what is this on my game-cam?

[Two Creeks Farm]

I am of no help using a live trap for a cat....but there are several guys on here that should help when they see the thread. I would also read up on your states laws regarding trapping cats(cougars etc) as they are more then likely protected. If you happen to get lucky I would call animal control and have them remove it if it is protected. They can not do anything about a non target live trap catch, but they will throw you under the jail if you kill a protected species.

 

[dinahmoe]

Quote:
i saw that,thanks for the link
i think grey fox are rare here also or at least i have never seen one.that would be cool,at least better than a cougar.

 

[Two Creeks Farm]

I did find this in a quick search.....

http://easterncougar.org/CougarNews/?p=152

If there is a spring, tracks should be available for you to see

 

[wyoDreamer]

If you compare the second to the last picture and the picture of the crows, you can see that it is not that much bigger than the crows.
Definately not panther sized - even a young panther.

I have seen housecats bigger than that - ok, only one, but that one was huge.
It was my cousins cat and we used to watch him fight the big ole coons in the fields at night. He would kill the smaller coons.

 

[dinahmoe]

well,ifit is a cougar ,it is a baby,which means there is a mommy.

i am going to check the tracks,it is a wet area where this was taken.
i'll be back

 

[Lightfoote]

Quote:
If you look closely at the second and fourth photos of the unknown creature, however, you can see that the length of the neck, the lack of such prominent ears, and posture of the animal in stride pre-empt such a possibility.

Being curious, I went to the sort of websites I suggested in my previous response, and I am fairly convinced that it is a juvenile Florida panther, (a cougar subspecies,) rare and endangered though they indeed are - or a juvenile cougar well out of its normal range.

The most distinctive feature that separates the Florida panther from other N. American cougar variants is the front legs.

Florida panthers have shorter front legs that are stocky/heavy in appearance compared to a typical cougar/mountain lion, but it is in adults of the subspecies that this difference is obvious. I am not certain whether that distinction would have evinced itself in a smallish juvenile panther, and have not yet found experts' writings that clarify that point.

Based upon the size, etc...if that is the animal we are looking at, I believe this one in the photo is not far past the developmental stage where it has lost the spots that characterize cougar (and Florida panther) kittens, so it is a young one, probably born in middle or late spring.

Lightfoote

 

[dinahmoe]

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.

 

[dinahmoe]

Quote:
If you look closely at the second and fourth photos of the unknown creature, however, you can see that the length of the neck, the lack of such prominent ears, and posture of the animal in stride pre-empt such a possibility.

Being curious, I went to the sort of websites I suggested in my previous response, and I am fairly convinced that it is a juvenile Florida panther, (a cougar subspecies,) rare and endangered though they indeed are - or a juvenile cougar well out of its normal range.

The most distinctive feature that separates the Florida panther from other N. American cougar variants is the front legs.

Florida panthers have shorter front legs that are stocky/heavy in appearance compared to a typical cougar/mountain lion, but it is in adults of the subspecies that this difference is obvious. I am not certain whether that distinction would have evinced itself in a smallish juvenile panther, and have not yet found experts' writings that clarify that point.

Based upon the size, etc...if that is the animal we are looking at, I believe this one in the photo is not far past the developmental stage where it has lost the spots that characterize cougar (and Florida panther) kittens, so it is a young one, probably born in middle or late spring.

Lightfoote

then it should have a mommy nearby,right?

 

[wyoDreamer]

Here is the comparison that I am talking about:

The orange boxes are all the same size in both photos.

 

[dinahmoe]

Quote:
so you think it is a house cat?that will be fine with me.