Track Identification Help

[British Red]

Looking for the trackers amongst us to help with this one. Came across these prints today. About the size of a domestic cat...


Print Tracking by British Red, on Flickr

Trouble is, I keep counting five toes there......

Seems too large for hedgehog and wrong for badger.....

I'm a bit stumped unless ....hare?

Red

 

[bernie66]

mink or polecat? not got my books with me. I'd have said badger at first though

 

[JonathanD]

It's not elongated enough to be hare. Has to be a cat, possibly with a deformation or growth.

 

[British Red]

It does seem wrong for hare Jon I grant you...but there are five toes on both left and right prints...???

 

[JonathanD]

That's just plain odd, the gait doesn't match up to anything in this country that I know of. Pity you didn't put something down for scale as I'm looking at these as domestic cat sized, which would rule out otter and mink. The pad and toe ratio, and gait are wrong for polecat too.

 

[British Red]

Should have - sorry, sloppy of me. About 10p sized or thereabouts

 

[JonathanD]

I'm stumped Red, that size rules everything out but rabbit, polecat and domestic cat. Too small for hare, all wrong for rabbit and polecat, and has one more toe than a domestic cat. I'm at a dead end, which means it is either a domestic cat species with birth anomaly or hybrid, or a non-native animal. Very interesting. Do you have more pics?

 

[British Red]

Yep a few

This is the best closeup


Print by British Red, on Flickr

I'll look for others

 

[JonathanD]

The fifth toe doesn't have the definition of the other four. It could be pronounced dew claw. It's not unknown for domestic cats to have two dew claws.

 

[British Red]

Different print


Track 2 by British Red, on Flickr


I'm not nuts am I - there are 5 toes?

 

[JonathanD]

You definitely have five toes there. Definitely not hare, rabbit or mustelid. It has to be cat. Although single dew claws clear the ground and are further back in tracks left.....

Deformation is common in domestic cats though ...

http://www.drawfurry.com/images/how-paw2.jpg

If it is not a dom cat, has to be non native oddity.

 

[British Red]

I agree everything make me want to say "cat", but there are oddities. The prints on the left (and the first close up) seem cat shaped. Those on the right (second close up) seem more "squashed" and shorter and not very cat like...

They were also following a much deeper set of prints...the large round depression in the first picture

I dunno....odd one

 

[Toddy]

Polydactyl moggies are not that uncommon.

cheers,
Toddy

p.s. apparantly south west England is known for them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydactyl_cat

 

[British Red]

Thanks for the piccs Jon. I have a trail camera somewhere....might just rig it up and see what I can see

 

[JonathanD]

It's just odd Red, the gait and the way it places it's feet are odd too, like it's been drinking gin. No idea what that single-toe type print is... Weird.

 

[British Red]

Polydactyl moggies are not that uncommon.

cheers,
Toddy

p.s. apparantly south west England is known for them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydactyl_cat

Polydactyl.....I have a new word

 

[JonathanD]

Polydactyl moggies are not that uncommon.

cheers,
Toddy

p.s. apparantly south west England is known for them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydactyl_cat

I think you are right Toddy, it certainly is the most likely candidate.

 

[British Red]

I'll see if I can find any better prints tomorrow and get some proper pictures....thanks for the interest Jon and Mary

I like to think I can figure most things out, but needed some help with this one as I was just scratching my head!

 

[JonathanD]

I'll see if I can find any better prints tomorrow and get some proper pictures....thanks for the interest Jon and Mary

I like to think I can figure most things out, but needed some help with this one as I was just scratching my head!

Polydactyl.....I have a new word

Be careful Red, could be a terradactyl/parrot cross.

 

[British Red]

Yep - Lincolnshire fens now. There certainly are Mink in the area but...no tail marks or the like. Also weasel, stoat, badger and hedgehogs are all fairly common but none seem to match