Learn about animal behavior and basic tracking this winter

Robert LarsonContributor - December 21, 2021

I like to go out early in the morning after a fresh snow and see all the wildlife tracks in the snow. I try and identify what animal it might be, follow the tracks to see where they came from, why did they come to this area, and where they are going.

There are many benefits of studying tracks such as to know what kind of wildlife is in your area, look out for predators that might harm you, your children, or pets, know what you can hunt and trap, look out for pests that might be setting up home in the foundation of your house or up in the warm engine block of your vehicle, and more.And the snow is just to make it a lot easier while you are learning how to track and identify prints.

What animals are in your area? If you see any cool prints, share them here. My area has been lacking snow so far this winter so the above pictures are ones I stole online. I will keep an eye out for tracks when we do get snow and post my pics here.

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Deer tracks have always been an easy one for me to notice with their split hooves. 

 

Great topic. I took an animal tracking class a couple of years ago and enjoyed it. This photo is from four years ago this month, along a creek in a nature preserve in the upper Midwest. I welcome comments on the story told by the tracks. I don’t have a record of the size of the tracks.

I’m guessing that the sign of a struggle (?) was made by the animal leaving the tracks (trying to catch something under the snow) rather than by say an owl that tried to catch the animal. River otter? Weasel? Fox? Other ideas? 

 

That does look like some kind of scuffle happened there.

 

I tried looking for tracks during my morning walk this morning. Pavement, grass, mulch… I think my area makes this kind of tracking difficult.

 

It’s my lucky day. I was alerted to possible badger tracks today on private property that’s currently allowed to go “back to nature.” I followed the tracks to a den. Tracks converge there from multiple directions. I circled the den in the photo and used a yellow line to highlight the ruler for scale. A badger burrow has been sighted near here in the past.

 

An acquaintance from this area thinks it might be a fisher, not a badger. I welcome your thoughts.