Bobcat or Cougar?

[Kman]

Ok, Lets see what everybody thinks, these pics were taken by a trail cam this month, I'll tell ya where later.

 

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

Easy. That's a cougar. Of course, if you've read the "Identify this snake" thread you already know that there's really only one kind of wild cat, for practical purposes

 

[MeekandMild]

Looks like a bobbed tail to me but its about twice as long as in a real bobcat. I suppose a lion could lose part of its tail in any number of ways.

I don't see any really clear stripes nor other markings except on the back of the front legs and have never seen a bobcat which had so much uninterrupted fawn color. Usually a bobcat will have distinct stripes on the tail and lots of spots/stripes otherwise.

Ears look pretty round, not pointed nor tufted...so my vote is a lion. Whether American "mountain" lion or African lion is not sure; missing half the tail it would be hard to determine unless you knew where it was from.

 

[22-rimfire]

Appears to be a lion (cougar) to me based on the body shape and ears.

 

[frankcostanza]

looks like a cougar...no wait - bobcat...or maybe a fat whitetail with no neck?

 

[gunmn74]

Cougar

I am going by the body length and ears.

Tell me that it is in Kansas? People here keep spotting them
and we even had a jogger attacked by one a few weeks ago
and Fish and Game keeps saying it was a big Bobcat. I grew up
in Colorado and I know the diffrence and there are Cougars in
Kansas. Sitting in my Deer stand last year I heard one "scream"
and it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

 

[Leanwolf]

Young mountain lion.

L.W.

 

[Arkie]

In Arkansas we just call them Kitty cats. LOL.

I would go with cougar.

 

[JP1954]

Puma..........Mountain Lion............Cougar

 

[islandphish]

cougar, and there are definitely cougar in KS. I have personally seen one just 20 miles north of the KS line in SW NE.

 

[salthouse]

el chupacabra

 

[.41 magnum man]

I say cougar. The tail appears to be short, but it is actually curved. Hey, that is right at my favorite fishing hole!

 

[kimbernut]

Bobcat/cougar ?

Florida Panther

 

[ID_shooting]

yup, mountain lion...

Puma, cougar, whichever you prefer.

Bobcat, no, not a change

 

[Art Eatman]

More likely cougar than bobcat. I've not seen a bobcat without some amount of spotting. (As they age, they darken to brown and the spots are much less clear. This pictured critter is tawny.)

Art

 

[boobap]

perhaps a jaguar...

 

[MCgunner]

Agree with Art based on color. Probably an immature cougar. The short tail? Maybe he got caught in a combine or something? Just immature me thinks. Bobcat's are spotted, have tufted ears, and shorter tails than that. Bobcat in the wild are quite unmistakable in my experiences. Now, I've never spied a cougar in the wild, but seem to remember those white patches on the ears and tail of ones I've seen in captivity.

 

[wolf_from_wv]

[DNR/F&G mind trick] This is not the cougar you are looking for... It is a giant bobcat... Go about your way...

 

[Muzzy_B]

I think it's a Liger, known for its skills in magic.

For those of you fortunate enough not to have watched Napolean Dynamite, I apologize.

 

[MCgunner]

Well, in this day in age of photochop, hell, you never really know what you're lookin' at.

 

[Picknlittle]

I'm going with young cougar. In the pic on the right, you can see more of the tail. It is partially obscured by leaves, but it turning up. I had to open it in another app to see it very well. Pretty fuzzy though.

If it isn't a cougar, it's prolly an antlerless bull sow.

 

[xd45gaper]

looks like a big bobcat to me, loook at his ears, they both are pointed and have white spots on them, also look at the hind legs spotted underbelly, classic of a bobcat

*edit, that is not a long tale in first picture, that is his HEAD look very closely, that is defently a big bobcat.
and secondly, if you look at the picture on the right, you can see his short tell it just blends in with his inner thighs, bobcats normally have a black/white tip on there little bob tail, if you look hard enough you can see it.

and bobcats can get that big i caught two toms around that size when i used to trap as a kid

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

Looks to me like it's an immature Mountain Lion, (Cougar). It is difficult to say without a high resolution photo.

Now.. Is this an 'exotic' kitty? (no, not a dancer/stripper ) Not indiginous to North America?

While I'm not a wildlife biologist, I don't look at this as a Bobcat. Certainly not a mature Cougar with the spots still on the foreleg and tail. But I could be convinced that the foliage in those photos are not 'stateside' and that these photos are of a kitty a bit closer to the southern hemisphere?

I'll lean toward young Cougar though.

-Steve

 

[BobMcG]

I think I'd be looking for another trail-cam with better resolution.

 

[JR1]

Just a big bobcat. White on the ears, short tail (you can even see the white tip), good spotting on the inside of the legs. I've been around plenty of them and that is what a bobcat in the summer looks like.