Tracking

The world is full of animals we never see. It takes some effort to see them and sometimes you  see only the track, the scat or some other sign. I feel lucky to have caught even fleeting glimpses of cougars and bobcats. But I have found their tracks – I am sure that they knew  I was there long before I found the tracks.  We can track animals with GPS collars and other tracking technologies – much as we track each other with GPS chips in our cars, phones and other communication devices.  The information obtained is powerful and very useful for conservation and management purposes.  But I still enjoy seeing the actual animal as I amble through the woods.  Finding evidence that the animal has been there is a good second best.

Here are some photos of a few mammal tracks I have found.

Bobcat

Cougar

Black bear cub track in sand

Black bear sow and cub tracks in late fall

Mountain Caribou

Otters!

A coyote has been here

Raccoon

Elk

Red Squirrel

White-tailed Deer

Snowshoe Hare

all writing and photos copyright Joanne Siderius