drop in shape and the track has the appearance of being round...
Click to expand...

dont cats have retractible claws as well? I dont think you'd see claws like that on a cat track.(...or you can just read gryphonblades post, I obviously didnt, now Im reminded why I need to slow down when I read lol)
 
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Also, most hound breeds have longer toe pads than other dog breeds. Makes their tracks look a little strange. So, a hound with well groomed nails isn't going to look like a typical canine track.
 
Can't tell from the single print but my guess is dog. The way to tell is most dogs have three bumps on the heal of their paw (pad area) where coyotes only have two and it kind of hallows in at the center of the pad. Though some dog breeds have paws very similar to coyotes and wolfs so it can be hard for even experts to tell if the prints are not real clear.
 
coyotes tread lighter than than dogs, and tend to leave "slighter nail impressions"
Where the tracks going in a stragiht line? coyotes tend to move in straight lines while dogs meander...
theo double impression is throwing me off,
the sure fire way to differentiate (or at least the way I was taught) between dog and coyote is that in a coyote track you should be able to draw an x in the space betweent he toe pads and the heel pad.. but in the double print the overlap makes that impossible,
also the double track (also called a direct register) is indicitive of wild canine.. fox, wolf, coyote, cats and wild canines do this where the back print falls into the print of the front foot (depending on gait) domestic dogs do not do this..but than again I'm far from being a good tracker, and I;m only looking at a pick so really I'm guessing.
Good info everyone, Thanks.
 
Thanks for all the info. I just wished I had taken more pics. The tracks came straight in to the sandy area of the river, there were no other tracks going out. It was like whatever it was crossed the river at the shallow area and probably came out on the other side. Next time I'm going to 'go CSI' when I see some strange tracks. Also the area where the tracks were seen are not on a main trail. It was off the beaten track as they say.
 
Re the Montauk Monster

Folks you SHOULD be scared of this, and I know this for a fact. This is a picture of my ex-mother-in-law napping and may the good lord forgive anyone that gets in its way.
 
I think I know the area you were in. Me and a buddy hiked that entire trail from head to head and back a little over a year ago. The head you were at is a great spot for fishing. I wouldn't doubt a fisher could have been there with his pet.
 
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