The other day, when we were looking for arrowheads along the Hiwassee River, The Deer Hunter showed me the track above. Sort of looks like a little kid has been playing in the mud don’t it?
Do you know what made the track? Leave me a comment with your guess-and if you get it right I’ll throw your name in a hat for a giveaway.
Tipper
*giveaway ends Friday September 13, 2013.
The smell of wood cutting hangs heavy in the air around our house. Every time I go out to the backyard…
Granny Gazzie’s rose is in full bloom and perfuming my yard with it’s sweet scent. I have it growing in…
“Pa spent many long hours at the sawmill. Ma planted the garden and took care of the livestock. All summer…
“Chitter was juberous about her next move. She didn’t know if she should continue her journey or curl up in…
In Appalachia the word them is often used where the word those should be used. those can be used as…
Remember Tony the Tiger? He helped raise me and Paul. Well not really but for 2 picky eaters cereal was…
Looks like a coon track,
On second thought, I bet it’s that elusive beast – The Snipe that people are always hunting for but are never finding.
😉
Does anyone ever remember getting hooked into Snipe Hunting as a child? hee hee
God bless.
RB
<><
Our Dad often took us on walks through the woods down at our family camp near Tidioute, PA. It was very interesting to walk with Dad because he pointed out so many nature items and tracks he saw along the way.
I believe a raccoon made that track. A beaver’s tracks, I believe, would show webbing between the toes.
God bless.
RB
<><
Definitely raccoon. One of those scoundrels left their foot prints in white paint on my kitchen porch. How they got that brand new can of paint open is still a mystery.
Raccoon is what it looks like to me.
The masked bandit himself (herself?)….the coon!
Now somebody else took my guess-a beaver. If she wins the prize, can I still have the hat?
I believe it’s the ole Night Stalker him or herself the “Coon” use to hunt them when I was a boy full of energy, and didn’t need much sleep…
I’ve sen them before on the river banks, they leave empty mussel shells everywhere, they are racoons!
I say they are raccoon tracks.
Several yrs ago we had a freezer out on the back porch. We had a coon open the door twice. First time he got him a loaf of bread. Second time he found the frozen corn. AND he left the door open. I had spilled a bag of corn & didn’t clean it up very well. i think he must have smelled that & decided to check it out. We bricked up half way & screened in the porch but our cat, Fred, has made a hole he goes & comes through. We trapped & released three coons on the porch. Including the ones in the corn, I think that’s about 6 this yr.
Racoon!! We trapped & released a number of them out of the sweet corn after they had a feast out there.
I’m thinking opossum. Can’t wait to find out.
Hope you’re enjoying this weather,
Lisa
Racoon. I caught two this year in my corn. I set the trap to try to catch the ground hog that keeps eating my tomatoes and melons as well as my apples and plums. So far I’ve caught two coons, one possom and a skunk. I guess I need to put a sign on it that says, “Groundhogs only”.
Could be a Polecat or either an escaped Mongoose!
The tracks are from the animal commonly known by the words people say when the creatures are found in the garden. “That Blamed Coon”….or something stronger!
I’m guessing A BEAVER .IF I’M RIGHT DO I GET TO PICK WHAT I’D LIKE TO HAVE ?
OK I’D LIKE TO HEAR PAP AND PAUL SING, LIFE’S RAILWAY TO HEAVEN ,AND PLEASE TELL THEM TO LIFT THEIR HEADS FROM TIME TO TIME SO I CAN WATCH THEM SING.
Red Squirell or coon
It would be a blessing to have those coons that eat half your sweetcorn. Around here they eat it all.
Looks like coon tracks to me too.
I’m gonna join the crowd and vote for the ‘coon; my hat size is 7 1/4…
That picture is of the spoor of a little known animal that lives only along the the banks of a very short stretch of the river there in Cherokee County. In fact the name of river comes from the Indian word for the creature. That, my dear, is the illusive Hiawassee. You and the Mr. are lucky to have seen even its tracks. Very few people have ever heard of, much less seen it. Did you happen to notice its back tracks? Were they in pairs on both sides. I don’t have positive proof but some people claim to have seen them with two feet on each side in the back. Like a dually. Scientists claim that they have evolved this extra set of legs because they live in wet areas along the river and don’t get stuck in the mud so much.
I saw a picture of the Hiawassee in a book once. I think it was written by a doctor. I don’t remember his first name but I’m pretty sure his last name was Seuss.
Now, I have a question for you. What animal family does the racoon belong to? (It is not the same family as a dog or cat.) The word “racoon”, that we use, is derived from a similar sounding Indian word that means “little bear”. If you think about it, they walk and act a lot like a bear.
I think it’s a ‘coon.
Coon I’m pretty sure.
BEAR? Those east Tennessee folks are all the time worried and skeard about bears. I think these are donkey tracks!
Eva Nell
p.s. We will be at the Old Courthouse TOMORROW NIGHT!!!
Tipper,
Looks like a coon track to me.
A family of them boogers can
absolutely destroy your corn patch.
And they know before you do when
it’s ripe…Ken
I had two pet coons as a kid. I named them Oscar 1 and Oscar 2 (not much imagination for a 5 yr) Based upon that, I think it looks like coon paws to me.
or wait…now that I think about it, I can’t really tell the difference between racoon and opossum paw prints, unless I see the back foot prints…so maybe your picture is of the Possum! Hmmm tiz a puzzlement.
That’s a raccoon sure as anything!
Racoon! We have those hanging around in our yard up here in Western Washington on an island in the Sound. I was so surprised to see that. Also deer and opossum!
looks like a raccoon 🙂
I know what it is but I don’t want to say yet because nobody who has guessed yet has got it right and if nobody else gets it, my name will be the only one in the hat. If I win can I have the hat too?
After doing a little web research, I now vote with mink. Did the web serve me well?
My first thought was coon also: the pad is distinct but the fingers seem a bit short. My other thought was possum: fingers are a little spread and are usually a bit shorter than a coon but don’t usually have such a distinct pad.
Don’s song gave me my first giggle of the day. (Thanks!) Where can I hear the melody?
My father-in-law used to feed raccoons on his porch. He bought dog food and put it out each morning. His first one grew to a 3 or 4 or more generation family of 12 or so. This went on for 4 or 5 years. The neighbors complained because when in-laws went on vacation, the racoons searched elsewhere in the neighborhood for food. It wasn’t until the coons started opening the screen sliding door near where my semi-invalid mother-in-law liked to sit that father-in-law decided making pets of coons may not have been such a good idea. Had to hire trappers to catch and move (don’t know where) the entire lot! Think the neighbors had a party for the trappers!!
Grampus
Now I am thinking it might be squirrel tracks. 🙂
Looks like raccoon to me.
Coon. Call the coon dogs!
Coon, of course!!!
Good morning, my guess is a fox foot print in the mud. Looking for foot prints on our property is a fun past time. We have a dirt + sand area and it makes for good impressions.
I’m with the majority, seems to be coon.
I also think it’s a raccoon track. There are hundreds of tracks in the barns where I feed my cats. They sometimes climb the ladders on our chicken house feed bins, open the lids and go inside to eat, then can’t get out; they’re not so pretty when we find them at the bottom of the bins!
Has to be coon …
im purty shore itsa babee dinasore. i seen the same pitcher on the discufree chanel.
Not much doubt it’s a raccoon track.
Tipper, This is definitely a raccoon track. My great grandmother believed that unborn children could be marked before birth by certain something that happened while the mother was pregnant. Thus a raccoon jumped on my mommas’ lap & scared her now I am forever marked with the raccoon paw print on my upper left thigh.
Looks like a Raccoon.
That would be a raccoon, aka the Ringed Tail Bandit .
It looks like a raccoon’s paw prints. The same print can be found in my garden after a rain. I heard they will climb corn stalks and eat anything the deer might leave behind. They are cute though.
‘Coon track. They look like a babys’ hand.
This doesn’t narrow it down much, but something from the weasel family – mink, etc.
I’m guessing those are raccoon tracks.
The track is that of a raccoon the masked bandit of the woods.
Looks like a coon track to me!!
Coon tracks. 🙂
One day a raccoon passed by my way,
I shot him and right there he fell.
Being civic and high fashion-minded,
I reached down and cut off his tail.
(Chorus)
Now the raccoon’s a right purty creature,
But he sure ain’t no friend of mine;
He eats half my corn ever’ summer
And steals my hens aigs all the time.
I hung that tail on my antenna –
Now don’t it just make my car shine?
Ever’ time I drive past my old hound dogs,
Well they just rar back and whine.
(Chorus)
Now if you’re going wild hog or bear hunting,
Good luck boys, I wish you well.
But if you’re after that sorry old raccoon,
I hope that you blow him to ….somewhere
(Chorus)
Racoon
A muskrat?
A bear!
Ah ha! Mystery tracks – I think maybe they might be turkey tracks or some sort of fowl. Good game for a Thursday!
Tipper–Although I don’t have anything other than a leaf in the photo for real size comparison, I’m little short of certain that track belonged to Br’er ‘Coon. The shape is right, as is the location (‘coons love to wander around on the edges of branches and creeks looking for stuff to eat).
‘Coon hunters in today’s world seldom kill their prey, but roasted young ‘coon makes mighty fine eating. They can also be quite destructive. Let them get into a patch of corn just coming “into milk” or a grape arbor and you’ll soon enough know what I mean. They are also pure poison on the eggs of gallinaceous (ground nesting) birds, so much so that game managers on some plantations and hunting preserves hire predator control experts to get rid of them.
I’ll hush, because that’s a whole lot more answer than you asked for (although I’ll virtually guarantee that the Deer Hunter is familiar with everything I’ve said).
Jim Casada
Looks like a raccoon print.
Raccoon
I think it’s a raccoon.
Raccoon
Why it’s an old coon. Well maybe a young one.
Looks like some member of the cat family. The Deer Hunter always studied books and magazines to learn about everything outside.
Raccoons are cute little pests. Cute down by the river; pests in the garden. A team broke into a vacation cabin where my dad and uncles were staying on a fishing trip and stole an entire coconut cake!
Looks like a two footed raccoon to me.
Dog track.
Charles
Looks like a coon track
Its hard to judge the size. Looks like the front feet of a racoon but it could be a ground hog.
Im guessing a raccoon
Coon! Cute little buggers. We went camping a coule weekends ago and had one visit our campsite.
Otter tracks?
Looks like a coon to me.
Looks like a raccoon to me, and thank you very much for keeping even ONE of them away from my place! 😉
I have no clue on this, but love my name in the hat. Could it be a large bird such as a buzzard?
Looks like a mink track, although I have not seen one in a long time
Tipper if I am not sadly mistaken what you have there is a raccoon track and what you are seeing is the front paw track.
Looks like a rascally raccoon walked in the field. I doubt he was searching for arrowheads, though.
Looks like raccoon tracks!! 🙂