wtnhunt Posted January 12, 2017 Report Share Posted January 12, 2017 Cat or deer are all i could figure. A couple wrist sized cedars up the hill from there i know a deer hit probably about the same time. Have not had a picture of a bobcat in a couple years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
im your huckleberry Posted January 12, 2017 Report Share Posted January 12, 2017 Agreed. Any cougar in that area? Besides the lounges lol. I am not totally sure how a black bear marks his. Looks like some sort of claw marks just above your hand in the pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2017 23 minutes ago, im your huckleberry said: Agreed. Any cougar in that area? Yes, the state actually confirmed the presence of cougars last year with confirmed sightings or trail cam pics north west of here and then more later about 15 or so miles to our east. This is a trail that parallels an old channel of a river. We had what we thought could be big cat tracks not far from this a few years ago. Next tree down was also hit but not as bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUDRUNNER Posted January 12, 2017 Report Share Posted January 12, 2017 No idea how a cougar marks it's territory. The height of them is pretty comparable to a buck rub. I would think if it was some kind of animal that climbs it would continue on up the tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2017 No idea about a cougar making territory either. Dunno how big of a deer rubs this size tree. Getting close to the size of a utility pole. Biggest buck i think is still around is probably a 2.5 year old 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted January 12, 2017 Report Share Posted January 12, 2017 Looks like a deer hit them a little bit to me but it doesn't look like they were hit recently. I see trees that are hit by deer in MS and in MO that look like that every year. Very good chance it was a mature buck hitting trees that size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted January 12, 2017 Report Share Posted January 12, 2017 I'm going with a buck rub, he got his brow tines to mark that....just did not tear it up much...bear stand on hind legs to mark trees, I asume a cat would be much higher up also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 1 hour ago, Rhino said: Looks like a deer hit them a little bit to me but it doesn't look like they were hit recently. I see trees that are hit by deer in MS and in MO that look like that every year. Very good chance it was a mature buck hitting trees that size. Don't usually get trees quite that size hit here. Around the other side was also hit but was not as fresh. Been over a month since i killed my second buck, i think this has been more recent than the past month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
im your huckleberry Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 Cats start high then go to about the same place for height off the ground, but the tree bark isn't ripped enough for a big cat. A mature buck can make those marks without to much trouble. Another question are there Elk in the area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 18 hours ago, wtnhunt said: Don't usually get trees quite that size hit here. Around the other side was also hit but was not as fresh. Been over a month since i killed my second buck, i think this has been more recent than the past month. Sounds like a good time to set a camera up near them and see if he's still around. I haven't had much luck in the past setting cams up on rubs but if there's a trail near it, it's worth trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 I will probably put a camera angling down that trail on Monday. No elk here that i know of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
im your huckleberry Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 Think your going to be surprised at the buck doing that, could be the next one on your wall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdoc Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 interesting. Does look like it could have been claws but probably a buck. Look forward to seeing trail cam pics. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 Velociraptor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 I'm going with a buck! Originally I thought bear or cougar but the marks would be farther up for a bear like Martin said. The second pic the marks look to be about the same distance apart. The upper mark he may have had his head tilted to the left causing the offset in the marks and being a bit closer together. Maybe I'm reading into it too much. Will be interesting to see what the cam pics reveal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 Definitely interesting. i would guess a good size buck. Was there a pile of bark rubbings at the tree base? Seems too low for a cat but at just the right height for a buck to hang his head down and rub the tree. Seems a cat would be higher and less gnarly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 Biggest buck we had pics of in that area I think was probably a 2.5 year old busted up 8 point that is about 15.5 to 16 inches inside. He was still alive on Jan 3rd. I have a camera on that trail now, hopefully get pics of the perpetrator in the act. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OKstate Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 Looks like marks from a back to me.... but I have no experience with cats or bears around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger-Hunter Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 (edited) After much analysis (10 min). No freakin' clue. Edited January 17, 2017 by Stinger-Hunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted March 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 So far nothing special or out of the ordinary on the camera I hung looking towards those rubs. Couple nice young 8 pts have been along that trail, will definitely be a place I hang a camera over the summer and into next fall. Not so sure this guy would have made those rubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted March 16, 2017 Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 While I have seen buck rubs like these, if you Google image "Cougar tree scratching" it sure looks like what you got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted March 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2017 1 hour ago, RangerClay said: While I have seen buck rubs like these, if you Google image "Cougar tree scratching" it sure looks like what you got. The state has had confirmed big cats to our west and our east. The river bottom here is no doubt a good travel route with stretches of miles of unbroken cover. Still think it is likely we had one move through a few years back, had posted pics of large tracks that the pads looked to match pics I found online of a cougar. I will probably continue to run that camera for a while. We did get a deer I never knew was around until recently that I think could be responsible on a different camera a good ways from that trail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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