RCAF Pilot Discovers Mysterious Footprint During Alberta Survival Training

A Royal Canadian Air Force pilot named Mark McDonald, call sign "Grizz," was on a 48-hour survival training mission in the remote wilderness near Cold Lake, Alberta. Dropped off alone with minimal gear—a knife, ferro rod, small pot, tarp, and an SOS beacon—he set up a makeshift shelter against a large boulder and started a fire. While collecting water from a stream, he spotted deer on the far side and paused to watch them. As he approached the stream to fill his pot, he noticed a large, wide footprint in the mud beside the water. The print didn't match any animal he could identify—no clear claw marks, and it didn't resemble a grizzly, cougar, or elk track. Though he couldn't be certain what made it, the size and shape of the print gave him pause as he made his way back to camp to boil his water.