Strange Animal

It snowed last night and even though much of it thawed by the time I came home at 8PM, the driveway and yard still had snow. I saw strange animal tracks in the snow and have no idea what created them.



So far I have received comments about elk, but the rounded pads are not that of an elk. It was also suggested that it was a snow shoe hare, but the foot print is 6 inches long, 3 inches wide...a gigantic hare if that's what created the print.

A strange creature entering our yard might explain why the cat's food bowl on the front porch needs to be refilled so often.

We live two miles from downtown Tacoma in a populated neighborhood with side streets that are busy with traffic. What animal would be in this area?

Anyone with ideas on who this creature is?