Track Guide

This guide initially displays common tracks of all shapes. Use the selectors below to view particular shapes, include rare species, or search by name.

Anything that moves over the ground leaves some sort of marking of its passage. In particular, footprints left behind in soil, snow, mud, or other ground surfaces provide a means of recognizing different species. The illustrations and characteristics listed below highlight key features that can be used to identify the tracks of many of the animals in the area.

Track References

Alderness Wilderness College
Animal Track ID [PDF]
Beartracker
Deerdance
Elbroch, Mark, 2003 Mammal Tracks and Signs: A Guide to North American Species
eNature
Gaits
Lowery, James, 2013 Tracker’s Field Guide. Falcon Guides
Nature Tracking
North Woods Guides
Outdoor Action

Subject Area Experts (all guides)

Steve Cary (butterflies)
Beth Cortright (insects)
Terry Foxx (invasive plants)
Leslie Hansen (mammals)
Richard Hansen (fish, mammals)
Dorothy Hoard (butterflies, trees)
Chick Keller (flowers, herbarium)
Shari Kelley (geology)
Kirt Kempter (geology)
Garth Tietjen (reptiles)
David Yeamans (birds)

Web Development and Content Management

Pat Bacha
Jennifer Macke
Graham Mark
Akkana Peck

Contact

Please contact us for local nature questions and sightings. We welcome comments, corrections, and additions to our guides.

For more information about local nature, please visit our Nature Blog or subscribe to PEEC This Week.

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Showing 1 of 29 tracks.
Woodrat

Drawn based upon Beartracker image

Woodrat

Photo: Juan Cruzado Cortes

Woodrat

Photo: William Terry Hunefeld

Woodrat

(Neotoma spp.)

Family: Cricetidae (New World Rats and Mice, Voles, Hamsters, and Relatives)

Gait: bound
Form: small claws; round toes

Front Foot: 5 toes; 4.0 in (10.2 cm) - 0.7 in (1.7 cm)
Hind Foot: 5 toes; 0.6 in (1.5 cm) - 0.9 in (2.3 cm)

Front and back prints may overlap giving the impression of alternating single prints.

Scat consists of a pile of fecal pellets that can vary in color and texture. Woodrats build a "house" of sticks with their nest inside. There is usually a well-worn track going back and forth from the house.

Mammalian Guide - Woodrat 
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