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Even with the magic of modern technology, we don’t always get clear photographs.
That is especially true when the subject — in this case an animal — is walking across a remote bridge, in the dark, in front of a camera positioned a considerable distance away.
Such is the scenario for today’s trail camera photo, which comes to us courtesy of Neil Brackley, by way of Al and Joyce Brackley of Sitka, Alaska.
The Brackleys provided the photo, which was taken Monday in Franklin County, northwest of Farmington. They want Bangor Daily News readers to get a look at the animal pictured and are curious to know what other folks think it might be.
“We have shown it to family members and several others, including a Maine game warden with many years of service,” Al Brackley said. “It would be interesting to see what other people would call the animal.”
While the image provided is better than the quality of your average Bigfoot photo, there is enough fuzziness and lack of detail to peak one’s interest.
The creature striding across the bridge appears to be some type of large cat. I’m no biologist, but let’s say, for starters, that the photo was taken in a location where a bobcat, or even a Canada lynx, might be found.
Then again, this cat has some physical attributes that might cause even the most cynical wildlife observers to at least entertain the thought that it could be something else. An even larger cat, perhaps.
Al Brackley, a University of Maine forestry graduate, said he has spent lots of time over the years in the state’s spruce/fir forests. An acquaintance believed it might have the characteristics of a mountain lion.
“Note the stringers on the bridge are 16 feet in length and if you start applying ratios the animal is larger than would be expected for a bobcat or lynx,” Al Brackley said.
What’s missing in the photo is a key element: a good view of the animal’s tail. We could certainly rule out certain species based on what the tail looks like. In this case, we really can’t see it.
Many people in Maine claim to have seen mountain lions, but others remain skeptical, wondering why nobody has ever come forward with trail camera photos, bones, tissue or hair that prove their existence.
So, what kind of cat do you think we’re seeing in the photo?
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