Unidentified Tracks In The Snow What/Who are they?

[Pacific NW Ron]

Unidentified Tracks In The Snow   What/Who are they?

After dark last night I looked out at the fresh snow and I saw some weird tracks in the snow leading away from our patio.  This is with about 12" of snow on the ground.
I had been out on the patio maybe half hour before and they weren't there at that time.
They start at the patio from where my tracks are and go down to the little wet weather creek.  They appear to be one set of tracks going away from the patio only.  None coming back towards the patio although this morning in the daylight the tracks look a little different like maybe they had been used more than once.  They may have been used both ways.  The reason I say that is between two of them it appears the tail drag goes both directions?
This morning when I went out to take a better look.  I found a little hole about 6" to 8" diameter in the snow that had drifted up to a protruding part of our house.  The hole went under that protruding part of the house.  The closet tracks to that hole are mine and they are about a foot from the hole.  No tracks between my tracks and the exit from the hole.  It's like what ever comes out of that hole is shot out and doesn't crawl out.
I don't know any animal or human that leaves tracks with a 6' spacing, especially that would fit in that hole.  The tracks are about the size of my size 12 boots.
The tracks are about 6' apart and some of them appear to have a small round tail dragging in the snow.
In the one picture my tracks are to the right side so it's obvious they aren't human.
I don't have a security camera that covers this area of my yard. 

[Smallie_Stalker]

Looks like maybe something is hopping from spot to spot???

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[Pacific NW Ron]

That was one of my first thought, but 6' would still be a damn long hop for a rabbit or anything else I can think of.

[bigjim5589]

My guess would be a mink. They can jump a long ways when they want, and that hole at the wet weather creek,  is something they'll do as they get under there looking for frogs, crayfish or whatever else might live there.

[Pacific NW Ron]

My guess would be a mink. They can jump a long ways when they want, and that hole at the wet weather creek,  is something they'll do as they get under there looking for frogs, crayfish or whatever else might live there.

Jim, that hole is going under a part of our house that hangs outside the foundation about 12" off the ground with a snow drift around it, but a thought.

[bigjim5589]

My guess would be a mink. They can jump a long ways when they want, and that hole at the wet weather creek,  is something they'll do as they get under there looking for frogs, crayfish or whatever else might live there.

Jim, that hole is going under a part of our house that hangs outside the foundation about 12" off the ground with a snow drift around it, but a thought.

OK, I was thinking the hole was on the other end of the trail, but still, a mink will sometimes get into barns & other buildings. Other possibilities might be a rat of some type, or a Weasel, but they're usually not real big, so to make that much of a body track. However since it's apparently gone back & forth, hard to say.

If that was at my house, there would be a body grip trap in front of that hole, and wired to something so it couldn't be dragged off. 

Mink or Weasel fur would make some good fly tying materials, but I wouldn't be too receptive if it turned out to be a rat. 

At least I would know then what was there infringing on my property. 

[geneinnc]

Looks like maybe something is hopping from spot to spot???

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Yes.

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[Oldfart9999]

What do our resident trappers think. My first thought was maybe one of Santa's reindeer that got loose.
Rodney

[coldfront]

i see holes in the snow, but no good  impression of paws, pads.  tough to tell much without those...

[D.W. Verts]

I told Ron it was a Chupacabra last night. Now having glances at the tracks unless it was the rare Hawaiian subspecies (not likely) then I'd be wrong.

An errant Elf from the North Pole (fell out of the sleigh) was a thought too. This will require some thinking. I have to get over my fear of the white, crystalized 12" of moisture first. Shudder.

I would need to know the actual measurement of the tracks, but yes- it appears they go both ways. HIGHLY suspicious.

Dale

[coldfront]

I told Ron it was a Chupacabra last night. Now having glances at the tracks unless it was the rare Hawaiian subspecies (not likely) then I'd be wrong.

An errant Elf from the North Pole (fell out of the sleigh) was a thought too. This will require some thinking. I have to get over my fear of the white, crystalized 12" of moisture first. Shudder.

I would need to know the actual measurement of the tracks, but yes- it appears they go both ways. HIGHLY suspicious.

Dale

does that make it potentially a pushmepullyou?

[Pacific NW Ron]

i see holes in the snow, but no good  impression of paws, pads.  tough to tell much without those...

That was the first thing I looked for.  At least with those you might identify the species but there are none in any of the impressions or anywhere around the exit of the hole or in the creek.   
We got another couple inches of snow last night and still no new clues.
Maybe a live trap is going to be the best answer.

[D.W. Verts]

In all seriousness Ron, do you have Red Fox?

Dale

[Wizard]

Red Fox walk with their claws permanently extended.

Wizard

[Pacific NW Ron]

In all seriousness Ron, do you have Red Fox?

Dale

We have some in the area but not big numbers of them.  It's rare to see one.  Game dept. says the numbers in the county are growing though.

[D.W. Verts]

Wizard is correct. However, with the deep snow it's hard to see that. What some folks have called a "tail" drag mark could very well be a dew claw...

What I see, maybe, is a red fox, which is a fairly small critter in ten inches of snow, and he's hopping/jumping/whatever. The reversal in directions makes sense- it worked for him the first time. The "pointed" end of the track, going BOTH ways, shows a definite tendency towards a canine, and the "lope" with the bounding says "red fox" to me.

The real trick would be to investigate the area after a lesser, and preferably WETTER snowfall. Or if you get thawed out some go look in that area for tracks in the mud. Red fox leave a dog-style track that is tapered heavily towards the toes. You would call it and a cat track (totally different) a "classic" track.

I'm sorry I can't be more definitive. Besides fishing, this is ME, the stuff that I do. But powdery deep snow is probably the hardest medium to track in. So my bet, of not the Hawaiian Chupacabra, then a Red Fox.



Next opinion (this is fun).

Dale

[D.W. Verts]

Oh yeah, a Hickbilly tip here. Go down to that draw/whatever. Pee on an outcropping, a bush, log, whatever. Yes, pee. A little. Then watch- a canine will mark that spot as well. Just sayin'.

Dale

[Pacific NW Ron]

   Won't work in this area.  All the outcroppings have already been peed on hundreds of times 

[D.W. Verts]

 

Dale

[Wizard]

If the fur has value, Dale will figure it out.
Wizard

[D.W. Verts]

Unfortunately wild fur is worth less than any other time in history. It's a sad state of affairs. The funny part is this latest downward spiral can be blamed on CHINA.

Dale

[Pacific NW Ron]

Wizard is correct. However, with the deep snow it's hard to see that. What some folks have called a "tail" drag mark could very well be a dew claw...

What I see, maybe, is a red fox, which is a fairly small critter in ten inches of snow, and he's hopping/jumping/whatever. The reversal in directions makes sense- it worked for him the first time. The "pointed" end of the track, going BOTH ways, shows a definite tendency towards a canine, and the "lope" with the bounding says "red fox" to me.

The real trick would be to investigate the area after a lesser, and preferably WETTER snowfall. Or if you get thawed out some go look in that area for tracks in the mud. Red fox leave a dog-style track that is tapered heavily towards the toes. You would call it and a cat track (totally different) a "classic" track.

I'm sorry I can't be more definitive. Besides fishing, this is ME, the stuff that I do. But powdery deep snow is probably the hardest medium to track in. So my bet, of not the Hawaiian Chupacabra, then a Red Fox.



Next opinion (this is fun).

Dale

I like this theory the best so far.  It makes sense from what I see. 
I went down and walked the creek yesterday.  There were tracks similar to the one's in the yard on the ice.  I followed them and they went into a storm drain culvert. 
We're forecast to get another 6" of fresh snow tomorrow.  It's a little warmer so it might be a wetter snow.  Maybe it'll reveal more and solve the mystery.
Once the snow melts from around the protruding area of the room the hole goes under I can probably see under it.  It's a few inches off the ground.  If it's still there I should be able to see it or maybe chase it out with a shovel handle.
Wait For it!!!!!!

[D.W. Verts]

If you get to see the real deal in that fresh white snow and it IS a fox, well, it's a beautiful thing.

Dale

[Pacific NW Ron]

Dale might have answered the mystery.  I Googled fox tracks in deep snow and there were some images very similar to mine. 
Maybe with the new snow that we're forecast to get tonight or tomorrow We'll be able to assume it's a red fox until a possible sighting.
The first image is a my image.  The second one is a Getty image.  What do you think?