Mud season good for tracking elusive wildlife

By Stephen Hlawaty
Outdoors Columnist

Walking out to collect firewood one morning, I noticed a multitude of animal tracks in the snow near our woodpile. Slight, slender dark-eyed junco tracks wound their way across the top of the pile. Slightly larger red fox tracks meandered around the pile. Roughly 20 feet from the pile were coyote tracks leading from a gully near my house upward toward the road.

The nearly flawless varieties of tracks I found that morning would have been enough, but what made this particular day all the more memorable was the reaction my son, Ethan, had upon discovering these tracks. Bent over from the waist, his face not more than 18 inches over each print, like a hovercraft negotiating its landing, Ethan stared amazed. We spent the next 20 minutes identifying the tracks, wondering where each animal was going, and from where it had come. Our stories of the tracks, in lieu of actually seeing the animals that left them, inspired a very intimate wilderness experience.

Animal tracks allow you to follow in the footsteps of those unseen. Were these "wilderness ghosts" in hot pursuit of prey, or was some larger predator stalking them? Spotting animal tracks may be the closest we get to the animal itself. Indeed, I've explored Colorado's wilderness for more than 16 years, and I have yet to see the elusive mountain lion. But I'm sure it's seen me. I can appreciate that, knowing I've entered the cat's world on its terms, if not mine.

Animal tracking is a challenging and rewarding outdoor pursuit. It combines patience with a thorough knowledge of animal gait patterns, track characteristics and habitats. With the snow receding and mud forming, now is a great time to look for animal tracks. Slightly wet, shallow snow, or slightly soft mud, offers a perfect canvas. Such conditions rarely exist, however, which can make comparing animal tracking tips in a book to the real thing somewhat difficult. With that in mind, it's best to approach tracking holistically.

When coming upon a set of tracks, examine the overall scene first. What kind of habitat are you in? Is it a riparian area along a willow-lined stream, or a densely wooded mountainous area? Are you in wide-open grasslands and sagebrush plains? Each presents a totally different array of animals. Riparian areas may include moose or beaver. Wooded mountains may deliver deer or grouse. Grasslands and sagebrush plains are pronghorn and coyote habitat.

Rather than looking closely at each track to see if you can identify the length and width of a track or the number of toes each track has, recognize the overall pattern of the track. Just as a track identifies a single animal, a track pattern identifies an animal family. Squirrels and weasels, whose tracks are small and who occupy similar habitats, have completely different track patterns.

A squirrel's track pattern includes a series of two close, side-by-side prints (the forefeet) followed by two wider, separated, side-by-side prints (the rear feet), a space (where the animal was airborne), then the two close prints and two wider prints again.

The weasel leaves a pattern of two prints close together at even intervals. The rear feet land in the same spot that the forefeet just vacated. Weasels leave long, meandering trails that are fun to follow. In short, you can identify many animal species without ever scrutinizing over track details such as toes, claws and foot shape simply by knowing habitat associations and gait patterns.

While on a recent visit to North Park, I stumbled across a fine set of pronghorn tracks. North Park is known for its moose, but it also has a thriving pronghorn population. The pronghorn track has a pointed tip and broad base. Like the weasel, the pronghorn's hind prints register on top of its fore prints, which make a neat and alternating track.

Animal tracking is more than just identifying tracks. It's a way to let animals guide us in and out of their lives, a way to learn how they interact with their environments and how we might do the same.