Transcript Animal Track Notes - Yorkville High School

Animal Tracking
&
Animal Sign
Environmental Biology
How do we know what animals are in
our area?
– Are tracks the only clues we
have?
– Are these the only sign that
animals leave?
No…Animal sign might include…
A. Scat and Pellets.
What can this tell us?
B. Trails, Runs and Escape Routes
C. Dens, Burrows, Beds, Lays and
Nests
What functions do burrows, nests,
beds provide?
D. Gnaws, Chews, Rubs,and marking
signs.
Also look for tooth marks, tracks, scat, or even tufts of hair
around sign such as this.
These markings tell you
what animal made them…
E. Bones, Teeth, Fur and Feathers
If you really know your
animals, you can tell what
animal the fur is from.
E. Bones, Teeth, Fur and Feathers
There’s a lot more to tracking than
just footprints!!
…Scat and Pellets,
…Dens, Burrows, Beds, Lays and Nests,
…Trails, Runs and Escape Routes,
…Bones, Teeth, Fur and Feathers,
…Gnaws, chews and rubs, marking signs
and feeding areas.
• All of these can help us learn about
wildlife in our area….
But track basics are where we will
start!
As we learn how to read and
understand tracks, we will also learn
more about how to use other clues
What is an animal track?
What can a track tell us?
• A track is an imprint of the animal’s foot.
• A record of the animal’s movement.
• A clue about an animal’s behaviors.
• Remember; animals don’t cover their tracks!
"Tracking is like learning to read. First you
start with the ABC's then you work up to
simple sentences, then to paragraphs and
finally to books. Ultimately, with practice,
you can read very difficult books with a
great deal of hidden meaning.”
"A track is a window to the past of an animal. Look
at the ground as if it were a manuscript of the
animal's life."
GAITS= pattern of
tracks (how they put
their feet down!)
• Each animal has typical
patterns of tracks in certain
situations (i.e. walking,
running, etc.)
• “Assume all animals can do
all gaits”
• F= front feet (FF)
R= rear feet (RF)
Basic Gait Patterns (4)
1. Diagonal Walkslike a baby crawling.
• Back right foot moves
with front left foot.
• Normal gait for fairly
long legs.
• Dogs, cats and hoofed
animals when moving
more slowly (walking)
Register-
how front
& back prints relate
to each other
A. Direct Register-
•
•
R foot perfectly fits
in front track so
you see only 1 print
All cats and red fox
F foot is generally
bigger then R foot
(opposite of normal)
Register
B. Indirect Register- R
foot touches track left
by F foot (but not in)
*deer, coyote, domestic
dog (way off!)
* May be indirect at
times, even if
normally direct or no
register- see cat
print!
Register
C. No registerF and R prints
do not touch
at all.
Side note……
In deer, you may be
able to tell gender
by the relationship
of F and R tracks
• females- wider at
hip relative to
shoulders
• Males- wider in
shoulders relative
to hips
*make sure you see a SERIES of
tracks!
2. Bounders- “leap frog” Most are
long bodied & short legged animals
• R foot brought up just behind F foot
• Weasel family- skunk, weasel, mink
• Any animal may bound on uneven ground
Sometimes in deep snow you
may see this dumbbell
pattern which is produced
when the animal is not
clearing the snow as they
move (bound or gallop)
3. Gallop- RF lands
in front of FF
• Most power and force
•
•
•
comes from R foot
Gallop is a faster gait
then a bound, used for
“making tracks!”
All rabbits (hares) and
rodents
Wide bodies when
hurrying- beaver,
muskrat, woodchuck,
skunk, raccoon and
muskrat (porcupine,
marmot)
How can you tell if the tracks
were made by a tree or ground
dweller?
• Ground dweller- FF diagonal
(rabbit)
-muscles set up to pivot and turn
• Tree dweller- FF side by side/
vertical (squirrel)
-needs to coordinate feet to climb
*Works for birds as well!
• You can only tell
a bound from a
gallop if you
know which way
they were
traveling!
*How do you tell??????
ALWAYS show
direction of
travel with
arrows
------------>
How fast?
• You can estimate how fast
the animal was traveling by
comparing the stride
measurements
• Increase in space between
FF & RF, & gap between
track sets means faster
speed
• Look for tail drag to
disappear, mud/snow
being thrown & depth of
tracks to increase as speed
up
How to measure stride
• Overall stride is
measured from the
heel on one side to
the next heel on that
side- dogs, cats &
hoofed animals
• Stride of gallopers is
measured from tip of
R toes to back of F
foot (bounders = tip
of F toes to back of R
foot).
canine gallop
• Canines (dog, coyote,
fox) will produce a C
shaped track pattern
when galloping
Deer gallop
• Look at hoof
impressions to
see which way they
were going.
4. Pace- wide bodied animals,
short legs relative to body mass
• Same side RF and
FF move together=
“John Wayne”
• Bear, raccoon,
opossum, skunk,
beaver, muskrat
and woodchuck
(wolverine, badger,
porcupine, marmot)
Pace is a slower, less efficient gate, so
animals usually don’t have major
predators to
worry about.
• Larger frontal
presentation when
strut so the animal
looks bigger
• Bucks in rut will
pace- “don’t mess
with me!”
• Beavers will paceWhat else should you look for
in their trail?
• Skunks
too!
Other tracking measurements
• Length, width of track
• Straddle- distance
between left and right
heels (0 or positive)
• Stride- measured
from the heel of one
foot to the heel of the
other foot
What happened here?
So get on your tracking shoes,
& practice those gaits!
You will only truly understand an animal if
you have walked a mile in their shoes………
I mean feet! Game on………I mean gait on!
Watch how this animal puts it’s feet down as it runs.