Cougar tracks? Indiana, by my front porch.

So went track searching in the woods behind our house today and I’m pretty sure I found a cougar track today less than a mile from our house, I say cougar mainly due to the size but also the round toe pads. But I found a very clear and very large track less then 10 ft from my front porch a few weeks ago. There is no size comparison with my hand but it was bigger than the one with my hand in it. I do not have tiny hands. Lookin for others opinions.
Thanks! sorry had to crop a bunch to upload.

I am no expert on cougars, but I think their tracks are wider than they are long.

Keith

It's a black painter, they're back!

That is what I see online as well but this thing is huge! It’s probably about 4” long by 3” wide(measured my hand and estimated). Way bigger then any of the dogs prints in our area, wild and domestic. I’m honestly just stumped. We just don’t have things that big here and there were no claw marks.

Most of the livestock guardian dogs like Great Pyrenees, Anatolian Shepherds, Maremmas and Kangals are much larger than any cougars commonly get.

Keith

Agreed, but the biggest dogs we have within a mile are German Shepherds and I see those track a lot. It’s something else for sure. And no nails. Hmm. Guess I might just have to wait till I can some trail cams to figure it out. Thanks

Here's pictures of 3 of my dogs feet. On soft surfaces, they spread their feet more.
Male Kangal's foot.

Female Great Pyrenees's feet.

Neutered, male Kangal/ Great Pyrenees foot.


There are many thousands more livestock guardian dogs in Indiana than cougars. There may be a few cougars in Indiana.

Dog's feet are typically longer than wide.

Keith

Looks like cat to me!!!

Here,s another in snow to compare with.

Thanks for the pics. My holdup is the nails though. Lol all the prints I normally see have nails very clearly and the second one for sure has none. And dogs just don’t leave tracks like that. Part of why I feel it’s a big cat is about a year n a half ago we absolutely had a cougar here in our yard, my husband saw it in the moonlight in the early morning and then we saw 2 different sets of tracks all over our 3 acres in the snow and they were big cats with tail drag marks n all. It was crazy. We’ve been here over 2 years and I’ve only seen tracks that big then and now. Can’t wait to get a trail cam to see what it is!! Lol

The DNR had mountain lions on trail cams just south of indy several years ago. They set the cameras up on suspected kill and it was confirmed.
Last year a black bear crossed the Ohio river at Croydon and moved east along the river for several weeks before they lost track of it.

My grandfather in law found a road killed badger north of vincennes. He wanted to keep it and have it mounted but the conservation officer took it.

They are not common but are here.

Wow! Definitely! Very cool. I sure miss Oregon/Washington. I grew up in the Columbia River Gorge across from Cascade locks. I will be gettin a few trail cams with our taxes so I will find out for sure what it is hopefully. Thanks

Me too. My hubby isn’t even convinced even though he saw one on our property little over a year ago. Lol. I’m stubborn. Trail cams are comin! Lol

Thanks! I’ve looked at sooo many pics online also and I’m just not sure! Lol I mean I’m pretty convinced but also not an expert. They are just too big(even though not overly wide). Thank you

Right! I know there are a few here. I’m down in Brown co. Which is one of the most wooded areas in the state and we had one for sure in winter 2018-19, my husband saw it in the back yard and tracks everywhere on the snow, so I don’t feel like I’m stretching but I’m just not 100%. Thanks for the info.