While biking on a dirt road in the Barr we came across some paw prints and scratch marks in the wet sand. Bruce thinks they are feline prints, while I think they are canine prints.
Evidently, the unknown carnivore braced its front paws while "scratching off" with its back paws. This is classic male canine territorial behavior. I am unaware whether felines do this, but have never seen them do so. The front paws have their "heels" dug in, which I think explains why its claws don't show.
The photos make it look like the prints are more rounded, like a feline, but I remember commenting at the time that the prints were more elongated. In this case, the photo is misleading.
We did not get down on our hands and knees and sniff the bushes beside the prints for scent, but I don't know what a positive hit would have done except to tell us that an unknown animal had indeed urinated on the shrubbery. Likewise, we did not collect plaster casts of the prints. Any ideas?
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