Backs of ears and 2 whisker patches on upper lip dark. Young buff with black spots. Tracks Prints quite round, usually with all 4 lower toes showing but no claw marks, as claws are retracted. Lobed heel pad has single scalloped edge at front, double scalloped edge at rear. Tracks usually in a fairly straight line, staggered in pairs, with hind foot track close to or overlapping forefoot track but seldom registering precisely within it.
Longer gaps indicate bounding, when all feet come down close togeth er.
It can outrun a deer, but only for short distances. The blo odcurdling mating call has been likened to a scream. Literature Cited MacMahon, J. A. 1985. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, pgs. A Field Guide to the Mammals .