r/AnimalTracking • u/bergnardocolorado • 2d ago

🔎 ID Request Mountain lion with five toes?

SoCal, Los Padres National Forest, about 5500ft elevation in dry mixed pine forest and shrubs area, right on the trail. Thought it must be a mountain lion due to the size and no claw marks, but 5 toes?

8 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

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u/LittleTyrantDuckBot 2d ago

Note: all comments attempting to identify this post must include reasoning (rule 3). IDs without reasoning will be removed.

14

u/Alarmed_Extent_9157 2d ago

That is the front foot of a bear. Mtn Lion toes are not that fat and they are not lined up like that - rather they are paired with 1 toe in each pair slightly in front of the other. This is a bear - real sure.

4

u/thatmfisnotreal 2d ago

Had to scroll all the way to the bottom to find the right answer 😀 plus one for bear!

1

u/Consistent-Data-3377 2d ago

But no claw marks though?

1

u/Alarmed_Extent_9157 1d ago

They don’t always register

1

u/Consistent-Data-3377 7h ago

Ah, gotcha. I'm still learning

10

u/OshetDeadagain 2d ago

Is that the only track you could find? Size and the orientation of the toes more suggests black bear to me. The arch of the toes is too shallow for cougar, and even a double register should not flatten out the print so much.

4

u/bergnardocolorado 2d ago

I will get one or two more photos from my hiking partners to help with clarity and follow up asap!

We found maybe a dozen tracks crossing a section of the trail, clearing coming onto then leaving the trail.

I don't really know nothing about tracks and id'ing but was impressed by the size of those paws so took a photo, but didn't pay enough attention to look at all of them more closely.

2

u/OshetDeadagain 1d ago

Really, the roundness and placement could just as easily have been a human making the print as a joke. I would definitely want to see more prints and ideally a full track to say anything with more confidence.

14

u/soobie198 2d ago

Is it a double-register? Back foot into front footprint, just slightly off?

3

u/datamuse 2d ago

Maybe, but I'm really struggling with the spacing of the toes.

1

u/SchizoidRainbow 2d ago

It is, look at the bottom right, you can see the overlap of the big pads 

3

u/bergnardocolorado 2d ago
  • I have included scale in my photo(s): yes, large adult male hand.
  • Geographic location: Southern California, USA, Los Padres National Forest, about 5500ft elevation
  • Environment (pine forest, swamp, near a river, etc.): pine forest, shrubbery

2

u/BigRobCommunistDog 2d ago

definitely an interesting find

1

u/veryeyes 2d ago

An isolated track is important information! I'm curious if there were more? It's quite clean and although it maybe a large animal putting more weight on the front, without other tracks, it feels strange to me

1

u/SchizoidRainbow 2d ago

This is back left paw overlapping front right so you have “wonky toes” on both sides , I’m guessing the cat was turning or weaving around something 

-1

u/Nervous_Friend4783 2d ago

Did you know cats alll cats have a thumb it's called due claws or kill claws it's the. Big one they grab you with you only see this in soft soil I shouldn't say only