Cougar track while scouting elk.

[Rank Amateur]

I was out scouting today (well since Wednesday) and I was riding the iron horse and noticed a group of guys I know parked in an area I already had scouted (they were there on official bussiness). I road up to them and started chatting. They said, "hey did you see the cougar track." Thinking they were pulling my leg I went to look cautiously. Sure enough heres a track that looks too big for a yote or bobcat, it is round and no toenails in any of the tracks. So I dug the camera out and took a couple of photos. It looks like a younger cat to me, I could easily cover it with my fist.








I have called right in this location on three occasions, so I have the right spot, just have to get the right time. Hey, lialong, this was about 100 yards from where you killed your bull. There were fresh deer tracks in the area, probably trying to get some venison. Well tomorrow I will be packing the long iron, so look out kitty!

[Bait O' Eggs]

During cascade elk hunting this year, I climbed a ridge looking for elk on Saturday, Monday I was back on the same ridge and had cougar tracks in my man tracks.

smaller but definately cougar

[StevenB]

I'm still a little achy from my elk season Rank. Have a great hunt. Hope it's your best elk hunt ever.

Say hi to the cougar if you should see him. I hope to visit one in the Cascades this year.

Steven

[BrianMaguire]

That would be a really small cougar, probably a kitten or a 1.5 year old if a cougar. There are some big bobcats in Oregon.

[icbig1s]

I was hunting up the 6215 area in the Rogue unit when I came upon an area that had dirt dragged from 2 different sides into a small pile. I looked closer and could actually see where the claws from a big cat had sunk in the dirt. My guess was a really big cougar. The distance from one side of the paw to the other was about 7 inches. Kinda sends shivers up your spine to think at any moment you might jumped by a hungry kitty.

[scottishsetter]

Near perfect circle coug to me if it was in snow it would be much bigger across. I'm envious of how much you guys 'get out'.

[lailong]

man thats cool ive never seen a cougar around here, itd be awesome to get one

[Headhunter]

I saw my first one in the wild last year. I was grouse hunting up the Clack drainage way past Ripplebrook Ranger Station up on top. I was walking down a gravel road that was on a steep hillside. I was walking around a bend in the road and 40 yards in front of me, up comes a cougar crossing the road and stopped in its tracks! It looked right at me and kind of crouched down just like my house cat at home does when we play. It was an eerie feeling knowing at that moment I was being sized up to see if I was lunch or not! :shocked:

I racked a shell in the 870 and it was gone in a flash. I could have put a few rounds in it, but #7 ½ birdshot wouldn’t have done anything to it at 40 years.

The thing that impressed me most was just how big, fat & long it’s tail was.

Jim

[Northwest Pest]

Very small cat for sure. I ran into one in the applegate a few years back and I could put my whole hand in the track and there was still 1" outside my hand print. Granted that was a really large cat, but this tack looks pretty small if that is a lip balm holder.

[ehunter]

I know of one sighted up near Big Eddy park across from the park on the Longview Fiber side he was seen during archery season cahsing a rabbit down the road. There are a few around on the west side.

[pythonwill]

There seem to be alot more sightings lately. I didnt see any cats this year but I did see 3 different sets of tracks while hunting. One was just off Hwy 6 at mile post 16. If you look to the north across the river it was in the thinned out timber on top of the hill. another on Bacona and the last was above Hamlet on a mud road. all were about the same size as the ones in that pic except for the one on Bacona was a bit larger. One of these days im gonna see one and

[Rank Amateur]

Yes, I agree this is a young cat and that just proves that they are breeding and expanding.

[kill2hunt]

ehunter in some areas the westside has more than its share!!! weve seen four around the silverton area, 3 of them my eyes saw. i saw the biggest cat of my life one night when i was driving back to salem from a friends cabin up the little norht fork of the santiam, it was in the middle of the road at elk horn park!!!!! thing must of been 180!!! we have family friends who live in a small town outside of keizer called gervis, they have a small 20-30 acres woodlot of oaks that once were filled with deer including some nice buck but not any more they had a female move in and killed all the deer or ran the rest she didnt get but then she went for all the dogs and cats. but the crazy thing is she dug up underneath their greenhouse and had kittens! and their green house is no more than ten yards from the back door!!!! she called my mom and i told her to contact the odfw, i had a tag but i was too busy since it was right before i left for the navy? i figured they would come out and relocate her....... thought wrong they told her there was nothing they could do? not three or four months later i talked to my father and he told me they were having sightings in wheatland park, a popular walking horseback riding are right between keizer and gervis? well anyways thats all for me i could go on for ever about cougar but i dont want to change this post any more than i already have