What left this track?
#12
RE: What left this track?
It's tough to know for sure without seeing the actual animal. As far as the toes being spread out that doesn't mean it's a pet dog. When tracking coyotes in soft mud their toes tend to splay making them appear more spread out. If this was on a harder surface then you would notice the toes closer together. I have also seen yote tracks where the nails are clearly visable such as this, once again due to the soft soil. As far as their feet being the same size below is a pic of yote tracks that clearly show the hind feet as being smaller than the front but in other cases they were closer to the same size.
Here is a pic that shows how a yote's toes can splay in soft mud as well as have well defined claws.
All this being said I still think that the track is probably that of a domestic dog. It just appears too large. If you also notice that in your pic the claws just left large holes in the soil without any sign of indentation between the claw and the toe pad. I usually see this in domestic dogs because their claws can be very long and curved thus resulting in such a print. If you look at the yote you can see how his claws are always kept worn down and even though the claws left a print they appear to be connected to the toe pad. This is just my humble opinion and in all honesty it could very well be either one.
Here is a pic that shows how a yote's toes can splay in soft mud as well as have well defined claws.
All this being said I still think that the track is probably that of a domestic dog. It just appears too large. If you also notice that in your pic the claws just left large holes in the soil without any sign of indentation between the claw and the toe pad. I usually see this in domestic dogs because their claws can be very long and curved thus resulting in such a print. If you look at the yote you can see how his claws are always kept worn down and even though the claws left a print they appear to be connected to the toe pad. This is just my humble opinion and in all honesty it could very well be either one.