Today was a bright sunny warm day (warm for November in da U.P., about 50°. I was on my bike heading for my property when I saw this set of wet tracks going across the road from Lou's to my place. I have no clue of what they are. I have been up and down this road hundreds of times by bike and even foot and never saw a set of tracks left like this. They had to be left by a fur footed aninal for the amount of water they carried from Lou's ditch. Lou's ditch is wide, with about4 or 5 inches of water, but no mud at all. My side is pictured. Its muddy and full of deer tracks. I was expecting to find a bear track in the mud, but there was nothing there. I'm sure a deer didnt make this, and I don't think a bear could or would jump my ditch. I have an idea what it could be, but the odds on that would be slim. I really don't know on this one. :-\ The tracks in the road disappeared from evaporation as I investigated, so what ever the critter was, I didn't miss it by much, and its somewhere on my land.
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Bigfoot
THAT answer was expected and inevitable. ;) With that out of the way, this really is perplexing. Looking at the tracks and the gate, I still lean toward bear, but can't figure out how he cleared the mud witthout leaving a track. Thats about a 12 foot leap.
Those are bear , a twelve foot leap is nothing to a bear .
I vote for bear also. Big bear
If it is, I may have a mess tomorrow. I filled the corn feeder this morning to the top, and it was too heavy to get all the way up, I figured, there aint no bear here anymore this year so it will be okay where it is...
Prolly my ex girlfriend......poor girl..
No doubt for me, it's a bear. That wide front and narrow rear print will be much more obvious in mud, but I can't think of anything that makes a track in that shape and walks on four feet. He probably heard or saw you coming and leaped the ditch and disappeared.
Bar. ;D This spring I seen one make two leaps, starting at a ditch, and it was in the grass on the far side of a paved road, going down a logging road on that side. They have fairly long legs.
Well, whats the feeder look like this morning?
Oh and I would say bear also based on the shape and stance of the prints.
I'll go down after a bit and find out. I'm fighting a cold I may or may have not got from you, so I'm a bit slow getting started today. :D
I agree on it being a bear and ditto that a 12 foot jump isn't much for a bear to do, especially when in a hurry.