Frankly I am very unsure...in the image below I matched a known cougar print with it...it's really not oval enough for me to feel like it's canine..bigger than any coyote print I've ever seen... and my shots are pretty crappy..I tracked out of the field, (away from the pond) and then found another set where it headed towards the pond...
There really hasn't been mud per se there, and these were deep enough to make me think it was a fairly heavy creature. It went pretty much straight up one row of corn and then back down another..I lost the prints when it got to the beans, and then lost them on the other end when it got to a weedy/grassy area next to the treeline..
Critter says he just caught it out of the corner of his eye headed out of the field into the creek bottom brush..he thinks it's traveling to the small pond to drink as the creeks are dried up.... he has it's path figured out..based roughly on where he sees it when..and it's usually along that creek coming out of the brushy areas headed to or from where the small secluded pond is..it's a deep irrigation pond so it's water level is still pretty fair....
He's not completely certain the cat made these tracks..it's where he usually sees it, and he found them when he bailed out of the tractor to try and sight it along the creek bed..

so you expert trackers out there what do you guys think?
I tried the x method (used to detrmine feline vs canine) and it didn't come up with what is typical for a canine..but not exactly typical for a feline either..it just looks to splayed to be canine to me, and the toes look too arched...

if is a canine..it's a (I'm an idiot for swearing)(I'm an idiot for swearing)(I'm an idiot for swearing)(I'm an idiot for swearing) big one cause even dutch's prints were no where near this size..nor depth..

http://www.siloutdoors.com/imagehosting/44746fee073b9671.jpg

a side note..when enlarged I can make out the three lobes at the base of the pad..I think..and they were better seen when looking at it...another thing this thing appears to have about a 20inch stride..can that possibly be right?

oh my g....glad you posted this..........
Yea, yall know how big chase is too and his prints aren't any size close to those......
wow! Looks pretty close to me......I can't believe you went out there by yourself.....I hope you had your whippin stick at least......lol...

Bam i don't think a cougar would get close to me..the unladylike language that kept coming out of my mouth ...plus they are pretty spooky..Critter can't get anywhere close to it..and there's more than enough for it to eat in those bottoms..

That's kinda what happens to me when I see them big deer.....lol......

I still think I would have had my whoopin stick...lol..and I hope you had your big lens on ya right?

no, no big lens..creekbottoms were a littl emurky light wise and I just didn't even think about it..I was too busy concentrating on the darned prints!

more info from Critter...these match the prints that were at neighboring place ( about 2 months ago) near the small pond there..about 2 miles away..the neighbor lost most of his ducks and two of the big great pyranees that guard his goats..Critter said it was an ugly scene..when they found the dogs..vet said perhaps coyotes..however the pyranees had been running off the coyotes for years....
Maybe it's that loogahroo of Fungus's.....LOL

Oh lord, I forgot about the loogahroo......that's something else.....

Yup, I think you need to get some cams out there and get this "THING" on tape....at least to amuse us! lol....

interresting reading....

http://illinoisissues.uis.edu/features/2004july/cougar.html

I'll try to get a map together that shows where all of this is relationship to each other....

Very cool GS, seems like ever few years up this way someone out in the bush see's a black cat or hears a terrible scream from something, set the tender vitals out and pull up the lawn chair place tripod in front and get ready for some pics, I wanna see one, please, please, please.......... YOU just know that there has to still be some around, regardless of what the "officials" say. have ya thought of getting some plaster in them prints?, just to have around as a conversation piece.

Wow! that article is very interesting..now, Im gonna be on the look out too...lol

Yes, that was a very interesting article. As it pointed out, we in the midwest have gotten used to not having large predators around who consider us a potential part of their diet. I'd prefer to stay off their menu myself, but at the same time I also realize this area had cougars far earlier than it had houses and shopping malls.

There ws a recent post in Wayne or Clay Co about a husband and wiife losing one of their 1/4 horses due to a large bite in the hindquarter. A bunch...3-4 nieghbors reported seeing a pair of big cats (fawn colored) in adjacent fields in preceding months.http://www.courierpress.com/news/2007/sep/06/big-cat-blamed-in-death-of-quarter-horse/

Seems like more and more are being spotted? Those comments were cracking me up too......lol

Hard to tell on the small pic, I can't see any nail impressions... cats don't leave nail marks where canines do...

A print like that here would be pretty old due to lack of rain....

Hard to tell on the small pic, I can't see any nail impressions... cats don't leave nail marks where canines do...

A print like that here would be pretty old due to lack of rain....

Actually it's not an old print..while there hasn't been much rain the one downpour ( I think Wed night) they got made it soft..and it's pretty soft dirt anyway...in the corn field..I was leaving tracks with my boots...

no nails marks that I could see..

I wish I had some better pics..hopefully soon we'll have a trailcam up and can maybe catch the devil on it...

The Waterman Hill was real good on cougar info in IL... The latest copy Jim told why ILDNR won't list it as a specie... $$$.... if listed it would cost big $$$ in studies and such, protection, and other stuff... but it all boiled down to $$$

here is his info... I'll miss this publication, unless Ruby keeps it alive... They are kind enought to provide our so-lunar tables (til the end of the year anyway...)

http://www.naturealmanac.com/cougars/index.html

Thanks Bob! I was there yesterday..I am like you I will really miss this publication...it was one of my favorites...