ere is a site that some of you might be interested in. It is at
www.humboldt.eud/~oil97/index.html. It is dealing with the marine life but it
has some links to wildlife.

eel free to add your own photos or links. I put
in a few links, but if anyone knows of some others
that would be of interest, please add them. BTW, I got
the new Halfpenny book. Great drawings of the tracks
and scats. Finished reading the new Tom Brown book
yesterday. Really good information. I can see it will take a
lot of practice to see what he sees in the tracks.

reat addition.  Thanks for sharing.

reat looking photos.

reetings! I have added some photographs of animal tracks. Click on the Photos
link to the left to view them. Let me know what you think.<br>-Kim

ere are a couple ideas - Are you a subscriber to
the Signcutters list or the Trackers list? Both will
allow you to get the word out to other trackers. You
can join the Signcutters list by following the link
from the bottom of the following
page:<br>www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/7076/<br><br>Or, just follow the link
to the "Founders web page,"
listed on the club page here. <br><br>The Trackers list
can be joined by visiting the Tracker School web site
and following the directions there. I would just put
a message out there to see if there are any other
trackers in your area. <br><br>I've also had strange
reactions from people who I meet on the trails. They look
at you kinda funny when you try to explain. I've
only met one other person who was interested in
tracking and scat that way. In fact, I was picking apart a
coyote scat when he walked up and said he'd been
following my tracks and wanted to meet the person who was
going down the trail examining every scat in sight!
<br><br>Good luck getting your tracking club started. It can
be frustrating not having anyone to track with or
bounce ideas off of.

have also ordered it but have not received it
to date. Maybe today. I was also wondering if
everyone else has had as much difficulty locating and
conversing with individuals who enjoy wildlife, tracking,
and the out of doors as we do. I get all sorts of
strange reactions to my apparent "aimless wondering and
crawling around in the woods" like some sort of lost sole
looking at tracks and picking apart scat. Hence the
nickname "Scatman". I quit trying to explain what types of
experiences and information are derived from such actions. I
have found that the majority of people would never
understand or appreciate what and why we do what we do. I
have been trying to start a tracking club in the
Denver area but not to much luck. Any ideas would be
greatly appreciated.

ou're right - we should all be more like otters
and enjoy everything like they do. Speaking of Tom
Brown, there's a new book out. I just got mine from
Amazon.com yesterday. "The Science and Art of Tracking." It
goes into details on pressure releases and reading
action in tracks. I have only had a chance to skim so
far. Will get into reading it today. His other books
are great too. I've read them all. I like that saying
you quoted, Thormahl.

reat experience. I have never had the
opportunity to actually see River Otters yet. However, last
summer in Yellowstone I did get some good track casts
from a pair of otters that had walked along the Lamar
River. They do enjoy play. Experiences like this are
what it is all about. After putting 50 hours plus a
week in the office, I live to go out on weekends for
just such an experience. It gives meaning to life and
rejuvinates the sole. Be like the otter have fun and enjoy
life. <br><br>I have been reading some on Tom Brown's
books and found a saying which I think is quite
inspirational "The place where you lose the trail is not
necessarily the place where it ends." its just where it gets
more difficult. Kind of like life. Keep on tracking.
<br>Keep on Tracking.

ound some river otter tracks on the river bar
the other day. I was walking along looking for tracks
when I heard splashing in the river. I looked up in
time to see an otter dive. It spent quite a while
hunting in a deep pool below a cliff. It got dark and I
had to leave. I went back the next two nights and he
was always out there hunting. The second time, I
found tracks on the bank. He had romped all over and
torn up the sand everywhere he went. Found several
really good tracks in sand. They sure do like to play!

reat tracking experience, Thormahl. Hope the
pictures turn out. I was out tracking yesterday and found
a great bobcat scat with a scratch right next to it
and a perfect track in the mud. Unfortunately, it was
almost dark and I was on an unfamiliar trail. I didn't
have a camera with me either. I planned to go back and
take a picture this morning, but it rained last night.
:(<br><br>Anyway, hope your pictures turn out good.

was out tracking last Sunday and came across a
great Bobcat trail. I followed it for about a mile and
a half. During the course of following the track it
lead me across patches of snow, grassy meadows, a top
fallen timber and under pine trees where it was almost
impossible to find it. However, using search image techniqes
I was able to pick it up again, generally due to
the fact that he had to cross an area of snow. It was
interesting to see how he traversed from old log to old log,
rock to bush and so on. He looked into every nook and
cranny that he thought may hold a meal. He followed a
number of mice and rabbit trails for a short distances
and would then double back as if to follow some
predetermined course. I also found two great scratch sites
(scat) during this three hour time frame. I did managed
to get some great pictures of individual tracks,
track pairs, segments of trail containing 8 to 10
tracks, the portion of the trail where he walked along
the top of an old fallen log, and both scat sites. At
both scat sites, after photographing the scratch site
itself, I dug the scat out very carefully and
photographed it laying on top of white snow next to a very
good track impression. I hope they turn out.

have something similar, called TopoScout. Made
by MapTech. You can buy the CDs with the maps you
want. I got all of northwestern California for abour
$99. It does all the things the software you mentioned
does but, I don't think the quality of the maps is
really good when they are enlarged.

purchased a Software Program "TOPO" from REI,
for $49.00, which contains specific area coverage of
USGS maps. It will allow you to create custom maps
with labels, symbols, print at various scales, measure
distance, plot and show coordinates and much more. I used
it to plot and label 159 Bluebird nest box sites
which I mapped using a GPS receiver. I also used
different symbols to indicate various other items of
interest, i.e., eagle nests, den sites, track locations.
Works quite well.

attempted to address your questions last week
but it appears my message went out into the wild blue
yonder. So I will try again. First off, I am not familiar
with "Coyote Brush" what is its scientific name? I
have a reference book which I use in situations such
as this "American Wildlife & Plants A Guide to
Wildlife Food Habits" by Alexander C. Martin, Herbert S.
Zim, and Arnold L. Nelson - Dover Publishing. I can
find no reference to "Coyote Brush" in the book. As in
most situations I would employee the stage setting
clues; geographic location, habitat, season, and ground
surface. I live in Colorado so I am not familiar with the
wildlife of California though I assume it to be very
similiar. This is the season for deer to be in rut. Based
on the height above ground, 36 inches, that you
indicate the branches were gnawed I believe that one could
conceivably eliminate some of the smaller browsers. The
height may indicate browsing by deer or elk if they are
common to the area. A deer/elk in rut can make shambles
of the vegetation in a fairly large area. Generally
one would not have difficulty identifying such an
area after some testosterone crazed animal(s) had
taken out its frustrations on the vegetation. Parts of
the shrub would be shredded of its branches and bark
and there would be lots of broken branches and leaves
hanging from the shrub or laying around the general area.
In other words, not a very clean site. Perhaps
another possibility would be Beaver, you did mention that
you were walking along a creek. Over Thanksgiving I
was in Steamboat Springs walking along the Yampa
River and noted some Beaver sign. There were lots of
Willow branches stripped of their bark laying around on
the river bank. I followed a couple of Beaver trails
into the brush, perhaps 50 feet, there I found
numerous locations where Willows had been gnawed off, 20
to 24 inches above the ground. The area was fairly
clean however, teeth marks were quite visible as were
small wood chips. My best guesses based on the
information provided. (The strangest Beaver sign I ever came
across was in Montana when I was growing up, some may
argue that point. However, I found some trees gnawed
off about twelve feet above the ground. I thought to
myself that's one damn big Beaver. Had me looking over
my shoulder for awhile. What had actually occurred
was the Beaver had gnawed the trees down during the
winter when the snow was quite deep.)

ello everyone,<br>I found something interesting
the other day. I was out walking along a creek when I
noticed that several coyote brush plants had been
damaged. Some branches were completely cut off at the tops
and others had ragged marks that looked like tooth
marks. When I examined them closer, the tooth marks
looked too regular to be made by an animal. Then, I
looked around and noticed that every coyote brush plant
in the vicinity had been similarly damaged. Now,
I've heard that bucks in rut will attack plants, but
the destruction spread over an acre at least. It
wasn't all the branches on each plant, just a few. Some
plants had more damage than others. It had rained
heavily, erasing all tracks. And this is not an area where
a person with a chainsaw would be. I thought of
porcupines, but it doesn't make sense. The cuts look too
regular. Not paired like tooth marks. It alkmost looked as
if some plants had been pruned to the height of
about three feet. Since this is in the middle of a
state park, in the middle of nowhere, there would be no
reason to think a person would do it. So, any ideas what
animal could have caused this? It has me
puzzled.<br>-Kim Cabrera

oes anyone know of any good software that can be used for mapping tracks that
you find? I was just wondering.<br><br>Thanks

elcome thormahl! (And welcome to all the other
new members too!) Glad you found us. And thanks for
the heads-up on Halfpenny's new book. I'll have to
get that one. Just took a class from him earlier this
year. I learned so much about gaits! I'm still going
over my notes from that one.<br>-Kim

ello, I guess I am the newest member of the
club. I would like to provide another new reference
source. Dr. 1/2 cent (Halfpenny) has just recently
released a new book "Tracks and Scat" I do not have any
other information available at this time. I highly
recommend this new book. It is designed as a field
reference, small and consise, not at all like his last book,
much more user friendly. Don't get me wrong his last
book is a great book for throughs who are really into
tracking. I have worn out two of them to date. It is most
likely list on his website which I believe I saw
listeded on the Founders website. It has been difficult
finding people to share my interest in tracking.

hanks to everyone for your help! I'll take some
time to ponder my choices. <br><br>I'm used to working
with dogs tracking as we have German Shepherds, but
I've always been facinated with people who could
follow tracks...guess I'm just a Roy Rogers junkie at
heart. Anyway, I'll keep watching for additional
suggestions.

ound some interesting tracks today, both human
and animal. The ground surface was newly-deposited
river silt. I found the boot tracks first. They were
perfect impressions in the smooth surface. Each print
showed a long drag mark before the print itself. The
weight in each print was to the inside. (Deeper
impression.)For some reason, this person was dragging both feet.
I tried duplicating the effect and came up with a
theory. The only way to reproduce what I saw in those
tracks was to hold my weight over my standing leg and
drag my stepping foot a bit before setting it down. It
seemed like that track could have been made with the
drag mark because the person was wearing boots that
were too big for them. Still not sure why the weight
was shifted to the inside. I think dragging the foot
helped keep the boots on the feet!<br><br>The other
interesting tracks were those of a gray fox. It left several
sets of running steps, then there were two groups of
four tracks that indicated jumps. In the middle of the
last jump, the fox turned sideways and landed at a 90
degree angle to the trail. It then dug in its claws and
ran off in the new direction. There were no other
tracks in the vcinity, so I don't think it was chasing
prey. Wonder if foxes like to play just for the fun of
it?<br>-Kim

i Risingwolf,<br>I think tracking does both - it
helps you get closer to nature and you can track people
who get themselves lost in the woods. Tracking has
certainly made my times outdoors more enjoyable. Knowing
what wildlife is around is one benefit. Being able to
find your way back if you get off trail is another.
I'd recommend any of the books on the page Shane
recommended in his post. Also, if you want to learn from
other trackers, you can join the Signcutters e-mail
list. Go
to:<br>www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/7076/<br>Click the Join List button
near the bottom of the page.
Feel free to ask us any questions you have as you're
learning. One thing about trackers, they are always willing
to help beginners learn the art. Happy
tracking!<br>-Kim (Jordantrail)

ry the following
links:<br><a href=http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/7076/refrence.html
target=new>http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/7076/refrence.html</a><br><b\
r>and<br><br><a href=http://w3.gorge.net/tracker/books/books.htm
target=new>http://w3.gorge.net/tracker/books/books.htm</a><br><br>These sites
also have other useful links and
info.<br><br>Let me know how you go,<br>Shane

have an interest in learning about Tracking.  Are there any good books that you
can suggest?  Do you use your talents to simply embrace nature a bit closer, or
do you actually track man or beast?

pparently, a mountain lion was seen around Rhorner Park yesterday. I didn't see
but some person did.

pent this day after a drenching rainstorm
looking for tracks along a raging creek. Added my own
boot prints to the clean slate of the rain-smoothed
sand. There were abundant deer prints and a couple of
wild pigs. The finer silt held some older track
impressions. The sand was completely smoothed. All tracks
gone. Must be the clay content of the silt that allows
it to hold shape in the deluge. <br>Keep your nose
in the dirt! :)

was blessed last winter to watch a young cat
attack a herd of Mule deer on the Enchanted Mesa near
Boulder Colorado. Was very quick, silent and it missed,
and glided ever so gracefully back up into the pine
forest. The herd ran, for maybe three hundred yards and
stopped. It was then that I learned that predator and prey
do not expend unnecessary energy. It was a dance of
nature I shall not soon forget. And it all began because
Mike and I had happened upon that days Coyote tracks
in the two day old snow. Which turned into fresh
Mule deer tracks, which turned into a whole herd on
the other side of the draw. We of course got the
measurements on the cat. Was a lot smaller than the
average.(sorry don't have the measurements here at the grocery
store) and claws were definitely showing in the tracks.
Our inner vision told us the Lion was still nearby
with panick shooting out of our guts. We made a few
last stride width and length measurements and followed
the mule deer herd example except we walked,
remembering how kittens love to chase things moving fast. Chi

recently found a bear trail that showed
impressions where the bear had repeatedly stepped in exactly
the same spot every time he used the trail. There
were worn depressions in the ground where the feet had
fallen in the same spot with every passage. Tracking
cougars this summer, I noticed that they tended to use
easy routes of travel when possible - down creek beds
and along fire roads. Like most cats, they seem to
avoid stepping on anything that woould make noise. Very
stealthy. Anyone else have bear or cougar stories?

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