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corndog-44
10-15-2007, 03:54 PM
As we know it is nearly impossible for any animal to journey through the wilderness without leaving some trace of its presence. As a good animal tracker what tips would you give a beginner tracker? Here's a few tips of mine:

Tip #1= When you find a set of tracks; stop, look, listen, smell and watch your surroundings.

Tip #2= All the information you need to find the next track is within the one you have. Never skip a track, it doesn't teach you anything. If you hit a dead-end and can't find the next track, work at it, analyyze it. If you spend 1- 2 hours to find the next track, your skill will grow to a higher level.

LadyTrapper
10-15-2007, 04:35 PM
Condition of the track will tell you how fresh it is.
Freshly upturned mud in or around the track is of a running animal.
Dew or frost in a track of course indicates the animal was there before the sun of that day. Well used bear trails will have indents in the forest floor and moss from many years as they walk these like a cat, using the same "steps" each time. A set of tracks near water turing into a slide is most likely an otter. Watch also for tail tracks in water animals such as the bearver.
Animals tracks will tell you a story. Especially if you track in the snow or mud. Following rabbit tracks that stop short with a scraping on the snow of wings indicates of course that he was taken from above by a bird of prey.
They will show you that some animals will circle unfamiliar things in their forest and will lead you to many interesting places.
Identifying tracks and scat will postively identify those you are following and what they are eating in most cases, if you are so inclined to investigate contents of the doo. LOL
Wild cats walk with toenails retracted and canines have nail marks in their tracks. A coyote track is narrower than the domestic dog. Most animals will step over limbs rather than on them, making their passing quieter. Muskrats poop on top of rocks near the water.
Tracks that seem to dissappear in mid air may be that of treeclimbers such as the raccoon whos little front paw prints resemble that of the human hand.
These are some of the sign of the forest dwellers I have observed...

Sarge47
10-15-2007, 05:09 PM
Then why can't anybody track Bigfoot? With feet that big it shouldn't even be a problem!

LadyTrapper
10-15-2007, 08:02 PM
LMAO @ Sarge!!!!!!!

HOP
10-16-2007, 06:55 AM
I don't think anyone really wants to catch bigfoot cause if he is real chances are he is not going to be cooprative.
when tracking gets hard like in vegatation ge down on your hands and knees and look for minor disturbances that couldn't have occured naturally . This works god on a real weak blood trail.

Sarge47
10-16-2007, 11:34 AM
I don't think anyone really wants to catch bigfoot cause if he is real chances are he is not going to be cooprative.
when tracking gets hard like in vegatation ge down on your hands and knees and look for minor disturbances that couldn't have occured naturally . This works god on a real weak blood trail.

I want someone to put like say a $50,000 bounty on one, dead or a live.

wareagle69
10-16-2007, 07:25 PM
i have made a tracking area in my back 40 i keep the area clear of debris filled it with sand and other soils so i can learn the animals track and study it under different conditions..

trax
10-22-2007, 02:39 PM
Look for things like crushed down foliage or grass for large animals, look for tree scrapes for members of the deer family. Bears will claw trees and scratch their backs against tree trunks. Watch the tree line for trees that are shaking.

Know the habits of the animal you're tracking and you can figure out where the tracks are leading and if the tracks are fresh you might be able to cut off the animal. There's not much chance you're going to catch up with an animal in the wild just following his footprints, mostly because if you're looking at footprints, well...he's already gone isn't he?

Most animals follow circuitous routes so they can keep their noses in the wind as much as possible. It's hard to stay downwind from them because they'll keep turning, if they get your scent they'll either run or hide.

Check around and in, water sources. If the high grass and bullrushes have been crushed down, it's probably a large animals path to water. If a track under water looks murky, it's very fresh. Look for kicked up rocks under water. Otters always make a slide to get into the water, beavers and muskrats don't, but beavers will have an area that is well worked from their coming and going. Also look for beavers working, branches that are floating wrong have a beaver pushing them.

In the autumn, listen. Two buck deer or bull moose will make a heck of a racket if they start bashing heads over a girlfriend. Watch for flashes of light if you hear the cracking, it's the sunlight reflecting off the antlers.

marberry
11-08-2007, 10:44 PM
always start looking for tracks by water , all animals go by water sooner or later, and know the difference between tracks , walking into a coyote den expecting a peccary is not fun. always listen , most of the animals iv caught have been due to noise not physical evidence.

Jay
01-05-2008, 11:40 AM
Learn what animals are in your area and what their habits are. This will enable you to spot partial tracks and faint signs that you may not see otherwise. i.e. if you walk into an area that seems perfect deer habitat, you'll not only look for tracks on the ground but antler rubs, signs of grazing or browsing, wallows, rubbing trees etc. once you know your animals...
Animals stick to regular routes when moving from one habitat to the next. I.e. den to feeding area, water hole etc. these are easy to locate and follow.
if there is vegetation or grass on the ground look for bending, flattening(will shine sometimes) bruising on leaves and stems(look darker when fresh), Sand or dirt particles adhering to the top or bottom of leaves close to ground level. In old forest debris look for signs of old dry twigs on the ground not only broken but crushed to tiny parts. Roots of trees also will show damage from hoof or wearing from paws.
Scratch marks on the ground from ground feeding birds, scent posts from leopards or other members of the cat family, scratch marks on tree trunks (also from bears) . Prominent latrines mostly from musterlids. Droppings,
Learn the difference between feeding signs from deer, Hare, porcupine etc.
All this is pretty general. But what you need to do most is take you time and work on it.
That’s the only way you will learn to track properly. (Not like some trackers who work only with clearly defined footprints)

Rick
01-05-2008, 12:59 PM
Jay - If I'm reading the picture right the stick has been moved. What were you tracking and tell me what you see in the photo. Thanks.

Sarge47
01-05-2008, 01:48 PM
So are we tracking a tree now?:rolleyes:

Jay
01-05-2008, 01:56 PM
Rick, you are right. the twig was moved when my foot brushed against it. this was done during a training session for the military. After putting them through their paces in a sand pit for a day, I move them to grassland, gravel road and finally to forest floor. this particular sign is in a clearing at the edge of the jungle. the task was to track me! from time to time I would leave a clear sign like this so they wouldnt get discouraged.
as for the pic...
The stick has moved slightly. also on the lower twigs you can see a very faint sign where the moisture was displaced by my foot. Its not clearly visible you have to look close. I have another pic I took of the stick before I steped on it. I'll post it as soon as I find it.
Happy tracking. Hope this is of use to newcommers.

Jay
01-05-2008, 02:03 PM
So are we tracking a tree now?:rolleyes:

Sarge you should know better!!! never the trees!!! only twigs!!

Sarge47
01-05-2008, 02:05 PM
the problem there is you never know when they're gonna "leaf"!:rolleyes:

Rick
01-05-2008, 02:12 PM
Jay - It was clear there had been rain and the "splash from the rain deposited sand on the smaller twig, which was protected by the larger one. Since the little guy still had a band of sand on the top of it and the others did not have any sand, I assumed the larger one had been moved.

Jay
01-05-2008, 03:06 PM
Rick, here are the two pics side by side and another of moistue disturbance and dirt transfer caused by compression

Jay
01-05-2008, 03:33 PM
the problem there is you never know when they're gonna "leaf"!:rolleyes:

If I were you, I'd leaf it at that!

Sarge47
01-05-2008, 04:24 PM
Kinda went out on a limb with that one, didn't I?:rolleyes:

Jay
01-05-2008, 04:31 PM
yup! and i was waiting with a saw!

Rick
01-11-2008, 08:14 AM
For those of you wanting to learn how to track animals, here is a nice beginners guide from New Mexico State University on some common North American animals.

http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/circ561.html

This one from Princeton is quite a bit more complex:

http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/nature/tracking.shtml

Elkchsr
01-11-2008, 12:45 PM
These are all great tips

One of the ideas that I have learned and read over and over from the masters is you need to become the animal and get into the head of the individual/s your tracking

That doesn't mean getting down on all fours and bark at the moon

What it does mean is that as the tracks progress and you move along, imagine what the animal is looking for and the body movements it is producing as each track is made

i.e. meandering, walking, trotting, running, bouncing etc...

When you get these movements mastered, you will find it's harder to lose tracks as you move along because you're anticipating the next move and start to understand what the animal or human is looking for next

i.e. food, water, shelter, etc...

By learning this aspect of tracking, you will start to see other things as you move along (the bigger picture so to speak) because your attention to detail starts to become sharper

:)