When: Winter (best after fresh snowfall)
Where: Snowy forests
What: How to interpret animal tracks
Snow reveals nature's secrets, painting the forest floor with clues to its hidden stories. Across the crisp white landscape, a world of activity unfolds. In winter animal tracks in snow allow us to piece together the hidden lives of the creatures who share our forests.
Animal tracks aren’t just footprints; they’re stories. To understand them, pay attention to patterns, sizes, and other subtle clues they leave behind:
Fox, Dog or wolf? They all leave paw prints, but fox tracks follow a nearly perfect straight line, reflecting their efficient, energy-saving walk. Fox prints are typically small, about 5–7.6 cm long, with a neat oval shape. The two front toes are close together, creating a diamond-like impression, and claw marks are usually visible. You can draw a straight line between the front toes and the others without crossing them (see illustration). Dogs, on the other hand, meander, leaving playful, zigzagging trails. Their prints are messier, with splayed toes and a larger heel pad, and the outer toes often point outward. Wolf tracks are often mistaken for those of large dogs, but their paw prints are bigger, measuring around 10–12 cm long. Wolves also conserve energy, walking in straight lines and sometimes stepping in each other’s tracks (a behavior called “single file”). Unlike dogs, wolf tracks are tidy, with toes tightly grouped and pointing forward, reflecting their efficiency.
Hare or Squirrel? Hares leap with their large back feet landing ahead of their smaller front paws. Their tracks often lead to open spaces. Squirrels, in contrast, bound between trees, their tracks forming tight, compact clusters near tree bases.
Moose or Roe Deer? Moose leave large, deep, heart-shaped tracks—sometimes as big as 18 cm long! In contrast, roe deer tracks are much smaller and more delicate, often clustered where they’ve paused to graze. Moose tracks tend to wander, leading to saplings stripped of bark.
Keep an eye out for droppings along the trails. These provide extra insight—what the animal has been eating, its size, and even how long ago it passed. Moose droppings, for example, are pellet-like, while wolf scat often contains fur or bone fragments, offering evidence of a recent meal.
THE BEHAVIOR BEHIND THE TRACKS
Each track reveals more than movement—it tells you about behavior:
Moose: The Gentle Giants
Moose tracks are a winter staple. They roam in search of food, nibbling on twigs, bark, and small shrubs. Look for signs of "browsing," where trees have been stripped of bark or branches are bitten clean. Their tracks often lead to swampy areas, which they favor even in the cold.
Hares: Masters of Evasion The zigzagging patterns of hare tracks show their escape tactics. If you spot a sudden sharp turn or backtrack, it likely indicates an encounter with a predator.
Deer: Careful Wanderers
Deer tracks often stick to trails or well-trodden paths, a sign of their cautious nature. Their feeding spots are easy to spot, with tracks clustering near shrubs and low-hanging branches they’ve nibbled on. Look closely for paired tracks where they may have stopped and stood still, scanning their surroundings for predators.
Foxes: The Stealthy Foragers
Fox tracks tell the story of a solitary hunter. Their prints often follow straight, purposeful paths, leading to areas where they search for rodents under the snow. Sometimes you’ll notice a sudden break in the pattern, where the fox may have leapt to pounce on hidden prey.
Squirrels: The Busy Hoarders
Squirrels leave bounding tracks that often circle around tree bases or lead to buried food caches. Their tracks reveal a non-stop routine of foraging and storing nuts, even in the dead of winter. Look for signs of digging in the snow near their tracks—they may have just unearthed a hidden stash!
Wild Boars: The Relentless Rooters
Wild boar tracks are distinctive, with their cloven hooves leaving sharp, deep impressions in the snow, usually with dewclaw prints, which is how you can easily distinguish them from deer hoof prints. You’ll often find evidence of their feeding habits—large areas of disturbed snow where they’ve rooted for food like acorns or roots. Their tracks are often accompanied by signs of group activity, as these animals move in sounders (family groups) and work together to uncover food.
HOW WINTER CHANGES ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Winter forces animals to adapt or perish, and understanding these strategies adds depth to the tracking experience. Food becomes scarce, pushing animals like red squirrels to rely on caches of nuts buried in the autumn. Their tracks often circle around spots where they’ve forgotten—or rediscovered—their hidden stores. For larger animals like moose and roe deer, conserving energy is key to survival. They move less and stick to well-trodden paths, creating overlapping trails as they return to familiar feeding grounds. Wolves, on the other hand, use winter conditions to their advantage. Snow makes tracking weakened prey easier, and their pack mentality ensures efficient hunts, with their coordinated efforts leaving trails that tell the story of their teamwork.
CAN WE HELP WILDLIFE IN WINTER?
Tracking wildlife isn’t just an opportunity to observe; it can also inspire action. Providing food and water, such as seeds, apples, or hay, can make a significant difference for struggling animals like birds, hares, and deer. Preserving natural habitats by avoiding resting or feeding areas helps reduce stress for wildlife. Even something as simple as leaving piles of branches or wood can offer crucial shelter for smaller creatures, giving them a place to hide from predators or harsh weather. These small acts can help the forest’s inhabitants thrive, even in the coldest months.
Spend time following a single trail and let it guide your journey. Maybe it leads to a cozy den or reveals a hidden conflict—like the telltale fur left after a wolf hunt. Each step connects you to the rhythm of the forest and its inhabitants.
HELPFUL LINKS:
My favourite book about tracking wildlife:
Go spotting wildlife with a professional:
My blog about tracking wildlife: forestjunkie.com/post/tracking-wildlife
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