Animal Tracks

You can find animal tracks by thinking like an animal. Think about where they will go for food, water, and shelter. One of the best places to find tracks is in the mud near water. It could be a pond or it could be a puddle.

You should also think about the animal's life and what times of the day or night they are most likely to do certain activities. Two of the most active hunting times in the wilderness are dawn and dusk. This is when the daytime animals and nocturnal animals cross paths. Rabbits and deer tend to favor feeding at these times.

Obviously, the season and weather will also affect where the animals go. It's easy to track animals in the snow, but some will be hibernating when it's cold!

What Animal Tracks Reveal

Depending on what kind of tracks you find and your skill at identifying them, they can reveal the size, gender, and approximate age of the animal.

They can also show how fast the animal was moving. You might notice a foot injury or see evidence of a mother traveling with young ones.

Another useful sign to look for near tracks is scat. This reveals more about the animal's health and what it has been eating. These can be clues about other places to search for the animal as you try to track it down.

If you're really lucky, you might find some feathers, fur, or shed reptile skins near the tracks! Check the surrounding brush for clues. Tracking is like being a detective in the wilderness, looking for clues both high and low.

Even young children can take an interest in animal tracking.

Yes, we found lots of white tailed deer tracks at a park within the city limits of Baltimore City when we went for a family walk.

You might be surprised to find some animals so close to people since they tend to be shy and you never see them. As more and more developments are going up, wild animals are forced to figure out how to live among us.

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