Mammal Track ID

[deb&tony]

Hi-
The day we spotted the short-eared owl we also came across these tracks. I've looked through Mark Elbroch's Mammal Tracks and Sign and can't come up with an ID. The track is about 5-6 inches long, no claw marks. Any thoughts on what this could be?

Thanks
Deb

[Dave]

Hmm...Deb...interesting.

hmm...not a bear, or wild cat, or a huge bird, or a deer sps....beaver has too much webbing....too big for most small mammals.....Raccoon comes to mind, but seems too big as well...human walking on hands?.....probably not coordinated enough....

Guess #1 - Raccoon. A big one. What else could it be?

[Chris]

This is a tough one. I am not a mammal expert but I would agree with Dave's assessment. The only other possible species I can think (unless I am missing a species) is a Wolverine.

[Gord]

My first thought was Opossum with the one toe going off to the side, but those are way too big and are not quite right anyway.

I am stumped. I've never seen tracks like those before! Ill forward the link to some other people who will take a look.

[murraybrown]

Deb, did you consider River Otter? The gait especially, looks right to me.

Murray

[ed]

River Otter