Animal Tracks

Tracks:

Tracks are a record of who has passed through an area - coyote or rabbit, mouse or wolf. but what about jet vapor trails, tire prints, snail or slug slime? What about a spider web, animal scat or burrows? What about petrified wood or fossils? What about the highways, telephone wires, worn spots on stairways or across a lawn? What about tufts of fur on brushes, or marks of claws on trees?

Take time to notice tracks. Often they are a record of events we might otherwise miss. Animals which are nocturnal, shy or simply not numerous may leave their tracks in the mud or dust - a record to be read later by visitors if they will take the time to look. Tracks can be a statement about the habitat of the animal or reveal its habits - does it walk or jump, roam or stay close to home? As an animal has adapted to a particular habitat or life style, its feet have also modified. the various types of modifications are listed below.

Flat-Foot Walkers:

Let's start with our own feet. Take off your shoes and step firmly on the ground. What part of your foot touches? Your heel, sole of your foot, and toes do. have someone push on you (gently!). It's not too easy to push you over. Flat footed animals (plantigrades) like humans, bears, raccoons, and porcupines walk deliberately and with a great deal of stability. they rely on strength, brains, or special protection for survival, not speed. Notice your own tracks left on the sand or your wet feet on pavement.

Who Are Some Flat-Foot Walkers?

Raccoons - have flat foot-prints that look very much like human prints; note the separate thumb print. thumbs come in handy for grasping and manipulating. Raccoon tracks are commonly found along streams and ponds, including suburban pools. these animals feed on fish, frogs, mice, berries, as well as human garbage, dog or cat food and pets.

Rabbits - have long hind foot prints and short front foot prints. Rabbits do not really run, instead they move in leaps. A series of tracks show the hind footprint before the front print. Practice rabbit style leaps as in the game of "leap frog" and note where your feet land - hind feet before front feet. Rabbit prints are fuzzy because of fur on the bottom of the rabbit's foot. Long hind feet and muscular legs allow for speed and power. A rabbit's diet is mostly grains and grass.

Skunks - the front and hind prints are very similar. The front feet have large toenails useful in digging for insects, grubs and worms. Skunks also eat mice, frogs and fruit. They are primarily nocturnal mammals and live almost any place including farmyards, fields, woods and beneath houses.

Woodrats - their prints are similar to those of a rat. However, their habitats are quite different. Woodrats live in oak woodlands or brushy areas along streams. They construct large rounded nests (up to 4 feet high) of sticks. Woodrats eat seeds, nuts, grains, berries, leaves and grasses. These rodents were considered a delicacy by California native Americans. Their furry tails help to differentiate them from common rats.

Chipmunks - the longer 5-toed front paws are distinct from the shorter 4 toes of the back feet. Chipmunks are small rodents who frequent forests or dense brush. they spend the daytime hours using their front paws to fill their cheek pouches with food to store in their underground burrows. The also use these dexterous toes to dig out their burrows, bury their food supplies and scramble, nimbly through the trees.

Toads - are most active at night, when the air is more moist. Small toads hop along, but as they grow larger will tend to walk, dragging their hind feet behind them. the print left by a sitting toad is quite distinct. Look for the elongated back feet, small 4-toed front feet and the rounded spot where the rump rests.

House Mice - are well adapted to living indoors and out. Mice have tiny, delicate prints. their hind feet are longer than their front paws. they are prolific breeders and eaters, spending most of their waking hours looking for and eating food and rearing their young.

Toe Walkers:

Now sprint across the room. What part of your foot did you use? Your toes! Animals that must rely on speed to capture food, walk only on their toes. they are called digitigrades animals. Dogs and cats move on their toes; their heels are permanently raised. - (See cat and dog prints for similarities and differences). Stand on your toes and have someone push you. Did you have trouble keeping your balance? toe walkers give up stability in order to gain speed. Because the toe walkers place more weight on their padded toes, nail marks may not always show in their tracks.

Why does a deer rustle through the woods while a cat can move silently? Animals that stalk their prey look where to put their front feet so they can move without making noise. They place their hind feet in exactly the same spot as their front feet and thus can move silently; this is called "registering". Animals like cats and wolves register.

Who Are Some Toe Walkers?

Pigeons - are perching birds, they have three toes forward and on toe the rear, a useful adaptation for grasping branches. Climbing birds, like woodpeckers, have 2 toes in front, and 2 toes in back for better balance on tree trunks. Some birds hop when on the ground - like Juncos, and their prints will usually be paired. Birds such as pigeons and gulls, that spend a great deal of time on the ground, don't hop they walk - right and left prints alternate.

Cats - have retractable claws; they are able to pull their claws into sheaths when walking - leaving no claw marks with their tracks. Domestic cat tracks differ mainly in size from those of bobcats or mountain lions. both bobcats and mountain lions are found in our foothills. members of the cat family attempt to cover their scat by scratching soil over it - a good clue for scat identification in the field.

Coyotes - are member of the dog family; they walk on their toes with nails exposed. Coyotes "register" whereas dogs don't, offering a clue for telling them apart. Coyotes hunt at night, thoroughly exploring a field for small rodents and rabbits. they may leave toenail marks when they scratch the ground while hunting. Coyotes have become adapted to living in proximity to humans and their diets reflect this. they will consume human garbage and both wild and domestic fruit, as well as hunt for small animals.

Toenail Walkers:

What if you could push off on your toenails, could you run faster? Some animals' feet have been modified so much that they walk only on enlarger toenails. Ungulates or toenail walkers such as cows, deer and horses are grazers or browsers and rely on speed to escape predators. Could you stand on one toenail? The toenails of mountain goats and sheep are adapted for gripping rocks and scrambling over rugged terrain.

Who Are Some Toenail Walkers?

Deer - their distinctive tracks, or slots, cut easily into the earth. Their trails can be differentiated from human trails by width and smoothness. Deer trails are narrow; sharp deer hooves dig into the soil and rough it up. Flat human feet pad trails down smoothly. next to man, the most important predator of deer is the mountain lion. The deer's food is grass, foliage, twigs, fruit and acorns.