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Snowshoe hare prints trapped in the snow.
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Fox or coyote prints in a straight line - an animal on a mission.
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Evidence of deer or elk where body has dragged a trough.
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Bear claw marks on an aspen tree.
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Squirrel tracks dot the snowy surface.
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SUMMIT COUNTY - Snow is the perfect canvas for painting a portrait of those who passed by. If you want to be a nature detective and determine the types of critters that live in your back yard, their tracks are your first clues. Here are some tips to help enhance your investigative powers.
The first method of determining what kind of critter left which tracks is to know which animals are native to Summit County. Most common are coyotes, red foxes, ermines (weasels), tree squirrels, mice, voles, snowshoe hares, mule deer and elk. Other natives living more remotely are the bighorn sheep, mountain goats and moose. Rarest of all the tracks you might be lucky enough to see are the elusive cats - mountain lions, lynx and bobcats.
When sleuthing winter tracks, it is good to know the hibernating or semi-hibernating animals that wouldn't venture out until spring. True hibernators are the yellowbellied marmots and chipmunks. Black bears will semi-hibernate, and come out during warm spells, but very rarely. Beavers, raccoons, skunks and porcupines den up in winter months, snacking on their food stashes.
The first method of determining what kind of critter left which tracks is to know which animals are native to Summit County. Most common are coyotes, red foxes, ermines (weasels), tree squirrels, mice, voles, snowshoe hares, mule deer and elk. Other natives living more remotely are the bighorn sheep, mountain goats and moose. Rarest of all the tracks you might be lucky enough to see are the elusive cats - mountain lions, lynx and bobcats.
When sleuthing winter tracks, it is good to know the hibernating or semi-hibernating animals that wouldn't venture out until spring. True hibernators are the yellowbellied marmots and chipmunks. Black bears will semi-hibernate, and come out during warm spells, but very rarely. Beavers, raccoons, skunks and porcupines den up in winter months, snacking on their food stashes.
Naturally, the size of the track can help a naturalist predict species. Tiny prints belong to mice, voles and small weasels. The smaller the critter, the fainter the tracks and the ease of walking right across the crust.
Randy Stout, an employee with the Keystone Nordic Center, takes parties out on snowshoe adventures called Eco Treks, to explore winter's great outdoors. Stout relates, "The depth of the track depends on a lot of things, including the actual weight of the animal, the firmness of the surface and the size of its foot. Bigger support surface implies more flotation - just like snowshoes."
The perfect example of "flotation" is the snowshoe hare, whose larger back feet spread out, making for better traveling across snow. Animals not suited for winter walking are the larger elk and deer that have a difficult time navigating deep snow because of a heavy upper body and thin legs that posthole through. Elk and deer will traverse downhill to lower elevations at dusk, the evidence being deep troughs made by their bellies. Look for night beds - round, flattened snow formatted from their body's impression.
One of the challenges is distinguishing between tracks of close relatives such as deer and elk. Stout explained that "deer tracks are smaller - usually up to 3 and 1/2 inches long. They are narrower and the toes seem to curl toward each other. Elk
Randy Stout, an employee with the Keystone Nordic Center, takes parties out on snowshoe adventures called Eco Treks, to explore winter's great outdoors. Stout relates, "The depth of the track depends on a lot of things, including the actual weight of the animal, the firmness of the surface and the size of its foot. Bigger support surface implies more flotation - just like snowshoes."
The perfect example of "flotation" is the snowshoe hare, whose larger back feet spread out, making for better traveling across snow. Animals not suited for winter walking are the larger elk and deer that have a difficult time navigating deep snow because of a heavy upper body and thin legs that posthole through. Elk and deer will traverse downhill to lower elevations at dusk, the evidence being deep troughs made by their bellies. Look for night beds - round, flattened snow formatted from their body's impression.
One of the challenges is distinguishing between tracks of close relatives such as deer and elk. Stout explained that "deer tracks are smaller - usually up to 3 and 1/2 inches long. They are narrower and the toes seem to curl toward each other. Elk
tracks are bigger - 4 to 4 1/2 inches with toes more parallel." Other close relatives are the domestic dog and wild canine.
Obviously, if you are hiking on a trail near a populated neighborhood you can expect to see many dog tracks. If you're not sure, there are clues to determining the difference.
"Domestic dogs typically visit every tree," Stout concluded, "while a fox on the hunt seems to have more purpose. Foxes are sniffing for dinner, not marking territory." The fox or coyote print may have nail marks, but a big cat will never leave claw marks. Both cats and dogs have four toes but a bear has five toes, making its tracks easier to distinguish.
If shape and size of the paw print still creates a puzzle, you can study the arrangement and pattern of a series of prints. For example, some animals are hoppers - such as rabbits and squirrels - therefore their tracks will be in twos, side by side, as their back feet often land in the same tracks left by their front feet. Others are straight walkers or gaiters and their tracks will form a straight line of four separate prints. In this category are the dogs, cats, bears and ungulates.
Obviously, if you are hiking on a trail near a populated neighborhood you can expect to see many dog tracks. If you're not sure, there are clues to determining the difference.
"Domestic dogs typically visit every tree," Stout concluded, "while a fox on the hunt seems to have more purpose. Foxes are sniffing for dinner, not marking territory." The fox or coyote print may have nail marks, but a big cat will never leave claw marks. Both cats and dogs have four toes but a bear has five toes, making its tracks easier to distinguish.
If shape and size of the paw print still creates a puzzle, you can study the arrangement and pattern of a series of prints. For example, some animals are hoppers - such as rabbits and squirrels - therefore their tracks will be in twos, side by side, as their back feet often land in the same tracks left by their front feet. Others are straight walkers or gaiters and their tracks will form a straight line of four separate prints. In this category are the dogs, cats, bears and ungulates.
It also helps to be familiar with an animal's living environment. Prints under trees typically belong to tree dwellers such as squirrels. Tiny prints that travel under logs are likely those of a mouse. If a series of smaller prints traverse along the top of the snow, then suddenly disappear, they most likely belong to a weasel that is comfortable on the top of the snow or underneath it - in a sub-nivean environment. There is an entire world of rodents that live in a warm insulated world under the snow.
Habitat is key to knowing who walked where; you would only see a mountain goat's prints at higher elevations. It would make sense that moose prints would be seen around wetlands areas.
Keep alert for other evidence of animal presence, like scat. Coyote scat will typically have fur in it. Deer and elk pellets resemble chocolate candies, while moose poop looks like compressed saw dust. Also, deer and elk will gnaw on softer aspen trees leaving rough, blackened bark in vertical lines. Squirrels will leave midden or large piles of pine cone scales and cores around the base of a tree.
So now that you are a graduate of the nature track detective course, seek out and
Habitat is key to knowing who walked where; you would only see a mountain goat's prints at higher elevations. It would make sense that moose prints would be seen around wetlands areas.
Keep alert for other evidence of animal presence, like scat. Coyote scat will typically have fur in it. Deer and elk pellets resemble chocolate candies, while moose poop looks like compressed saw dust. Also, deer and elk will gnaw on softer aspen trees leaving rough, blackened bark in vertical lines. Squirrels will leave midden or large piles of pine cone scales and cores around the base of a tree.
So now that you are a graduate of the nature track detective course, seek out and
identify those mysterious prints. Since many animals are nocturnal, you may never encounter the suspect in person, but evidence of their existence is out there along the surface of the snow and along local trails.
