OK - Here is a Mystery....Animal attack on Son's Pick up Truck

[brin]

A medium sized bobcat was harvested from my place about a year ago. Didn't measure, but pad prints themselves would certainly have been 3 inches across. Full paw more like 5 inches, my guess.

Cannine claws do nor retract are blunt, feline claws retract, are sharp and can kinda reach behind things.

An idea...look for scratches BEHIND stuff...a cat tries to reach in to get stuff. A dog paws and scratches from the outside.Narrow cuts would indicate sharp claws, wider would be cannine. If there are scratches on the ground, likely cannine...a cat would retract most of the time except in actual combat/prey catch mode.

I think you just confirmed it was a big cat....there were scratches behind the firewall material I picked up...there were long scratches on one side but I could see the reach around scratches...I know exactly what you mean...cats big and small do that when they are fighting or digging for prey.....and yes these are very narrow scratches on the truck, truck material, concrete and even in the truck bed...It was defiantly after something...funny thing ,my son had a game camera set up in that area but had it turned off since the data card was full...wouldn't ya know..? Thanks.

 

[IkeRoberts]

Several months ago we had a mother bear tear up one of the boy scout camp trucks. The dog ran her off twice before we went out to investigate. We found her three cubs stuck in a metal dumpster. We dropped in a log. They climbed out. And we haven't seen her since then.
Guess she was just trying to get our attention.

 

[dave1949]

I'm having trouble picturing a bobcat doing that kind of damage. Tearing chunks out of the plastic fender liner? A bobcat? How big are your bobcats? What we call bobcats here are just a bit bigger than a big house cat.

 

[crash325]

cats have 5 toes == dogs 4 == take your calculater out & count them. :dance1:

 

[farmgirl19]

I'm having trouble picturing a bobcat doing that kind of damage. Tearing chunks out of the plastic fender liner? A bobcat? How big are your bobcats? What we call bobcats here are just a bit bigger than a big house cat.

Maybe everthing is bigger in Texas, but just a bit bigger than a housecat doesn't come close to the size of one of our adult bobcats. So, my first vote is that it was a Chupacabra, and second vote is bobcat.

 

[dave1949]

Farmgirl19: This is a Maine housecat :laughing:: Google Image Result for http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZdS5Eu6YKKk/ULvGSR5o1BI/AAAAAAAAA24/9XJhCtEJ18c/s400/riley-maine-coon-cat.jpg


The adult bobcat is 47.5 to 125 cm (18.7 to 49 in) long from the head to the base of the tail, averaging 82.7 cm (32.6 in); the stubby tail adds 9 to 20 cm (3.5 to 7.9 in) and its "bobbed" appearance gives the species its name. An adult stands about 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in) at the shoulders.

Adult males can range in weight from 6.4 to 18.3 kg (14 to 40 lb), with an average of 9.6 kg (21 lb); females at 4 to 15.3 kg (8.8 to 34 lb), with an average of 6.8 kg (15 lb).

The largest bobcat accurately measured on record weighed 22.2 kg (49 lb), although unverified reports have them reaching 27 kg (60 lb).[22] Furthermore, a June 20, 2012 report of a New Hampshire roadkill specimen listed the animal's weight at 27 kg (60 lb).

The largest-bodied bobcats are from eastern Canada and northern New England of the subspecies (L. r. gigas), while the smallest are from the southeastern subspecies (L. r. floridanus), particularly those in the southern Appalachians.

The bobcat is muscular, and its hind legs are longer than its front legs, giving it a bobbing gait. At birth, it weighs 0.6 to 0.75 lb (270 to 340 g) and is about 10 in (25 cm) in length. By its first birthday, it will reach about 10 lb (4.5 kg).

The cat is larger in its northern range and in open habitats. A morphological size comparison study in the eastern United States found a divergence in the location of the largest male and female specimens, suggesting differing selection constraints for the sexes.

Bobcat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[LJH]

Got panthers on your mountain by any chance? They leave BIG putty-paw prints and if hungry enough, might tear up a fenderwell if dinner was hiding in there. Big bobcat or small mountain lion would be my second & third guesses - chupacabra first, of course.

 

[rekees4300]

In the southern United States, Chupacabra have been a menace since they snuck into North America in the 1930s from Argentina, most likely as cargo stowaways. They spread rapidly in Florida, Louisiana, and other southern states, driving out other creatures and disrupting the landscape with prolific, aggressive colonies. With no natural enemies, their densities reached 10 to 100 times that of Argentina. Each year, they exact a $6 billion toll from property damage, medical treatments, and control costs.

View attachment 310119

 

[tractchores]

Are there fishers down there? They have good claws and would certainly tear at something and track size may fit.

 

[/pine]

In the southern United States, Chupacabra have been a menace since they snuck into North America in the 1930s from Argentina, most likely as cargo stowaways. They spread rapidly in Florida, Louisiana, and other southern states, driving out other creatures and disrupting the landscape with prolific, aggressive colonies. With no natural enemies, their densities reached 10 to 100 times that of Argentina. Each year, they exact a $6 billion toll from property damage, medical treatments, and control costs.

I saw a bigfoot walking one on a leash...but I didn't have a camera with me...!