What do bird tracks look like in the snow? Animal tracks in the snow. Who walks through the forest in winter
10/27/2009 | Pathfinder: Reading animal tracks
Animal tracks, i.e. the imprints they leave on snow or mud, as well as on grass, especially during dew, have great importance for hunting: using the tracks of animals, they are found (tracked) and laid down, their number, gender, age are recognized, as well as whether the animal is wounded and even how badly it is wounded.
Wild animals lead a secretive lifestyle. Thanks to their well-developed sense of smell, hearing and vision, animals and birds notice a person before he notices them, and if they do not immediately run away or fly away, they hide, and their behavior becomes atypical. Traces of their vital activity help the observer to unravel the secrets of the animals’ lives. This means not only the imprints of the limbs, but also all the changes that animals make to surrounding nature.
In order to correctly use the discovered tracks, you need to know who they belong to, how long ago they were left by the animal, where the animal was going, as well as its methods of movement. How to learn to recognize animal tracks? To determine the freshness of a trace, it is necessary to tie together the biology of the animal, the weather conditions in this moment and a few hours ago and other information. For example, in the morning a moose track was discovered, not covered with snow that had fallen the day before from the afternoon until the evening. The freshness of the trail is beyond doubt - it is nocturnal.
The freshness of a trace can also be determined by touch. In freezing conditions in dry snow, a fresh footprint does not differ in looseness from the surface of the surrounding snow. After some time, the walls of the trace harden, and the lower the temperature, the more strongly - the trace “hardens”. Any other trace left by a large animal becomes harder over time, and the more time passes from the moment the trace is formed, the harder it becomes. Traces of small animals left on the surface of deep snow do not harden. It is important to find out whether the animal has been here since the evening or passed an hour ago. If the trail is old, more than a day, then it is useless to look for the animal that left it, it is already far away, out of reach. If the trail left is fresh, then the animal may be somewhere nearby. To determine the direction of movement of an animal, you need to know the peculiarities of the placement of the limbs of different animals. Taking a closer look at a single track of a large animal left in loose deep snow, you can notice the difference between the walls of the track along the path of the animal.
On one side they are flatter, on the other they are steeper. These differences arise because the animals lower their limbs (legs, paws) gently, and take them out of the snow almost vertically upward. These differences are called: dragging - the rear wall and dragging - the front wall of the trace. The trail is always longer than the drag, which means that the animal moved in the direction where the short, that is, steeper walls of the track are directed. When the animal removes its leg, it presses on the front wall, compacting it, while the back wall does not deform. Sometimes, in order to accurately determine the direction of movement of the animal, it is necessary to hurry it up, observing the handwriting of the trail.
The gait of an animal, or the gait of its movement, comes down to two types: slow or moderately fast movement (step, trot, amble) and running fast successive jumps (gallop, quarry).
Animals with an elongated body and short limbs most often move at a moderate gallop. They are simultaneously pushed off by the hind limbs and fall exactly into the prints of the forelimbs. The legacy with such a gait is paired prints of only the hind limbs (most mustelids).
Sometimes, during a slow gallop, one or both hind legs of the animal does not reach the prints of the front ones, and then groups of tracks of three and four prints, called three- and four-legged, appear. Less often, long-bodied and short-legged animals move to the quarry, and then when jumping they put their hind legs in front of their front ones, and therefore the prints hind legs stand in front of the front ones (hares, squirrels).
To determine the freshness of a trace, you need to divide the trace with a thin twig. If the trail is easily divided, then it is fresh; if it is not divided, it is old, more than a day old.
Boar tracks on the ground
Boar tracks in the snow
Wolf footprint on the ground
Wolf footprint in the snow
Lynx tracks
Fox tracks
Bear tracks
Deer tracks
When moving at a walk or trot, animals rearrange their limbs in a cross shape: the front right and rear left paws are brought forward, then the other pair. When walking slowly, the animal's forelimb touches the ground slightly earlier than the hind limb, and when trotting, the front and hind limbs of the opposite sides fall to the ground at the same time.
With a slow step, the prints of the hind paw remain somewhat behind and to the side of the print of the front paw. During the middle step, the animal places its hind leg in the imprint of its front leg. In a large trot, the print of the hind leg may be located slightly in front of the front line. Consequently, from the pattern of the prints one can judge whether the animal moved slowly or quickly. Ambling is a movement in which an animal simultaneously moves both right or both left limbs (sometimes horses, bears).
Clear footprints are only found on dense wet snow, silt and soft clay. On loose soil or loose snow the tracks of the animals form a series of shapeless pits without claws or fingers.
An animal's track looks different not only due to the animals' gaits, but also due to the condition of the soil on which the animals move. The footprint also changes depending on the hardness or softness of the soil. Ungulates, when moving calmly on hard soil, leave imprints of two hooves. These same animals, when running and jumping on soft ground, leave prints of four hooves. Having five toes on their front paws, the otter and beaver leave a four-toed footprint on soft ground. The tracks also change as the animals age. In older animals, the tracks are larger and of a different shape. Piglets rest on two fingers, and their parents on four.
Adult dogs rest on four toes, while puppies use five. The footprints of males and females are also different, but only experienced trackers can discern the differences. As the seasons change, the tracks of animals change, as the paws of some of them become overgrown with rough long hair, which makes it easier to move on loose snow (marten, lynx, white hare, fox, etc.).
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Another summer is over, opening soon new season hunting for fur-bearing animal, including a hare. A hare that has eaten well, given birth to offspring during the warm season, and changed its skin to a white one is the desired prey of any hunter. It’s impossible to keep up with him even with dogs, and in fresh snow it’s much easier to follow his tracks to his bed.
What does a hare's footprint look like?
Everyone had read books or watched films about the Indians, where experienced trackers could tell by the trampled grass and the roughness of the water where the animal was lying or the enemy was hiding. It's easy to find hare tracks in freshly fallen snow, but untangling them makes you feel like a local Chingachgook.
The hare leaves rounded imprints with its front paws, which follow each other along the line of movement. The hind prints are longer, parallel, and use these paws to push. General drawing looks like the letter T. It is worth noting the peculiarity of the prints: the hare moved in the direction where the horizontal crossbar of the letter T was directed.
Difference between hare and hare tracks
There are only four species of hares in Russia. One is very rare, found only on Far East- Manchurian. The steppe tolay hare is also difficult to meet, since it lives in the south of the Asian part of the country. The most common and famous are the hare and hare.
It is necessary to learn to distinguish the pattern of tracks, since hunting animals is difficult, time-consuming and labor-intensive. Hares are predominantly nocturnal animals. You should go hunting for them early in the morning, while the print in the snow is fresh. The hare leaves more rounded marks, sometimes with clearly visible toes. His malik - the entire night journey - is more confusing, often intersecting with the paths of other hares. He arranges his bed in some windfall, where it is very difficult to get to quietly.
The hare's tracks are longer, elliptical in shape and narrower. Its skin is better visible in the snow, it does not mark its loops in the same way, which makes it easier to hunt.
Hare tracks in winter
Fresh snow, like a new leaf of life, erases all the old paths, only the freshest ones are visible on it. Remember that you are not alone in hunting the hare. There are many fox tracks in the forests. If the print of the front paws is round and parallel, but the hind paws are elongated and there is no parallelism, then most likely a hare was sitting here.
In such cases, he sits on his hind legs, bending them to the first joint. If the track is clubbed or other irregularities in shape are observed, you have stumbled upon the prints of another animal.
Types of hare trails - maliks
To make trailing easier, you should learn to distinguish between the main types of tracks - racing, fatty and running.
Fat trace
In the fattening area, the animal feeds, moves, slowly and chaotically, and is periodically examined. The tracks are located very densely, often intersect with the tracks of other individuals and are accompanied by droppings.
Racing trail
When a hare runs away from someone or simply frolics, it leaves a trail of race. The distance between jumps reaches two meters. The hind legs no longer line up parallel and become in one line with the front legs. Such a trail either gives way to a dense fatty mark, or calms down, shortens and becomes a running one.
Running (end) trail
The most common type of mark is left when the hare moves between feeding areas or goes to a lying area. The footprint is T-shaped, the front paws are lined up, the hind paws are parallel to each other. This is where the hare begins his art. He goes on well-trodden paths, traces of other animals, especially goats. In this case, the dogs go after the goats, since they have a very strong smell. All that remains is to walk along and look for the exit trail.
Twos, threes and loops
If you encounter hare loops, threes and twos in large quantities, means the bed is close. The loop appears when the hare circles and returns to its trail, crossing it and sometimes walking back along it.
A two means that the hare turned back in its tracks. Often after this he changes direction, making a discount - a sharp big jump to the side.
If, after a two, he still turns around and moves in the same direction, then the result is a three.
Discounts (estimates)
This is what they call a big jump away from your trail. After the second or third, the hare usually lies down.
Unraveling the maliks
To track a hare in winter, you need to be able to read its tracks. In order not to end up in the old bed, you first need to determine the direction. This can be done by fingerprints or by the shape of the footprint. The hare places its hind legs in front of its front legs. We move a little to the side so as not to trample the trail, otherwise we’ll suddenly have to go back and unravel something.
There is no point in delving into the fat loops; we just go around in an arc and see where the big-eared one continued on its way. If loops, deuces, discounts begin, it means we are approaching the prone position. The loops should be pierced completely so as not to get lost. If the hare goes out onto a well-trodden path or road, then we examine it for the presence of an exit trail 300-400 m in each direction. The old mark is easy to distinguish from the new one. Under fresh snow it is still soft and compacted, while under old it is denser.
After the second discount, you need to be on your guard and ready to shoot. You must not stop under any circumstances; the hare will regard a change in your movement as a threat and may break from its perch. If you need to look around, then continue to walk in place.
The resting place can be determined by loosened mounds of snow with lumps of earth; it is worth considering that the hare sometimes makes several of these. If you have already seen him, then do not look directly and walk as if to the side. Then there is an opportunity to shoot him right while lying down.
The process of searching and tracking a hare
Until deep snow falls, hares feed on winter crops. As soon as winter comes into its own, they move to the villages, fattening up in vegetable gardens, near haystacks. They lie down on a bed so that the wind blows through the fur, and they themselves are hidden behind some tubercle or bush.
How to track a hare? When tracking, the main thing is not to abandon the found trace and clearly distinguish its image from others. When feeding, the hare moves in small jumps, but on the fat pad the picture of the tracks makes no sense at all, everything is very dense there. It’s easier to bypass the fattening and go to the exit trail, which will lead to another fattening or laying.
Don’t trample the malik, otherwise you won’t be able to figure out all the loops and discounts later. If, while following the trail, after energetic jumps he suddenly disappeared, it means the hare has made a discount and somewhere nearby, perhaps this is his bed and he can already hear you and is waiting for you, be on your guard.
Selecting the area and hunting time
Habitat of the hare - West Side Russia, except for the northern regions and to the south, up to Buryatia. The hare is widespread in the west of the country, excluding North Caucasus, Astrakhan region and Kalmykia, also lives in Siberia.
The best time for hunting is early in the morning, when the hare, having eaten, lies down. The footprints are clearly visible in the fresh snow. If it is deep, the animal’s presence can be found near villages or in young aspen forests and bushes, where the animal eats the bark. With light snow cover - in winter crop fields.
Weapons and equipment
When hunting a hare by tracking, you will have to walk a lot, while making a minimum of noise and smells. The supply of equipment on the market is varied, but it is worth considering specific hunting parameters. Therefore, it is necessary to select a camouflage robe for the terrain, clothing and shoes made of soft fabrics, since leather and synthetics begin to creak in the cold.
For shoes, felt boots or high boots are best. Clothes should be clean, but not just washed, without strong odors, including powder, it is best to let them hang fresh air. If the snow is deep, you will need skis or snowshoes. They should be wide, then it’s easier to walk, and the fastenings should be wrapped in fabric so they don’t rattle.
Dogs are not allowed to be tracked. When crossing the track of another animal, it may go the wrong way, and if it stumbles upon a hare, it will go out and scare it away before you are ready to shoot. He can also be scared off by foxes, who are also not averse to eating hare meat.
In weapons, the main importance is accuracy and the ability to fire several shots in a row, which is why they use smooth-bore multi-shot guns with a choke or poluchok barrel. Cartridges use No. 3 or No. 0.
No matter how much advice you read, it will be of no use without practice. The hare hunting season is opening soon, it’s time to prepare your equipment, arrange a trip and outline the first places worth visiting in the forest. We wish you good hunting and hope you find this information useful and put it to use.
The fox is found throughout Russia from the east to the westernmost borders, from the Arctic coast to the south. This red-haired trickster has not settled only on a few islands of the Arctic, on its coastal areas with a harsh climate, as well as on the archipelagos.
No matter what area of the country hunters go hunting, they can meet the common fox and see its tracks everywhere. This article will help, using photos of fox tracks and other animals, to accurately determine who owns the tracks left by the animal in the snow.
Basic Concepts
How wonderful it is to enter the world of fields, steppes and forests, to learn more about life their inhabitants. Watching birds and especially animals is very difficult. There is no harm in this; their lives will be helped by studying the traces they left behind. If you want to become a pathfinder, you need to work hard, because the main thing in this difficult task is experience and practice.
You've probably heard the saying more than once that it's better to see once than to hear a hundred times. Wherever you are, look carefully around you, life is seething everywhere, which is important to be able to see. Better in winter time go skiing or walking into the forest, taking with you a camera, pencil and notepad. By constantly keeping notes and sketches, learn to correctly recognize which animal left a mark in the snow.
The tracks are different, but it’s better to immediately learn to read the paw prints left by animals in the snow. Determining exactly who left their mark is not always easy. For example, in winter, clear paw prints are rarely visible, but the trail can be found without much effort. It is quite difficult to determine the freshness of the trace being studied; this process can well be called an entire art. All the secrets of this science are below.
Fox tracks
The fox is a small, well-known predator; it can often be found in places where small rodents are found. Its habitat is fields, river valleys and sparse forests. A hunter for whom a fox is a valuable trophy must first of all be able to identify its trace among the tracks of other predators. Foxes are counted using paw prints.
A hunter especially often tracks a fox on winter days through the snow; for this reason, the main attention should be paid to studying the traces of the intended game. Looking closely at the prints of the red predator on the fine snow, you can notice that the pads of the two middle toes protrude forward, and the prints left by the pads of the two outer toes are behind and cover the front with the tips of the claws from the barrels. To briefly characterize the tracks of the chanterelle, it is worth noting that they represent a type of boat (see photo 1).
Fox tracks have a sign by which a tracker can easily determine which paw (front or back) they were left by. The front legs have a concave crumb, and on the hind legs it is convex. The fox's paw prints are 6.5 by 5 cm. The prints that can be seen on a straight path are located “as if along a thread.” The step length corresponds to 30 sometimes 40cm.
By carefully examining the tracks of a fox, you can determine its behavior: jumps 3-4 m long, then an instant stop, throws at right angles are often observed in one direction or the other. All this defines the fox as a dexterous, resourceful animal endowed with unique flexibility.
When the fox goes to bed during the rutting period, as well as when moving through areas where there is no food, it moves without looping, thus leaving straight tracks. When a fox travels long distances, it trots. At this time, a doubling of an even chain of tracks of the red cheat occurs; if you look closely, you can see two parallel rows of paw prints. In this case, one mark may slightly capture the edge of another.
To quickly get to the intended place in winter through deep, loose snow, inconvenient for running, the fox does not run, but simply jumps, the prints of four limbs remain at a distance of 1-2 m. While pursuing prey, the fox moves at an extended gallop.
While studying the tracks of a red predator moving through deep snow, you come to the conclusion that they are most often connected by a continuous stripe. Because of this, it is difficult to accurately determine the direction of the animal. But there is a second, rather simple way, using which knowledgeable people It’s quite easy to find out in which direction any forest inhabitants are moving; the fox is also one of them. Experienced hunters- Pathfinders recommend that novice trappers pay attention to blades of grass or twigs sticking out in the snow along the line of tracks. They leave lines by which you can accurately guess in which direction the running animal bent down, which means this will be its planned route.
What paw prints does a dog leave?
Fox tracks in the snow are very similar to the paw prints of a small dog. The hunter must learn to recognize the “handwriting” of foxes and mongrels. The paw prints left by a fox in the snow are much slimmer and neater than dog tracks. If you look at the marks from the pads of the two front and back fingers, it becomes clear that a visual line can be drawn between them. In many dogs, the side toes wrap around the sides of the hind toes, extending forward. In photo 2 you can see the tracks of a dog and a wolf.
Sometimes the tracks of some dogs are difficult to distinguish from fox tracks. But there will be no doubt left if you carefully examine the straight chain of holes and the surprisingly even distances between them, as well as the regular curves on the front of the tracks. No dog can make such a drawing with very delicate lines. The fox has sharp claws, and the dog has worn ones.
Wolf tracks
In the forest you can find many traces of forest animals. One of them is the wolf. It is impossible to mistake wolf tracks in the snow for fox tracks. Compared to fox paw prints, the handsome wolf leaves very large dents in the snow. The wolf's track (see photo 3) is more similar to that of a large mongrel.
While the wolf is moving at a walk or trot, his right hind leg exactly falls into the mark left by the front left leg, respectively - the left rear one into the mark of the right front one. Therefore, the wolf's tracks, lying in a single line, resemble a string. I would like to note that in winter it is very pleasant to watch how a wolf moves across the snow cover. On the background white snow this animal looks extremely beautiful.
Bear tracks in the snow
There is no person who doesn't know brown bear. It weighs 600-700kg. Lives in forests with ravines and swamps. There you can find his traces. They are quite easy to recognize among the many traces of other animals. The prints of its front and hind paws are especially different, both in shape and size. This can be clearly seen in photo 4.
The bear's front paws measure 15 by 15 cm, and the hind paws measure 25 by 14 cm. The bear's claws on the front paws are noticeably longer than on the hind paws, and, on the contrary, the support of the hind paw is greater than the support of the front paw. Depending on how fast the bear moves, the pattern of the chain of tracks changes. When the hind feet make a print on top of the front feet, the pattern is called "covered." If the hind paws make tracks in front of the front paws, indicating that the bear was moving quickly, the track pattern is called "overlapping."
Hare tracks in the snow
There are different animals in the forest, big and small. If you don’t have to see them, then you will definitely come across footprints along the way, especially if you go out into the forest in winter on fresh snow. Bunny tracks can be easily found. There is no need to describe this animal. The white hare is known even to small children. Its weight is very small, approximately 3–5 kg. Ears of short length are black at the tips. Whole round ponytail white. In the summer, the hare changes its pure white coat to a reddish-brown one.
The hare leaves traces (see photo 5), which are not difficult to distinguish from other animals, and you can see them quite often. The hare's habitat is birch and aspen forests; often its tracks are also found near rivers and lakes.
The tracks of this animal represent two hind paw prints in front and two smaller fore paw prints behind, located one after the other. On average, the size of the footprint of the front paws is 8.5 by 5 cm, the size of the hind paws is 12 by 8 cm. When a hare runs, frightened by its pursuer, its jump length is more than two meters; in normal condition, it leaves jump marks 120 - 170 cm long. The hare makes jumps that depend on the speed of movement.
Determining the freshness of fox and other animal tracks in the snow
A good hunter is one who is an excellent tracker along the white trail. Hunters gave this name to tracks in the snow. Determining when an animal left a print is a very difficult matter. In this small article it is not possible to reveal all the intricacies of this complex science, but you can familiarize yourself with some principles. They will bring invaluable help in the first stages.
Fresh tracks left in winter by fox, bear, hare, wolf and other forest inhabitants are covered with sparkling snowflakes thrown out of the track hole. Some time passes and the marks begin to fade, harden under the influence of frost, and the edges become less noticeable.
At what speed these processes will take place depends on the location where the trace is found, as well as on weather conditions. If the marks are on open place, they will be swept away faster than those located in the ravine. It is not difficult to calculate when the footprint was left if the time of the last snowfall is known. For example, a small snowfall fell at 9 o’clock in the morning, and at 11 o’clock they already saw a completely fresh print, it turns out that it was left two hours ago.
Experts in this matter give valuable advice: make comparisons between your fresh tracks and those you are researching. If a slight difference is visible between them, this indicates that the tracks are fresh. If you are planning a hike in the forest, it is recommended to go out into the yard in the evening and leave your handprint there. In the morning, looking at it, you can already know how to this state weather and snow should look like yesterday's trail.
This information will primarily be of interest to novice hunters. If you can offer better and more informative pictures, and also add a photo winter tracks animals that are not in this article, publish them in the appropriate section of the photo gallery (indicating the name of the animal) and leave a link here. Detailed comments are welcome
Animal tracks in the snow, photos with names
Below you will find several photographs of animal tracks in the snow, which were added by site users to the Pathfinder section of the gallery, and schematic images of tracks of a hare, wolf, fox, bear, wild boar and other animals.
Moose trail
It is difficult for an experienced hunter to confuse the tracks of an elk with the tracks of other animals. Of course, they are very similar to the hoof prints of a large cattle and some wild elk relatives, but they are significantly larger in size. The hooves of a male elk, even if of average build, are always larger than the hooves of the largest domestic bull. In general, the elk walks heavily and sinks deep into the loose snow, down to the ground. The stride length is usually about 80 cm. When trotting, the stride is wider - up to 150 cm, and when galloping, jumps can reach 3 meters. The width of the print, excluding the lateral toes, is about 10 cm for moose cows and 14 cm for bulls, and the length is 14 cm and 17 cm for females and males, respectively.
Photo of moose tracks in the snow added by user w.a.v.77. in 2017.
More photos of elk tracks:
hare trail
Hares leave two long hind paw prints in front and two shorter front paw prints behind them. In the snow, the length of the footprint of the front paws is about 8 cm with a width of 5 cm, and the length of the hind paws is up to 17 cm, with a width of about 8 cm. Due to their specificity, the tracks of the oblique are not difficult to determine, as is the direction of its movement. Hiding from pursuit, a hare can make jumps of up to 2 meters, and in a “calm environment” the length of the jump is about 1.2 - 1.7 meters.
Photo of hare tracks in the snow added by user Laichatnik in 2015.
More photos of hare tracks:
Fox trail
Fox tracks allow an experienced hunter to determine the nature of its movement. A fox paw print is typically about 6.5 cm long and 5 cm wide. The step length is from 30 to 40 cm. However, during a hunt or when escaping pursuit, the fox makes fairly long (up to 3 m) jumps and throws forward, to the right or left - at right angles to the direction of movement.
Photo of fox tracks in the snow added by user kubazoud in 2016.
More photos of fox tracks:
Bear tracks
The tracks of a brown bear are quite easy to recognize among the tracks of other animals. This heavyweight (on average his weight is about 350 kg) cannot pass through snow and mud unnoticed. The prints of the animal's front paws are about 25 cm long, up to 17 cm wide, and the hind paws are about 25-30 cm long and about 15 cm wide. The claws on the front paws are almost twice as long as those on the hind paws.
Photo of bear tracks in the snow added by user willi in 2016.
More photos of bear tracks:
Wolf tracks
The tracks of wolves are very similar to the paw prints of large dogs. However, there are also differences. The front toes of a wolf are more forward and are separated from the hind toes by the width of a match, while in dogs, the toes are gathered together and such a gap is no longer observed. Experienced hunters can distinguish from the scent what kind of gait the animal moved at a walk, trot, gallop or gallop.
Photo of wolf tracks in the snow added by user Sibiriak in 2014.
More photos of wolf tracks:
Wolverine tracks
It is difficult to confuse wolverine tracks with anyone else's. The front and hind feet have five toes. The length of the front paw print is about 10 cm, the width is 7-9 cm. The hind paw is slightly smaller. The snow is often imprinted with a horseshoe-shaped metacarpal callus and a carpal callus located directly behind it. The first shortest toe of the front and hind paws may not be imprinted on the snow.
Photo of wolverine tracks in the snow added by user Tundra in 2014.
Boar tracks
It is not difficult to distinguish the footprint of an adult wild boar from the traces of other ungulates, because in addition to the imprint of the hoof itself, a trace of stepson fingers located on the side remains on the snow or ground. It is interesting that in young piglets in the first months of life these fingers are not supporting, and therefore do not leave a mark.
Photo of wild boar tracks in the snow added by user Hunter57 in 2014.
More photos:
Roe deer trail
Based on the footprint of a roe deer, one can judge the speed of its movement. During running and jumping, the hooves move apart and, along with the front toes, the lateral toes serve as support. When the animal moves at a pace, the print looks different.
Photo of roe deer tracks in the snow added by user albertovich in 2016.
More photos of roe deer tracks:
