Middle fork of the Snoqualmie River, Washington. The end of August, 2007.
1. Who?
This is a beaver (Castor canadensis) trail. The large webbed hind feet, I think you can count five toes in some of these hinds, but often with beaver you won't be able to. The much smaller front foot with long fingers that are strongly curved. A rule of thumb that often works reasonably well around here is if it is big, long and weird looking there is a good chance it is a beaver track. Often the front tracks will be wiped out by the hinds and sometimes tail drag is visible, particularly in sandy areas.
Nutria have made their way into this region now and have tracks somewhat similar to a beaver. I don't have much experience with their tracks, but from reading the field guide it seems that the toes of their front tracks are straighter than those of a beaver.
Nutria have made their way into this region now and have tracks somewhat similar to a beaver. I don't have much experience with their tracks, but from reading the field guide it seems that the toes of their front tracks are straighter than those of a beaver.
2. Which foot is nearest the ruler?
The track nearest the ruler is a front right. It is on the right side of the trail and has the toes curved inward.
3. What are you likely to find at either end of the trail?
You are likely to find water on at least one end of the trail, sometimes both. There is also a high likelihood that you will find wood that has been chewed on the other end.
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2 comments:
After voicing some much less probable options, I'll say that it is a beaver. The 5 seperate and longish toes on much smaller front foot (near the ruler) and the long toes with tissue between on the back foot are good clues. I would think that there might be water on either end of the trail. That said, I'm thinking that I need to work on the "gestalt" of a given track and maybe then go to the number of toes etc to identify it.
I'm curious what other options you considered.
I agree that it is often more useful to have a feeling for the gestalt than just going by toe count. It seems like different critters have different things that stand out and the more tracks you look at the easier it is to notice them.
I think the progression in skill for me has been to gradually put together more and more of the details that can be used which can help in differentiating between similar species or identifying from unclear tracks.
You've done a good job picking out some of the most important details of these tracks. There is one other animal around here that fits the details you note, but there are some other details that can be teased out to differentiate them.
I don't think the other critter actually lives in the area I took this picture, but it does live in the greater Seattle area. Does anybody know which animal I'm referring to?
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