As you hike, you spy animal tracks in the soft mud along the trail. Having no idea if these belong to a harmless dog or something more worrisome like a cougar or bear, you fret inwardly as you continue. Let’s get you educated so you will know when to continue on and when to back away. First things first: Get a basic understanding of the fauna in your area. If bears are not evident in the habitat where you are journeying, you can save yourself from purchasing a $50 can of bear spray. However, you may be in cougar territory, in which case you’d want to know how to discourage an interaction. Go online and do some research—knowing what wildlife lives in the area is part of the foundation of safe outdoor adventuring. Got a handle on that? Let’s take the next step by learning how to identify tracks and signs so you can feel more secure on the trail. Listed below are the most common mammals that pose risk to humans when caught unaware and the features you need to help identify them before they are in sight.
- Bears - What to look for: - Claw marks or stripped bark on trees - Scat with berries/seeds (in season) or mammal caracasses - Tree rubs (trees smoothed of bark and limbs or fur stuck to bark)
Most Active: Early morning and dusk, especially during their primary feeding season of summer and fall
- Cougars -
What to look for: - Scrapes (pushed up debris using back legs; if fresh, the scent of urine can be present, or scat) - Segmented scat 1.5” in diameter; may contain hair or end in a “tail” - Caches (partially covered remains of a large kill) - Killed animal presenting bite marks to neck and skull - Tree scrapes 4-8’ off the ground
Most Active: Dawn and dusk, but will stalk prey anytime and in any season.
- Wolves - Prints: Four symmetrical toe prints with claw marks on top; pad at the bottom has two lobes. Coyotes and dogs tend to have similar prints as wolves but wolves will measure roughly 3.5”+ (not including claws). Stride will also be in fairly straight line, whereas dogs tend to meander. Look for tracks that are taller than they are wide.
What to look for: - Scat may contain hair and bone fragments of larger animals; “Cord” like in appearance. May be runny and dark if defecation occurred immediately after a fresh kill - Bone fragments near a kill - Long howls rather than the shorter “yaps” of a coyote
Most Active: Seasonally dependent; summer they are most active in the evenings, winter during the day
- Moose -
Prints: Split hooves of roughly 5” long, depending on sex of the animal. Hooves come to a point at the top.
What to look for: - Trees rubbed free of bark from 1-4’ off the ground in early fall and bent or broken branches (or entire saplings broken from thrashing) - Matted vegetation 4-5’ wide (from resting) - Clipped shrubs from eating - Scat is similar to cow patties in the summer and pellets in the fall.
Most Active: Seasonally dependent; summer they are most active in the evenings, winter during the day
- Elk - What to look for: - Trees rubbed free of bark up to 9’ off the ground - Disturbed vegetation from thrashing with antlers - Pits pawed into the snow during winter in an attempt to find food - Mud wallows with urine scent or scat present - Scat is often in the shape of pellets and approximately the size of a black olive
Most Active: Early morning and late evenings. The spring finds female elk (cows) at their most dangerous because of calving; males (bulls) are most dangerous during mating season in fall
- Humans -
Prints: Five toes creating an arc above a larger lower pad. Lower pad usually demonstrates concave feature on the inside of the foot, in line with largest toe pad.
What to look for: - Plastic bottles, wrappers and other litter - Smoke from campfires - Loud music and talking
Most Active: Mid-morning to late evening, with slumps in activity mid-afternoon.
Sources: Bear: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/black-bear/ http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/black-bears.htm http://www.nrmsc.usgs.gov/research/ndgbp_rubobjectbearsign.htm http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/bears.html http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10370_12145_43573-146656--,00.html Cougar: http://westernwildlife.org/cougar-outreach-project/cougar-identification/ http://www.cougarnet.org/Assets/pumafieldguide.pdf http://www.mountainlion.org/featurearticlesign.asp http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10370_12145_43573-146656--,00.html Wolves: http://westernwildlife.org/gray-wolf-outreach-project/signs-of-wolves/ http://www.wolf.org/wolves/learn/basic/biology/communication.asp http://www.wolfcenter.org/biologist.aspx http://www.dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/about_gray_wolves.asp Moose: http://www.web2.mnr.gov.on.ca/mnr/enforcement/interactive/moose_id/id_guide.swf http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=moosehunting.moremoose Elk: http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/elk.html http://www.bear-tracker.com/elk.html http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/elkisland/activ/d.aspx
