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Animal tracking lures us on an amazing journey into the world of nature, and encourages us to open all of our senses to its subtle clues hidden everywhere.
Where is your interest in tracking animals: animal track identification; trailing - following animal footprints over long stretches; track aging - discovering how long the tracks have been there; Gait interpretation - knowing how animals moved through an area without actually having seen them; and more!
Here we teach you to track animals as an interpretive art--one that sharpens our awareness of nature and deepens our understanding of our own behavior. The same routines that make for success in tracking can easily translate to the modern world, enhancing the quality of our lives.
Trackers speak a language which is based not only on a thorough knowledge of tracks, trails and sign, but also on a rich grounding in the natural history, anatomy, and behavior characteristics of animals and the ethnobotany of plants.
The Kamana Naturalist Training Program is an amazing program for those wanting to track. It gives the essential background for building sensory awareness and knowledge of land needed to track animals.
Animal Track Identification:
Mystery Track 1: See if you can solve this animal mystery and improve your tracking skills!
Mystery Track 2: Look carefully at the tracks and see if you can figure out "whoisit"?
More to come...
Identifying Animal Tracks: The Tracking Funnel is a model that will help you identify tracks based on not only the individual animal sign, but larger systems like bioregions and habitats as well.
Following Wolf Tracks: In the Presence of Wolves: Wolves are elusive creatures, and this article explores how important it is (or not) to actually see them in the backcountry.
Mountain Lion Tracks vs. Dog Tracks: Do you have mountain lions in your area? Curious about that big track you found? How do you tell the difference between mountain lion tracks and dog tracks?
On the Trail of Mustelids, Notes from a Tracker’s Journal
S.Ha.G.: Tracker Jon Young discusses the importance of the Slow Harmonic Gait in track interpretation.
Tracking the forested landscape: A beautiful aricle on sign tracking in the forest
Tracking our natural roots: Why is it important to learn tracking?
Animal Tracking Guide 1: What to Bring: A simple checklist of what the beginner animal tracker should take with them in the field.
More to come...
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