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The Easains Pug Marks

On Friday 19/10/01 we followed the route up from Meall Cian Dearg to Stob Choire Mheadhoin and Stob Coire Easain. We saw what looked like the prints of a large cat with claw marks visible on the way up to Mheadhoin and between the two summits. The prints were obviously pretty fresh and we would have been the first people on that route that day - possibly the only ones as we only saw two other people in the distance the whole day and these people appeared to change route or turn back before the first summit.

The tracks were very high and I was surprised as I wouldn't have expected there to be much prey available for them there.

I have tried to photograph the tracks but doubt the detail will be good on the camera I used. The tracks indicated one cat only - I have always imagined wild cats to stick together in packs in the way feral cats do.

Can anyone shed any light? Can you tell me if there have been any sightings of cats in this area?

Joy

Hello Joy,

I'm afraid I am not familiar with the landmarks which you mentioned so I'm not sure which area you were in.

Wildcats are not scarce (estimated population of 3,500) but are very rarely seen. Since the early part of the 20 th century when they were almost exterminated by gamekeepers, they have made a comeback and are found throughout much of the area above the Forth and Clyde, with even a few sightings to the south.

Wild cats may hunt together as a family group when the kittens are young but otherwise they tend to be fairly solitary animals, like many of the cats, excepting lions and male cheetahs.

I'm not an expert on claw marks myself, though we do have some on the UKbigcats mailing list. Visible claw marks tend to be the sign of a dog, although a cat might extend its claws to get a better grip on difficult terrain. Ben Willis, who has a Bobcat says 'On a soft substrate such as sand or mud occasionally the claws are often seen within the tracks. As the mud pushes upward between the pads, the claws are extended much the same as when we hold and press against our domestic cat's paws.'

I initially assumed that you had seen a wildcat's tracks, but from your description of them as large, they might be a big cat? The following photos may help give you some sort of idea, of scale, with the tracks compared in size to a £1 coin, rular or lighter.

The Cupar prints were almost certainly a big cat and the Nunray prints were probably made by a big cat.

This image was initially identified as a big cat and then thought to be a dog.

This image is believed to be that of a dog:

The following is a representation of puma prints which may help you with size, shape and stride.

Detail of tracks

Thanks for this - looking at your pictures and re looking at my cats' feet I now don't think it was a cat. I didn't think to put anything down to compare size. Nobody had been on the hill before us that day and the tracks were obviously fresh in the mud Eassains are near Loch Treig in Central Highlands. An area well populated by deer and sheep in the corries but the tracks were high up.

Picture attached - any suggestions?

Joy

There looks to be claw marks at the front of the prints which suggests 'dog' although obviously at times cats will walk with their claws extended. But I'm certainly not an expert on prints. It would beg the question what would a dog be doing there, the size suggests perhaps a wildcat maybe.

Steve Lee

Regards the Easains prints, is the animal print inside a human footprint, if so it makes the cat print a very small one.

Mark T.

I am no expert on paw prints but because of the small size and tapered toes, I believe the most likely culprit may be a small dog or a fox.

Chris Smith, Scottish Big Cats

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