Trail Tracking
 ©2007 Publications International, Ltd. The trail tracking animal activity. |
What You'll Need:
- Garden gloves
- A forest, meadow, or beach
How to Do Trail Tracking:
Step 1: Look for animal tracks in freshly fallen snow, on sandy
beaches, or in the mud along streams and ponds. Tracks are easier to
see if you walk toward the sun, because the shadows make them more
distinct.
Step 2: When you find tracks, stop and have a close look. (Push
away any leaves and rocks in the way.) Try to determine what animals
were there.
You'll probably find lots of cat and dog tracks, but you may also see tracks of raccoons, rabbits, muskrats, or large birds.
Step 3: Try to determine what the animal was doing. Did it come by
the water for a drink? Was it traveling across an open field in the
snow?
If the tracks are deep and far apart, the animal may have been running.
Are other tracks nearby? Could one animal have been following the other?
If you see many tracks in one spot, perhaps the animal was nosing around looking for something to eat.
Step 4: Try to follow the tracks as far as you can. If you lose the
trail, mark the last track you found and move in circles around it,
wider and wider, until you find the next track.
