Every good story deserves a sequel, and that includes the tale of the "Mountain Lion That Wasn't" along the Turtle River west of Grand Forks.
The story first crossed my desk a couple of weeks back, when a reader e-mailed photos of some very large tracks he'd spotted while hiking in Turtle River State Park.
Not being in expert in mountain lion tracks, I
e-mailed a handful of people who are, including Stephanie Tucker, the furbearer biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Bismarck. Tucker, in her job with Game and Fish, probably has done more work with mountain lions the past couple of years than any biologist in the region.
Her assessment -- and the conclusion of every other biologist I contacted -- was that the tracks were made by a canine and not a mountain lion. The claws were visible in the tracks, for one thing. That's rarely apparent in mountain lions and other cats, which have retractable claws.
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Tucker and the others I contacted also pointed out other differences, including the shape of the pads and the way the toes of the tracks at Turtle River State Park were splayed outward. That, too, is consistent with critters of the canine kind.
That solved one part of the mystery, but it still left in question the identity of the canine that had made the large tracks.
Late Friday night, an
e-mail showed up in my inbox that I'm confident will officially put the mystery to rest.
A reader who lives near Arvilla, N.D., just south across U.S. Highway 2 from Turtle River State Park, sent a note saying, "I think I know the culprit of the tracks on the picture that was sent to you."
He also provided two photos, one of him standing next to his pet Old English Mastiff (the dog appears to be about the size of a small horse) and another showing a set of tracks made by said Old English Mastiff.
The tracks bear a striking resemblance to those found at Turtle River State Park.
Old English Mastiffs, of course, are very large dogs. According to Wikipedia, adults can weigh as much as 250 pounds, and the average shoulder height is 30 inches for males and 27½ inches for females. It stands to reason dogs that size also leave behind some very large tracks.
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"We walk him there all the time," the reader wrote, "and no, he is not a mountain lion.
"He might look like one though."
So there you have it: The very large tracks most likely were made by an Old English Mastiff that goes by the name of Dontae.
Unless someone can prove otherwise, I'm declaring this case "mystery solved."
Dokken reports on outdoors. Reach him at (701) 780-1148; (800) 477-6572, ext. 148; or send e-mail to bdokken@gfherald.com .
