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Author Topic: cougar, bobcat or bear?  (Read 9703 times)

Offline 7t9cobra

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cougar, bobcat or bear?
« on: December 30, 2013, 10:52:16 AM »
I found a scratching tree yesterday while coyote hunting/scouting for next year and I believe its a cougar judging by the height and claw marks. What do you guys think? Its a little over 4' tall.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2013, 07:14:11 PM by bobcat »

Offline boneaddict

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #1 on: December 30, 2013, 11:10:28 AM »
I don't know if I would rule out blacktail.......   Hard for me to guess without seeing it or getting the overall impression.  My guess would certainly be not cat

Offline bobcat

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2013, 11:12:57 AM »
Find any hair on the tree?

Offline rb2506

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #3 on: December 30, 2013, 11:17:47 AM »
Looks like a buck rub to me

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Offline bearpaw

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #4 on: December 30, 2013, 11:22:12 AM »
Looks like a buck rub to me

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looks like a rub to me too  :dunno:
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Offline vandeman17

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #5 on: December 30, 2013, 11:23:13 AM »
Looks like a buck rub to me

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looks like a rub to me too  :dunno:

Third vote for buck rub
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Offline Jonathan_S

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #6 on: December 30, 2013, 11:24:01 AM »
Buck or bear, not a cat.   :twocents:

I am thinking buck, looks about the right age for that too.  Most bear peelings are done in the earlier times of the year.
Kindly do not attempt to cloud the issue with too many facts.

Offline boneaddict

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #7 on: December 30, 2013, 11:25:02 AM »
T
Looks like a buck rub to me

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looks like a rub to me too  :dunno:

Third vote for buck rub

That would be fourth vote if you were counting. ;)

Offline 7t9cobra

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #8 on: December 30, 2013, 11:28:36 AM »
Really? It looks awfully deep like claw marks. At the top it looks like the marks went top to bottom to me

Offline buckfvr

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #9 on: December 30, 2013, 11:29:15 AM »
most likely a buck with brow tines, which are not always present on btails.....

Offline boneaddict

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #10 on: December 30, 2013, 11:32:31 AM »
Really? It looks awfully deep like claw marks. At the top it looks like the marks went top to bottom to me

Not to get you excited or anything, but it looks like a pretty healthy buck!   One to be excited over really.

Offline Broken Arrow

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #11 on: December 30, 2013, 11:34:48 AM »
I think i would be weeding out predators and thinking more prey based on the pictures.

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #12 on: December 30, 2013, 11:35:25 AM »
Buck deer. :tup:
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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #13 on: December 30, 2013, 11:36:32 AM »
Buck or bear, not a cat.   :twocents:

I am thinking buck, looks about the right age for that too.  Most bear peelings are done in the earlier times of the year.

I think a bear would be chewing the bark off around the tree and leave different looking marks, the marks appear mostly straight up and down, more like a horn rub!  :dunno:
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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #14 on: December 30, 2013, 11:41:56 AM »
T
Looks like a buck rub to me

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looks like a rub to me too  :dunno:


Third vote for buck rub

That would be fourth vote if you were counting. ;)

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Offline boneaddict

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #15 on: December 30, 2013, 11:59:23 AM »
 :chuckle:

Offline 7t9cobra

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #16 on: December 30, 2013, 12:03:53 PM »
Okay. They just look deeper than any buck rubs I've seen. Either way I found a lot of sign and I'm putting a tree stand in. I'm glad I spent the day hiking around. I need to invest in a game camera now.

Offline 7t9cobra

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #17 on: December 30, 2013, 12:09:27 PM »
Here are some more pics of the area. A rub, a salmon with some nasty teeth and a weird disc shaped rock. It was just very out of place so I had to take a pic

Offline boneaddict

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #18 on: December 30, 2013, 12:13:07 PM »
Looks like a great day of adventure.

Offline deadwoodbuck

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #19 on: December 30, 2013, 02:51:56 PM »
put me down for a buck rub also...good place to put down a camera
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Offline 7t9cobra

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #20 on: December 30, 2013, 06:45:53 PM »
I'm putting one in there as soon as I can justify spending the money on one. I had a cheap one I stuck down there last year. I impatiently waited a week, hiked in only to find it quit working the moment I left it there.  :bash:

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #21 on: December 30, 2013, 06:59:43 PM »
 :tup:you found a nice mature blackie rub there. Shhhhhh don't tell anyone, or where you found it. Except me as I can help you with all the ins and outs of how I can get him for you.  :chuckle:


Oh bye the way always look for hair samples left, even cats leave some while scratching trees usually. Cat have finer hair than deer, and obviously most bears have black hair, and bobcats claw marks are smaller than cougar.
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Offline 7t9cobra

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #22 on: December 30, 2013, 08:41:42 PM »
Haha its way up notellem cr. I didn't think to look for hair. It doesn't look very recent so I didn't check. I will do some more investigating in a week or so. I want to spend some more time scouting the area

Offline lewy

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #23 on: December 30, 2013, 08:45:03 PM »
Best time to scout can be just after the rut.....
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Offline bobcat

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #24 on: December 30, 2013, 08:46:38 PM »
Could that "rock" be a fossil?

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #25 on: December 30, 2013, 09:07:19 PM »
I don't know if I would rule out blacktail.......   Hard for me to guess without seeing it or getting the overall impression.  My guess would certainly be not cat

Four to six inch tree? Mature buck.

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #26 on: December 30, 2013, 09:14:37 PM »
It could be bigfoot trying to get you closer for a photo shoot; LOL
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Offline 7t9cobra

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Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
« Reply #27 on: December 30, 2013, 09:20:26 PM »
It was that gritty river bank clay that made it. Not a fossil. Would've been cool though. I should take my coworker up there. He saw samsquench himself  :chuckle:

 


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