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Sounds like a cougar, as there are numerous sitings in Eastern Canada and they would have to go through Maine to get here, also large prints are made by Lynx, any reported sitings in Maine???
looked too much like BIG dog tracks to be a cougar.......I keep looking for a cougar but haven't found her here in Abbot or surrounding towns yet......hmmmmmm
Assuming you had a good, clear track (and you don't always), it's pretty easy to tell the difference between a feline and canine tracks. On a canine, the outer toes are farther back on the foot. Just do a Google Image search for "cougar track" and "wolf track." You'll immediately see the difference.
If there really was only one animal, it's most likely you saw either a cougar or a stray dog (or a werewolf). If it was wolves hunting, then there was almost certainly more than one.
The "lone wolf" is not what Hollywood tells us --- the tough maverick who goes his own way. In the wild, then "lone wolf" is the one who gets kicked out of the pack, and unless he or she finds a new pack to join, the lone wolf doesn't live long.
Assuming you had a good, clear track (and you don't always), it's pretty easy to tell the difference between a feline and canine tracks. On a canine, the outer toes are farther back on the foot. Just do a Google Image search for "cougar track" and "wolf track." You'll immediately see the difference.
If there really was only one animal, it's most likely you saw either a cougar or a stray dog (or a werewolf). If it was wolves hunting, then there was almost certainly more than one.
The "lone wolf" is not what Hollywood tells us --- the tough maverick who goes his own way. In the wild, then "lone wolf" is the one who gets kicked out of the pack, and unless he or she finds a new pack to join, the lone wolf doesn't live long.
A Mountain Lion also has retractable claws. Unless they are running you will not see a claw mark in the paw imprints. If you are lucky enough to see a Mountain Lion running it is a sight you will never forget. They gallop like a horse and their tail goes straight up. Fortunately the only ones I have ever seen running were going away from me. If they would have been heading towards me I would have been the one running away.
Wolves do not always travel together.
The pack will split up to look for food.
Or the other wolf (s)that was travailing with the one you saw was a distance away .
They can communicate by howling their howls can be heard for miles. This is how they know where the rest of the pack is and if they have food.
It's not uncommon to see what you did.
Timber wolves can weight 150lbs or more.
The determining clue then to determine if it was a large cat would be the distance between the tracks. At a full run a Mountain Lion probably takes strides of between 12 to 18 feet. The distance between where the front paws land and the hind legs push off will be fairly close together also. They are quick.
GL2
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