what is this on my game-cam?

[EMaker]

The coloration is almost exact for an mountain lion (cougar), as are the body angles and neck/top of head shape. There have been many sightings of cougars (eastern mountain lions) in New York, New Hampshire, Mass. and CT (and in other areas of New England) even though cougars are supposedly extinct in these areas. In fact, a car hit and killed a cougar in CT about a month ago---so much for extinct.

Cougars are making a comeback here in the northern east coast (and in many other areas), as did coyotes, fishers and redtail hawks only a few years ago. I wouldn't rule out a cougar in your area, and frankly, that really does appear to be a juvenile cougar. It isn't an adult cougar, too small, but it isn't a domestic cat, either.

 

[dretd]

Quote:
if you look at the crow and the black spot right below it,then on the 1st pic is the animal and the the same black spot.our crows are pretty big.i would love it to be a house cat.

I printed out the two pictures in question. Crows are about 16 inches in length. Then I measured the cat and it came out nose tip to tail tip as 40 to 42 inches. I then measured my rather small 6.5 lb cat and she is 30 inches in length. A large male cat at 15 lbs could easily be 40-42 inches, especially an exotic or oriental breed that are very long and lean.

To confirm, why not go out and look at the paw prints and see how big they are? I am 99% sure it is a large house cat. You could also measure the diameter or length of objects like branches in the photo that appear in the same plane and then print out the photos and match the scale for more accurate measurements. Things can easily get distorted in photos when the scale is not apparent.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I would say young fox as first guess. But if not that, then I would say it is a big housecat or one of those wildcats you guys have around there.

Legs look too thin for house cat, and everything but tail fits a fox. And young fox do have stringy looking tails. So I say FOX.

 

[Lightfoote]

Maybe. In the wild, life offers fewer guarantees.

The paw prints - if you find any - would be notably larger than those of any house cat, oval shaped, and no claw marks would be evident, as cougars walk with their claws retracted.

If you find a nice clear set of pawprints, take some photographs - preferably with something else in the pic alongside the print - such as a tape measure, or a commonly known object of a known size, like a quarter or fifty cent piece, for proportionality and comparison purposes.

Also if possible, sprinkle something lightweight and powdery (and contrasting in colour to the soil the print is in. Graphite or ash if the soil is very light coloured, talcum or powdered sugar if the soil is quite dark) around the print samples. If you end up needing to talk to Fish and Game officials, having these points of reference for evidence may ensure that you are taken seriously instead of being dismissed as a crackpot or crank.

Good luck!

Lightfoote

 

[dinahmoe]

i'll be back

 

[DazeGoneBy]

Take yer gun!

 

[maizy'smom]

Quote:
I was hoping some one would mention this as a possibility. The pictures do look like some sort of larger-than-a-house-cat cat, but longer, leaner and finer featured than a cougar/mt lion. I THINK the fisher cat fits that description. Just a thought. Now, I'm going to go do a little research.

mm

 

[wyoDreamer]

I didn't vote for fisher because all the fisher I have seen are black. Otherwise the size and shape is about right.

 

[thekid]

Were not suppose to have cougars here, but one night me and my dad had the spotlight out and we shined and saw a cougar. Scary didnt know what it was at first.

 

[Impress]

Cougars are everywhere, they just do a really good job at acting like they aren't anywhere. I have encountered them here in Tennessee, and when I lived in Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, etcetera, they range pretty much the whole of the U.S.A.

It is shaped kind of like a fisher cat, but the color seems wrong.