Look what David found when he went out to check on the chickens:
That’s 21 inches between the prints of the back feet.
And it had company:
The tracks started behind our guest house, went in our front yard, up to the back door (!), out to the chicken coop, circled it and then down to the pond. After talking to some folks “in the know” and doing some research on our own, it seems we were visited by a wolf and probably her pup. I once saw a wolf crossing our driveway. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that’s what it was. It was HUGE! Lisa saw one out here once, too. At first we thought it might be a cougar and a neighbor does have a video of one crossing his front yard a number of years ago. However, closer scrutiny and a bit of research has convinced us we were visited by a wolf . Or maybe even a werewolf! 😉
Don has a book on animal tracks. The best way to know if it was a wolf was whether or not it traveled in a straight line to and from your chicken coop (wolves don't wander like dogs). But looking at those prints by the tape measure… yeah. I'd say you had a Big Bad Wolf come by.
Oh no! Keep an eye on your chickens. I hope the mama and baby aren't too hungry.
Could be a fox. The tracks look similar to the fox tracks around here. Fox and the henhouse and all that…
That would be one gigantic fox. 😉 The top photo shows the tracks next to David's size 11 boot. David showed the pictures to someone who worked for some wildlife department and he positively confirmed it as a wolf.