Identify The Mystery Tracks

Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 20th, 2009

What made the following mystery tracks?

These newly found prints measured approximately 8 inches long/4 inches wide and appeared to have only three toes. The individual finding them was quite startled and rain set in before he could get a cast of some sort. But he did take these three photos. The prints appeared overnight, in construction work near a new backyard patio.

For the time being, I am going to leave out the location, and throw the floor open to guesses as to what animal made the tracks (one clear and one partial are visible).


Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.


23 Responses to “Identify The Mystery Tracks”

  1. lukedog responds:

    Dang! No location no fair Loren. If you confirm my neck of the woods I can confirm its my cousin Jethro.

  2. Dj Plasmic Nebula responds:

    I would say some kind of canid. Three toes though. I don’t know. A sloth maybe?? Coyote? wolf? unknown variety of wolf//sloth//coyote//bear??

  3. Insanity responds:

    Are there any measurements available?
    Although the brick and board could be used for reference, without knowing what sizes those objects are, you cannot determine the size of the prints. Is the board a 1×4, 2×4?

    My first impression is that there are four contact points, not connected together such as a foot. There is no impression in the dirt between the “foot” and the “toes” which would likely be there if the toes where indeed connected to the foot. Either that or the toes are curled deeply and the phalanges are well over the dirt level. You can see that there is a faint impression between the far right “toe” and the “foot” almost looking like there is a foot portion, a big toe/thumb, then two smaller toes.

    Other observation, a “trail” is almost visible, curving slightly and leading up to the left toe.

    Where there any other prints forming a trail? A wide view of the area would have been useful, to see the layout of any trail of these prints and others that may be in the area.

    My guess is rabbit, they have two longer hindfeet, and then two smaller forefeet. Perhaps the orientation is reverse, look at it with the longer portion going forward, as rabbits run with their hindfeet landing in front of their forefeet. Perhaps in initially was landing on the board, misstepped and shifted its foot over. Maybe running from a predator, airborn or wolf.

  4. OceanicCryptozoology responds:

    Since I see no markings of claws or four “toes”, that excludes a variety of possibilities. I think that if this is a cryptid, it would be something similar to the Loveland Frogman, or another species of man-like frog. I highly doubt that this is anything like the Black Beast of Exmoor.

  5. jtmkryptos responds:

    well, it does look very similar to a loveland’s prints but as posted above no place of origin no fair… it could be a very easily doen hoax… i just have one qustion how could a creature that seems from the prints bipedal have such small feet and yet be make such a deep track…

  6. raisinsofwrath responds:

    I say it’s an Emu

  7. jadewhiskey responds:

    My initial thought – Jackrabbit. Hard to say for sure. Would be interesting to know the location.

  8. Adidas182ia responds:

    Tapir.

  9. Asphalt Prophet responds:

    Crop circle Fairy

  10. korollocke responds:

    They are bogus, they look just like the Crazy Tracks print makers for sale on Ebay.

  11. Bishop responds:

    Fakes. They are far too clean and regular like they were punched into the ground. The depth is all the same. The joke is the photos are all the right foot so I question if they even made a pair of fake feet. I’ve seen hundreds of wild foot prints and they all have obvious marks where the foot came in and exited the print and the depth is always varied. These could have been made by a cookie cutter they are so perfect. I’ve seen far better fakes.

  12. OceanicCryptozoology responds:

    Well if we are saying it’s a cryptid, it could as well be a Jackalope. They have rabbit-like footprint, for they are, after all, half rabbit.

  13. Cryptoanonymous responds:

    Prankster

  14. Fhqwhgads responds:

    What do you mean “tracks”? These are all pictures of one “footprint” from different angles. In once case the brick has been removed, but details such as the leaf just to the left of the “footprint” show that they all show the same thing. Without more than one print, it’s really hard to justify the interpretation of this as a footprint.

    For what I know, the 3 “toes” might be the three legs of a tripod that has not been folded out. The rest of the “print” then looks remarkably rectangular, consistent with it being from something man-made.

    In other words, this could be a chance association of impressions that are being misinterpreted as a footprint, the way “ghost photographs” often involve the mind’s tendency to see faces everywhere.

    That’s the nice interpretation. Otherwise, I’d agree with Bishop: It’s too clean to be real.

  15. Loren Coleman responds:

    Not sure what the tracks (one complete, the other smeared) are of, although the following came to mind…

    a tool

    human hand, partial

    hare track, partial

    It was found near the construction of a patio in Devon, UK, and thus I imagined near a proper English garden, known for its bunnies.

    But it could be anything. Although I doubt it is a tapir.

  16. Steleheart responds:

    They look to me like overlapping deer tracks made by a running deer. The last view shows this most clearly. The anterior portion of the front hoof being obliterated by the hind hoof and pushing sand forward, making it appear to be seperate ‘toes’.

  17. erinmar13 responds:

    i agree that if they are indeed real prints and not fake, then they are probably rabbit tracks.

  18. Sune responds:

    I’d say it is footprints belonging to Wallace in the process of becoming the were-rabbit.. which also fits well in with the location..

  19. captainadam_21 responds:

    If you look closely at the last photograph, it appears to be a rabbit track. The right toe, appears to extend down, and parallels the ‘foot’. This looks to actually be the rabbits right foot. It is possible that the rabbit was lame, which caused it to not put as much pressure on the foot, thus leaving a less pronounced indentations. The remaining two ‘two’ then actually are the front feet of that rabbit.

  20. cryptidsrus responds:

    Sune:

    You’re right. Could well be Wallace, indeed. Beware the Wererabbit!!! 🙂

    Otherwise (and seriously): I agree with Loren— looks like Hare/Rabbit tracks.

  21. norman-uk responds:

    Looks artificial like a doodle. End of a piece of wood marking the ground and someone has pressed the end of a trowel handle into the ground with some care to make ‘toe’ prints. Altrenatively could be a childs footprint-heel next to ‘toe’ prints added at the wrong end. I doubt it is any animal known or unknown.

  22. JMonkey responds:

    I am going to go with “Purple People Eater” which was discovered and brought to light by Sheb Wooley in 1958. LOL.

    On a serious note maybe a rhea or other bird made these, though there is no sign of a point or claw. I am actually stumped lest these are fakes.

  23. Sonnyb responds:

    Very interesting to say the least. Might want to set up a game camera and see what happens.

Sorry. Comments have been closed.

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