Identifying Animal Tracks and other Wildlife Tracking Skills
Identifying animal tracks & sign, as well as interpreting and trailing, are primary skills of the wildlife tracker. Historically, animal tracking skills helped people find food, avoid dangerous predators, and read the stories on the landscape. Wildlife tracking skills continue to be valuable today and are being employed in wildlife research, conservation, and outdoor education. Learning animal tracking can open up an unseen world, a window into the lives of shy and elusive animals. Tracks, scat, feeding sign, beds, scent marking, trails and other types of animal sign point to which animals passed by, what they did, where they went, and much more. Seemingly barren ground becomes alive with a diversity of fascinating information. This section of the online library contains an expanding offering of animal tracking articles, as well as many pictures of animal tracks & sign. Articles often include references to excellent books, resources, and classes. We hope you enjoy these resources. You can peruse the articles below and/or sign up to the
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Wildlife Tracking Articles: How to Identify Deer Tracks from Similar Footprints Illustrations and track characteristics highlighting key features that can be used to identify deer tracks from other hoofed mammals within the same size range. (read more) Bobcat Tracks: Determining Male versus Female Bobcat tracks often display characteristics that allow one to determine the gender of the animal that passed by. (read more) Tracking Owls & Woodpeckers: Mar 2008 issue of the Alderleaf eNewsletter Zygo-what? All owls and woodpeckers have a unique footprint that can be easily identified... (read more) Mountain Lion Tracks and Sign: A Field Guide Account Key characteristics for identifying mountain lion tracks and sign. (read more) Trailing Tips: Oct 2007 back-issue of the Alderleaf eNewsletter Guest instructor, Adriaan Louw, shared tips for trailing animals through difficult terrain... (read more) Mice & Vole Tracks: Sept 2007 back-issue of the Alderleaf eNewsletter Learning to Differentiate Vole, Jumping Mouse, and Deer Mouse Tracks... (read more) To learn about identifying animal tracks and other tracking skills check out the Wildlife Tracking Apprenticeship.
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