Taking Paws to Identify Winter Animal Tracks

Though there are many animals in New England that tuck away and hibernate for the winter, there are many that continue to live their lives, usually hunting or foraging for food, which is why signs of wildlife are often more prominent in the winter when there is snow on the ground. You may have found that after a fresh snowfall, in the morning there are different tracks around your yard. Whether they are from a neighborhood cat or that pesky racoon that gets into your garbage, you may be able to identify what types of critters you have around by the tracks they leave in the snow. This is also fun and handy when you're out on a walk, a hike in the woods or ice fishing. Finding animal tracks and spending time to identify them can be a great way to learn about the animals we have in our backyards. To help identify animal tracks, you will want to observe the number of toes you see, the shape, presence of claws and what type of gait or pattern they are in. State of New Hampshire Fish and Game have some great resources online for identifying animal tracks, with printable PDFs: www.wildlife.nh.gov. Some key identifiers to look out for: Number of Toes and Claws Four toes: Foxes, coyotes and wolves have four toes and will usually have claw marks along with them. Felines such as cats and bobcats will have four toes but no claws because they are retracted when they are walking around. Five toes: Raccoons, opossums and bears all have five toes. Three toes: Birds such as turkeys or grouse have three toes and often show claws. Two toes: Deer or moose have two-toed hooves that sometimes may look like a heart-shaped print. Gait and Pattern of Prints Walking gait: Deer, foxes, coyotes, bobcats and moose all have a walking gait. Hopping or galloping gait: Rabbits, squirrels and mice have a gait where you will find their hind feet land with their front feet. Bounding gait: Weasels, otters and fisher cats will have side-by-side patterns with front feet together and hind feed together. Waddling gait: Raccoons, skunks, bears and opossum will have four separate prints, alternating sides. Size and Shape You can measure the print length and width to help identify the species. An example would be that a deer track will be smaller than a moose track, or a fox would be smaller than a coyote. Other Clues If you are stuck and having a hard time, you could also look around for some other clues not related to the track itself. Check for animal scat, fur or digging signs. Those clues may help in your investigation.