pets Footprints In The Wild
Animals can be identified using their footprints. Several features contained within an animal footprint can be used to aid in the identification of an animal. Amongst these features, the most common and most used by humans to manually identify the animal is the number and size of blobs in the footprint.
Relative Sizes Across Families
The tracks that animals leave are not only indications of what species they are but also clues as to their life history, habitats, and movements. Wild animals are generally wary of humans, and much of their activity remains undetected by our eyes. But even if they themselves are not seen, they leave a record of their existence by their tracks. This book is designed to serve as an introduction to recognizing and appreciating the hundreds of different kinds of tracks that we can find in the United States, and includes those of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. With keen observence, not only will you be better able to determine which animal made a certain track, but you will also allow yourself to become closer to their world, their habits, and their secrets. I list here some of the more common animal tracks you are likely to encounter in the United States. There are, of course, many others that are not included, but most will be similar to the individual species or animal families listed here, and will give you a starting point to refining your searches and your understanding of the wild world, from mountaintops to seashores to desert plains.
Footprint Features : Parts of a Track
When you come across a clear track in mud, sand or soft soil one of the most useful things to do is to count the number of toes and claws. This information alone is often enough to place the track in a given family. Then, by analyzing the track’s shape and size, you can usually identify the species. When a track is made, the heel slides into the ground, registers and pulls out. No track will register straight down. There is always some angled component (looking at the track cross-section) either from the foot entering or the foot leaving. The softer the soil, the greater the slope of the wall creating a larger distortion between the overall track and the true track. Most people don’t read the true track. They read the horizon cuts (overall track) which does not give the true track measurement. The true track is the only real measurement for tracking. If you read the overall track you could not tell the difference between a dog track and a coyote track. E.g. on a dog the inner toes are larger than the outer toes; on a coyote the outer toes are larger. But this distinction will not show on the overall track.
Footprints In The Wild : Patterns and Measurements
There are a number of different types of locomotion patterns. 90 - 95% of the time an animal will use this method of locomotion. In each case below the gait described is the normal walking pattern for that animal. As the animals speed changes this pattern will change (ex. moving slowly, in pursuit, being chased).