Whose track is this?

This is a bobcat track that I saw in Franconia on Feb. 11. It was about 1.75 inches wide and maybe 2 inches high. Both the heel and the toe pads are very clear. The bobcat tracks were near snowshoe hare prints. The prints formed an offset stride pattern as the bobcat moved across the trail in pursuit of the hare.

In No. NH on Feb. 19, I saw these prints, all part of a series leading off a trail into the woods and presumably in pursuit of the snowshoe hare(s) that also left prints nearby. These tracks are about 2.5 inches wide and 3-4 long. The toe and especially the heel pads are less distinct than the Feb. 11th bobcat prints, and there was a noticeable "moat" or indentation around the outer edge of the toe prints. I could not detect the stride pattern from the prints that I saw. Snow conditions were different for the Feb. 19th prints, since I saw them after the high winds of Feb. 17. Any thoughts? Just a bigger bobcat whose prints were blurred by the wind?

Waumbek said:

Just a bigger bobcat whose prints were blurred by the wind?

Click to expand...

That is what it looks like to me. The track looks like it is older also but that may just be from the wind also. It may also be the same bobcat with the tracks a little more aged which may make them look bigger. I have a lot of problems trying to determine sign from pictures though.

Keith