What is this critter?

[MossRoad]

Looks like a long tail to me. Imported into Gimp and ran an unsharp mask to highlight edges.

I say mountain lion.

View attachment 807131

While it looks like a long tail to you, it looks like a short tail with a black tip to me and it's left rear leg with light on it.

I also ran it through a sharpening tool, and it looks like bobcat to me.

I also ran it by someone from the biology department at a state university and they say 99% sure it's bobcat based on more triangulated ears, white patches on ears VS mountain lion usually more uniform ears, and looks like nub tail with characteristic black tip.

 

[MossRoad]

Find some footprints and measure them and the stride if you can.

https://myfwp.mt.gov/getRepositoryFile?objectID=40997

 

[MossRoad]

Found this humorous clip while researching this today...

 

[Jchonline]

It must be one of those black-tipped bobtail mountain lions common in CO.

That mark on the tail is not coloring, it’s a chunk of hair taken out. There are no black spots or rings or coloring at all on the animal which is very indicative of a bobcat. Lastly Bobcats are seldom over 20-30 lbs (really just a large house cat…we have seen them from about 15 feet away in real time) so mouthing a fawn is possible but more unlikely.

 

[MossRoad]

That mark on the tail is not coloring, it’s a chunk of hair taken out. There are no black spots or rings or coloring at all on the animal which is very indicative of a bobcat. Lastly Bobcats are seldom over 20-30 lbs (really just a large house cat…we have seen them from about 15 feet away in real time) so mouthing a fawn is possible but more unlikely.

Record bobcat was 49 inches long from nose to base of tail (not including tail).

Heaviest bobcat ever recorded was 60 pound road kill in Vermont.

Males generally weigh between 14-40 pounds. That's a large range. All depends on food sources available, climate (they get larger up north in cold areas), etc.

Whitetail fawns generally weigh under 10 pounds at birth.

As someone suggested, about the best way to estimate it's actual size would be for someone to take the camera at it's original position and send a person with a yardstick out to the same spot for comparison.

Finding some tracks would be helpful as well.

 

[Torvy]

Bobcats are bigger in Canada and the northern US, too.

 

[MossRoad]

Bobcats are bigger in Canada and the northern US, too.

Bergmann's rule - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[finallydribben]

That mark on the tail is not coloring, it’s a chunk of hair taken out. There are no black spots or rings or coloring at all on the animal which is very indicative of a bobcat. Lastly Bobcats are seldom over 20-30 lbs (really just a large house cat…we have seen them from about 15 feet away in real time) so mouthing a fawn is possible but more unlikely

I would have agreed with you thinking bobcats don't get that big but last year I saw a bobcat on my property here near the Blue Ridge Parkway that thru that notion out the window. They can get very big, the one I have seen here is easily 60+lbs and as tall as the mountain lions that I saw when I lived out west.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

We have lots of deer (in '50s-'60s never saw deer this area of Virginia), we now have a doe and her fawn that stay close to house until they separated (weaned?) a couple weeks ago. Now Mom stays in bushes near garage, fawn in a pasture a long ways away. I took this picture of fawn a few days ago in that pasture. I'm guessing 18"-20" at shoulder.
I'm far from expert, just observation but I bet that's the case here. I think fawn cat is carrying is about size of this one so that would be size reference for cat.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

This is the kill on hunter camera shown, smaller but not by a whole lot.