You don’t have to be deep in the forest to be an animal tracker. Animal footprints are often as close as your backyard or garden. Take a look at these animal track pictures and charts—showing footprints in both snow and mud. Now, you can identify which wild animal walked through your yard last night!
How to Track Animals and Identify Animal Tracks
Tracking is something that you learn best by doing. Get out there and look! Here are a few tips:
- Animal tracks are easiest to find in mud, soft garden soil, sand, and snow.
- Study the ground closely. Get down on your hands and knees. Note the size of the track and whether it shows claw marks. You may wish to make a sketch.
- Track early in the morning or late in the day when shadows make prints easier to see.
- Watch for animal droppings called scat. The scat will also help you track the animal. If the scat is dry all the way through, the tracks may have been left a while ago. On the other hand, if it’s still moist, it indicates recent activity. Not only can it provide valuable information about the timing of the animal’s presence, but it can also give clues about their diet. Scat can tell you if you’re tracking a vegetarian or a meat eater.
- In case you lose the trail, don’t panic. Simply widen your search by scanning the area in a circular motion around the last track you found. This method increases your chances of picking up the trail again. Remember, patience is key when tracking animals.
- The most important tip of all: don’t get lost! While tracking animals can be an exciting adventure, it’s crucial to prioritize your safety. Always be aware of your surroundings and avoid getting lost. Carry a map, compass, or GPS device to ensure you can find your way back. Additionally, inform someone about your tracking plans and estimated return time.
By following these tips and staying cautious, you can enhance your tracking skills and gain a deeper understanding of the wildlife around you. So, grab your gear, head out into nature, and embark on a thrilling animal tracking expedition.
Animal Track Pictures in the Winter Snow
For those living in snowy regions, winter can be a great time to observe and identify animal tracks. The white canvas of snow makes it easier to spot tracks and decipher their characteristics. Take a moment to examine these common animal tracks and familiarize yourself with their distinct patterns.
Animal Track Pictures in the Mud
Here are the same animal tracks as they might look in a muddy garden or backyard!
We love all these animals, but if they are destroying your garden, here are simple ways to deter common critters:
Deer, mice, moles, rabbits, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, voles, and woodchucks or groundhogs.
Have you seen any animal tracks in your backyard lately? Tell us about it below!
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Wow—what wonders you see! You share your environment with quite a menagerie! Watching the night activity may be, as you say, not so enjoyable; our thought ran more along the lines of encountering it, if you (anyone) venture outside after dark!
We're sorry that you are having trouble with an animal getting to your chickens! What that predator is depends on where you live. The next time you see a print, check to see how many toes are showing, if there are claw impressions [cat family, for example, usually do not have their claws out unless the terrain is slippery; dog family (coyote, fox, etc) often show claw marks], and the overall vertical and horizontal measurements. If there is more than one print, see if you can tell how the animal traveled--if the paws were one after the other, or sort of staggered, etc. Some animals sometimes overlap a hind foot on a front foot print; occasionally, this can be mistaken for a huge single paw print instead of 2 prints one on top of the other. If the print was truly a single print, and was 5 inches across on not-too-soft ground (not mud or snow, which might exaggerate the measurements), and the animal was the one that was interested in your chickens, then it might possibly be a bear, whose adult paw prints can be anywhere between 3.5 to 8 or more inches, depending on species. However, usually bears would be more destructive--just plowing through a fence rather than pulling something through it. Bears do sometimes go after chickens, or more often, chicken feed. Make sure that any chicken feed is covered so as to discourage them and other animals. Dogs, cats, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, opossums, fishers, etc. may go after chickens, but a 5-inch paw print is too large for those animals -- except perhaps a large breed of domestic dog, which can, depending on the breed and individual, have a paw print of up to about 4.75 inches (in certain substrates, especially if a paw might sink into it, the print might appear larger). If the chicken snatching is unrelated to the paw print, it might be a hawk, owl, or other bird of prey. Sometimes they sit on a fence and keep an eye out for meals, but their prints are much different, and not large. Hope this helps!
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