Mysterious creature at Big Tree

While the ranger was taking the measurements of our Eastern White pine, I was looking around at some interesting footprints in the snow. Unfortunately my camera battery died so I was not able to get a photo of the prints.

However, they were a mystery to me and the ranger, though he did speculate. He said they weren't big enough for a bear. That's good I thought, so I suggested it might be a bobcat. He didn't think so. He said, "Maybe a coyote."

After he finished with the tree statistics, we looked at the prints more closely. They were about 4 inches across and the steps were close together. I'm thinking a coyote would have longer strides. He concluded it wasn't making deep tracks, so it wouldn't weigh much.

The word wolverine did come up, but not knowing what a wolverine was, I didn't exactly get excited. The ranger only mentioned that it might be.

We didn't dwell on the tracks long and I was anxious to get home so he could add up his numbers for our tree. Later, I wished I had taken actual measurements of the prints, stride and looked at front and back foot differences. My hind sight has always been 100 percent.

I looked up wolverine on the internet and chose not to believe that's what we have living around our tree. He did have steps leading from the right and left sides of the tree. And, wolverines do like to wander about in the snow.

Tom assures me they don't attack people, but they are vicious and have many names such as devil of the woods, skunk bear and others.

While I was waiting on the ranger, I heard a strange knocking sound coming from the area of the tree. It was a bit spooky and I moved around to see if the wind was making some of the limbs knock together. I didn't see anything.

There is a pile of brush in the gully at the base of the tree. Is this where my creature lives? Was he warning me away from his home? I don't think I will be taking a moonlight walk anytime soon down to my tree alone or otherwise.