big track!

[shawn]

anybody have any idea what this track could have been made by? i was suprised how big it was compared ot my hand. im in georgia, united states

 

[locum76]

what was the habitat like?

 

[shawn]

it was almost at the bottom of a hill in a wooded area, pine mixed with hardwoods. theres a marsh and creek about 50meters away. the track was left in a ravine that flows into the creek. i saw soem big tom turkies nearby but i think their toes are more spread out arnt they?

 

[forestwalker]

I'd guess deer, two overlapping prints.

 

[C_Claycomb]

I'd go for whitetail deer too, but you could get pigs where you are too. Direction of travel, heading towards you, deepest part of the track equates to the tips of the toes.

Dunno what size hands you have, but I have seen whitetail buck prints on a recently disked field that were about 2.75 - 3" wide and 3.75 long, about the size of my four fingers held together. Between the size of the deer, and the condition of the ground, that guy left BIG tracks!

 

[smoggy]

I'm with forestwalker on this one, the rightmost being the most recent.....did you not find any other tracks, droppings, fur?

I'd say some sort of deer......or what ever you call them...

Smoggy

 

[ForestNH/VT]

Three toed bear

 

[shawn]

there were some deer tracks going the other direction but the hoove marks werent but half as long as this here track. like you said it might be some weird overlapping effect trying to trick me. this is fun studying tracks i never did this before.

 

[smoggy]

"........there were some deer tracks going the other direction but the hoove marks werent but half as long as this here track......."

then in al likely hood it is a double imprint of the same...

Smoggy

 

[combatblade1]

I would also say deer, but impossible to say how big from the picture. if it is soft mud on a firm surface the cloves can spread out and make the print appear bigger, this can also make direction of travel difficult to interpret.