Need someone to tell me this isn't what I think it is

I need someone to tell me this isn't what I think this is, right now.

Depends what you think it is :)  Honestly, it could be lots of things.  When tracks melt like that, they get bigger and spread.  It could be a coyote, a dog, a wolf.  I have tracks all over that look exactly like that that were made by my dogs.  

It's a hand.

Lol.

That's what I was hoping. There were normal sized canid tracks a good ways back, before these. Either someone walking their dogs, or coyotes.

My worry was the only animals I could think of that could make tracks that big were Black Bears, Bobcats or Fishers, maybe. All of those have been gone from this area for my entire life, so I'm not too familiar with any of them. Black Bears came back over the last decade, but there aren't a good sized population yet & Bobcats have been sighted the next county over, last fall. No clue about the Fishers.

Looks like a canine of some sort. Even a baby bear print is bigger.

How old is the print? Canine prints usually have the claws showing felines claws don't show.  Bear prints have claws that show and the front part of the pad is deeper but usually has what appear to be a shallower heel portion I guess is how I would describe it. They can look like almost like a shortened human print with claws depending on speed of travel. So not a bear, might be a feline, probably a canine.

Definitely not a bear.  I have a lot of them on my property.  They have a big oval foot pad print behind the toes.  I'm guessing dog.

I have a bobcat (or maybe a couple) as well.  They are pretty timid and I never get to see mine.  I have game cam pictures, but bobcats have never bothered anything on my property.  They eat mostly rodents.

I believe you guys about the dog.

I did just look into the Fishers, though & wanted to report that, contrary to how this normally seems to work in Ohio, I apparently live in the only part of the state that has a known population. Never seen one in my life, though. They've also started becoming common here within the last decade. Big black wolverine-looking weasel thing that can climb.

D Tucholske wrote:I believe you guys about the dog.

I did just look into the Fishers, though & wanted to report that, contrary to how this normally seems to work in Ohio, I apparently live in the only part of the state that has a known population. Never seen one in my life, though. They've also started becoming common here within the last decade. Big black wolverine-looking weasel thing that can climb.

We have fishers here too, though they are pretty rare.  They leave tracks with long thin fingers, more like a really big raccoon or squirrel.

Phew, I hate to be alarmist, but looking at the claw pattern it could be a Chupacabra.

They haven't been reported in Ohio yet, but with climate change etc. all sorts of freaky things are possible.

Lock up your goats!

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/12903/10-legendary-monsters-north-america-part-one

I agree Douglas, that is what it is.

We have those in Texas, too.

I have heard they are really ugly if someone happens to see one.

Well, in terms of chupacabras, we do have coyotes here. Wish we didn't, because they greatly impede any attempts we could make in reintroducing the native Timberwolves & Red Wolves. Actually, I think, aside from the two key bird species which went extinct- passenger pigeons & Carolina parakeets- we now have almost all out native wildlife back, excepting the aforementioned wolves, mountain lions, buffalo, porcupines & elk. When I was a kid, we didn't even have otters, weasels, eagles, hawks or owls & the beavers & muskrats had literally only just been reintroduced the prior decade. We still have a very long way to go with restoring plant life, but almost all our native animals are fine, if a bit stressed from climate change & lack of adequate resources.

It's great to see diversity come back to an ecosystem.

(You know I was just being silly, right? Absolutely no intent to belittle your concerns.)

Yeah, you're fine. Lol