Oh, here’s one we never figured out. Look at the linked video:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/21895755
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Thanks for your comments. I did not see enough evidence in that track to make a research grade identification. It’s got a point on the trailing edge of the metatarsal pad, making the shape all wrong. Black bears have a wedge of fur on their hind feet that should have shown up in the snow substrate. The “toes” also show snow on top of where imprints should be, making me suspect this was made by a man-made object, not a bear’s foot. There are no views of the overall trail or track pattern that would offer supporting evidence to identify it as bear. May I ask what characteristics you are seeing in this track that makes you 100% certain that it was from a black bear?
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There is no indication that the track in question is a double register. Where the metatarsal pad should be does not show any indication of having a front track underneath it. To make the track so perfect would require perfect register, which is difficult for black bears, particularly in deep substrate. The tracks in the stock photo you linked to show a drag mark in the snow, which is why the tracks appear to come to a point. Experienced trackers can read that in the tracks, and the track in the post in question does not show any evidence of a drag mark. The brown bear tracks in the stock images also show a relatively pointed heel, but compare them to the very sharp point on the track in question. It is not physically possible for a bear’s foot to leave a sharp edge as shown in the original photo. Thus I still suspect it is man-made, not a black bear track. Please give some characteristics you see in this track that make you 100% certain that it was made by a black bear.
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We really need to see views showing the trail and the track pattern. Single track identification is problematic since a single track can show characteristics non-typical for the tracks of the species. That said, your track had a relatively sharp point and edge, which wouldn’t be made by a bear’s foot. One of the trackers who responded on that observation has studied bears for many years and tracked them for days at a time. I trust her judgement, as well as that of my qualified tracking colleagues.
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The shape, size, and trailing edge, as well as the toe/claw marks all indicate bear to me. It’s clearly not an immediately fresh print, the snow appears to have sublimated somewhat, both distorting the print and resulting in differential melting (more compressed parts of the snow melting less), and there has been fresh snowfall on it, further hiding the details. All that leads to it being much less clear of a print than it could be.
There is a slight ridge behind the heel with a bit of ice crust ridges in it, it looks like the foot or the heel dragged through that before the foot struck the ground, elongating the heel mark and making it look longer and more pointed than it is. The actual print starts upward of that bent blade of grass where the snow is flat.
I included mention of a double register to indicate that prints are not always textbook perfect, even when they’re in good conditions, not necessarily to say that it was a double register. That said, the double arc of snow on leading edge of the print does look a bit like two slightly off center prints not overlapping perfectly. It could also just be the snow of the print sidewall collapsing too though, so that’s neither here nor there.
More photos of the surroundings and other tracks would definitely have cleared the issue up, but in my experience with bears and with snow in a wide variety of conditions, this looks like a bear track to me.
Hey folks, let’s keep detailed conversations about an observation on the observation itself.
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Well, if so, it’s a one-off. If it was a manufactured toy, we would expect to see others just like it from the same factory; my reverse image search turned up nothing close.
Sure, could be a one off, even without being a toy (prop, Halloween decoration, art project, injection molding hobbyist, etc)
Or could be mass produced but not online, ie, something very old. Or not popular. Or not sold online.
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reverse image search is not limited to ‘items for sale’
I use that function to see where my blog images are scraped to.
PS https://www.google.com/search?q=soft+plastic+fishing+lures
Sob. There is already enough plastic waste in our oceans and on our beaches! I have retrieved one ‘fish’ which was very convincing to the merely human eye.
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Right, but something NOT existing on reverse image search doesn’t mean it was never sold either. That was my point to Jason; just because there isn’t a good match in image search doesn’t mean it wasn’t mass-produced and sold.
[Addendum: at least this one ended up in a vent (and after that, a landfill?) instead of the ocean]
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I thought the same when I saw the image (before I saw your comment). So you aren’t the only one.
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I hope this isn’t too off topic but I just remembered that this exists and since there’s some discussion of cryptids here I’ll share :) Thought it might interest some people
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Definitely a blurry skunk.
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H.R. Giger came back to life and took up soft sculpture.
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https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/92342579
wierdest thing found soo far. No idea what!
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Mighty strange! Wishing for more photos or video.
I haven’t found anything especially strange yet, but I think about this fox a lot. I’ve never seen one with fur that looked quite like this and I can’t help but wonder what caused that color. So pretty! This pearl crescent is a strange one as well because it’s much darker than usual.
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It seems to be a common color morph there, which seems to be amber https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/80422807. As those are introduced foxes I wonder if they’re from fur stock, there’re a lot of different shades of fox fur that are bred.
https://crowcalled.tumblr.com/post/129046481261/amber-fox-kit-vulpes-vulpes-color-variant-of-red
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Well, people seem to be commenting on tiny gray moth; the item it is allegedly perched on is obviously a nut hull.
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