Tracking

Environmental Education Topic for August:
Tracking

Tracking is a great skill to practice on hikes in city parks, at sandy beaches, and even in the playground. Tracks are evidence of the wild creatures who share our urban space. Use track discoveries to provoke discussions on animal behavior, diet, movement, and the hidden lives around us. Tracking is one more way to increase awareness and hone naturalist skills.



Activities

Who Goes There?
Use field guides, http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/nature/tracking.shtml, or pages of tracks printed from the computer, http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/circ561.html to identify tracks. What type of animal was it? Can you tell by the size and shape of the track? Or maybe by the spacing and orientation. Some animals bound with two feet in front and two in the back, others may pace, others may place tracks in a single file line. Sometimes tail and feather marks can be seen. Was the animal running quickly, turning around, or jumping? Use the suggestions found at this website: http://www.concord.org/~btinker/guide/tracks/tracks_db.html to carefully describe and draw all the attributes of a track.
Blank Slate
Use a board to clean an area of debris and smooth the dirt. Choose a place that might be frequently visited by animals, such as near a stream or close to fir trees. Check the area day after day for new tracks. Find tips on how to ask open ended questions about tracks and download printable field journal pages on the American Museum of Natural History website.

Plaster Cast Tracks
You can make tracks in mud, sand, or soft dirt with replicas of hooves and paws. Or you can find tracks of wild animals and, in the city, often domestic dogs. Mix plaster according to the directions and pour it into the track including the claw marks. Let dry for at least an hour. Pry up the plaster with a butter knife or stick and refrain from cleaning the dirt or sand off until the next day when the cast is completely dry. For more information on this and other tracking activities see: http://www.bear-tracker.com/teachers.html

Guess My Gait

Tom Brown

This works well in damp sand at the park or beach. Smooth an area of sand and walk normally across it. Now walk faster along side. Create a third line of tracks by running. What changes? What part of the track is deep or scuffed? Why? Use a board to smooth the sand again. One person gets to make a line of tracks while everyone else closes their eyes. The detectives try to determine if the tracks were made by slow or fast walking, running, jumping, turning, stopping, or leaning over. Like the human tracks, animal tracks also change depending on the movement of the animal. The Tom Brown books listed below provide detailed information on how tracks change with movement.

Resources:

Tracking and the Art of Seeing: How to Read Animal Tracks and Sign
Paul Rezendes, New York:HarperCollins Publishers, Incorporated, 1999.

Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival
Tom Brown, NY: Berkley Press, 1983.

Tom Brown's Field Guide to Nature Observation
Tom Brown,Brandt Morgan, Berkley Publishing Group, 1989

Guides:

National Audubon Society Pocket Guide
Familiar Animal Tracks of North America
John Farrand Jr. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Chanticleer Press, 1993.

Track Finder
Dorcas Miller, and Cherie Hunter Day
Rochester,NY: Nature Study Guild 1981

Pacific Coast Mammals: A guide to mammals of the Pacific Coast states, their tracks, skulls, and other signs 

Ron Russo and Pam Olhausen