Answers to our Daily Tracking Challenge
This is a time to create and share content that engages, entertains, educates and inspires the world.
We post a question a day, except for Tuesdays because that’s Answer Day!
Answer list: Bennett’s wallaby tracks from Tasmania; grey squirrel tracks in snow from Connecticut in the USA; lilac-breasted roller right wing primary feather from the Republic of South Africa; red fox track from Poland; significance of animal communication, red-billed oxpecker from the Republic of South Africa; human sign, a sharpening stone from the Republic of South Africa
The art and science of tracking develops creative and critical thinking skills, and curiosity and empathy, which also help us to better understand our place as caretakers of this beautiful world. The full expression of tracking includes more than just identifying tracks and signs. It also includes the interpretation of behaviours from tracks and signs, and the following and finding of animals (or people) using tracks and signs. Following and finding, or trailing, also builds confidence and leadership qualities in individuals, and teamwork among groups. Tracking requires us to really see the environment, and each other, and to reconnect to fundamental systems of living, which include knowledge of self, and connection to community (including non-human communities) and land. Tracking IS original wisdom. It’s both ancient, and new. Our ancestors tracked animals for food, clothing, shelter, and better quality of life. Today, we push the frontiers of tracking forward by including technology and new discoveries. One of the best things about tracking is that the “book of nature” is so vast that we can never know it all. It’s always exciting and always humbling.
Wednesday, 20 May 2020
Who’s tracks, and why, from Cris Palmares in Tasmania?
Bennett’s Wallaby tracks from Cris Palmares in Tasmania
It’s exciting to get something from the Australian region. Lee and I planned to go there this year and start trying to identify excellent trackers to become CyberTracker evaluators of the future, but, then, the pandemic slowed us down.
Cris has a fantastic account on Instagram, @everythingleavesatrace. These are Bennet’s wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) “quadrupedal walk” tracks. Cris explains that the identification comes from size and geography, as well as morphology. There are only 3 macropod (“large foot”) species in Tasmania. There is the forester or eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) and the rufous-bellied pademelon (Thylogale billardierii). The kangaroo tracks are larger that these, and the pademelon tracks are smaller. The animal slowed here, it was going uphill and perhaps it was looking around at something.
It’s hard to make out in the tracks, but, in Tracks, Scats and Other Traces, a Field Guide To Australian Mammals, by Barbara Triggs, they are described as having 5 clawed toes on the front feet, and 4 clawed toes on the hind foot. In the hind foot, the long toe 4 and the shorter toe 5 are the only ones that touch the ground. The second and third toes are joined and used for grooming. The first toe is missing. The baseline gait is a bipedal hop, but it’s called a walk when they slow down like this and all 4 feet register. They use the bipedal hop when going somewhere, but slow down to a walk when they aren’t going far. The tail is used as a prop when moving slowly.
The reference books Cris uses in Tasmania.
We had the following answers from around the world, which included some very well-educated guesses!
Robert Hendrix (USA) – it has a big tail that it was sitting on and then hopped off.
Chuggy Charles (UK) – gotta be a wallaby or small kangaroo using its hands, keeping balance in the sand, then dragging forward. Feet either side say it ‘hops’.
David Kennedy – Given the Large wide set legs at what seems like the back and then smaller front legs and what appears to be a tail drag something like a small kangaroo or wallaby maybe a Pademelon? I’ve not been to Tasmania but have spent time doing some tracking in various parts of Australia from memory pademelons have fairly short tails and are relatively solitary, but not sure if that would be enough to be able to differentiate? Not sure of other identification options is the tail not furry or have I misremembered.
rich_in_the_woods – A very well-endowed rabbit! The paw prints look like rabbit to me – bear in mind I’m a complete novice though – but it looks like something is dragging between its legs. On second thought, that account is Australian. Kangaroos and wallabies abound and they move around on their back legs only, with enormous tails dragging behind. So, I’m going with a roo or wallaby. Looking forward to learning more!
foxtracker805 (Mike Watling, USA) – I’m going w/a red-necked wallaby based on track size. Sand tends to distort the size, so that track is actually a little smaller than it appears in the photo. I would think kangaroo tracks would be much larger since it is a much larger animal as compared to a wallaby. Pure guess though. (Cris confirmed that the red-necked wallaby is another name for the Bennett’s wallaby.)
Thursday, 21 May 2020
Our question today comes from the winter in southeastern Connecticut, USA, on a rare snowy day near the coast. Who’s track or sign? In addition to an identification, can you tell us something about it, such as how it’s moving?
A grey squirrel’s bounding pattern in snow, from Connecticut in the USA, photo by Kersey Lawrence
This is a bounding pattern of a grey (or gray) squirrel. In the mostly deciduous habitat that this panoramic photo was taken in, they are the only squirrel species present. The size of the tracks are also too big for a red squirrel. Squirrels are rodents, and in Connecticut we do get red squirrels, but I have never seen one in that area. There are, of course, Eastern chipmunks, which are much smaller, and also New England cottontails that make similar track patterns. In each group of 4 feet, here, the front tracks are on the left and the hind tracks are on the right, the animal is moving from left to right. The front feet land (mostly) together, and then the hind feet come over and around the front feet as they gather and leave the ground and the animal bounds forward. In lagomorphs, like the cottontail, the front feet are usually more staggered, one after the other, not side by side, and the animal is narrower, proportionally. Squirrels are chunky little things with wide butts, while rabbits are slender and streamlined. You usually don’t get a lot of detail in squirrel tracks because they are very furred, while squirrel paws are “naked” and, in better photos, you can make out individual toes, pads, claws, etc.
Our correct answers were:
Robert Hendrix (USA) bunny hop, not sure what kind. Pics not so good on my phone – poor excuse, Ha! Squirrel maybe? Bounding squirrel.
Justene Tedder (Canada) I will say some type of rodent? Squirrel for the size? It’s going in a bounding run from left to right as the toes point that way and the hind legs are coming through on the outside and overstepping the closer together front feet.
foxtracker805 (Mike Watling, USA) These look like a gray squirrel. My answer is mainly based on the bound pattern and secondarily on the size of the tracks. (Differentiate from red by) mainly track size. Plus, the carpal pads of the red squirrel are a disproportionally larger part of the overall track when compared to the fox or gray squirrel.
Richard Andrews (UK) Grey squirrel? Bounding gait with front feet landing side by side rather than one behind the other as with rabbit. Size and bound-distance seems about right too.
Friday, 22 May 2020
Our question today comes from our Ngala Training Camp in the Greater Kruger area of the Republic of South Africa (RSA). Who’s sign? In addition to an identification, can you tell us something about it, such as, what part of the body is it from?
A right wing, primary feather from a lilac-breasted roller in South Africa, photo by Kersey Lawrence
This was a fun one that generated a lot of interest. I was particularly fascinated by the ways that some participants went about searching for a similarly colored bird from somewhere they had never been! This is a primary flight feather from the right wing of a lilac-breasted roller. Here is a photo of the bird:
A lilac-breasted roller, photo by Kersey Lawrence
When determining the part of the body, we can say it’s a wing feather by coloration and by the way the feather is narrower on one side of the vein and wider on the other. We can say it’s a right wing because the narrowest edge leads into the wind. Very often, when we can’t say what species of bird it is, we can still tell what part of the body it’s from.
Our participants answered:
Justene Tedder (Canada) Lilac breasted roller primary feather – shorter leading edge on the left side and the sleek look, right wing.
Frikkie Kotze (RSA) Right wing feather, looks like a Lilac-breasted roller.
Mark Apgar (USA) Looks like a primary feather from the right side (I’d guess it was the 2nd or 3rd from the front). Bird appears to be blue jay sized (although clearly not a blue jay). If only there were a regional feather guide I could look it up in! (Mark jests, because Lee and I are currently gathering feathers and writing one! We have the feathers from a lilac-breasted roller, which match this one as P9, but don’t yet have a European roller for comparison.)
Chuggy Charles (UK) LBR, colouring, primary size… no idea of which wing.
Berenice Fouche (RSA) Lilac Breasted Roller for sure.
Peter Walker-Munro (UK) Haha, ok so LBR (Lilac-breasted roller)? Unfortunately, all my books are still in SA.
meere.rose.kuz (Meredith Rose) Primary flight feather from a lilac breasted roller? I didn’t see one when I was down in South Africa a few years ago, but it looks like the proper colors from their wing! And guessing it’s a primary feather because of the shape, right side?
northwindswildernessschool (Blake Samuel Southard, USA) It looks like a primary flight feather, but I don’t know any African bird species.
foxtracker805 (Mike Watling, USA) I think it is a right leading primary of a PLB (pretty little bird).
sugar.gliding – Idk South African birds, but my guess is European roller because of the color and a quick search online says they can winter that far south; and right wing. I only know that bird because of the painting by Dürer (worth a search online for lovers of beauty, talent, and birds).
Jaap-Jan Flikweert (Netherlands) European roller
Saturday, 23 May 2020
Our question today comes the Białowieza National Park in Poland, from our epic adventure with CyberTracker Track and Sign Specialist Dan Hansche owner of the eco-tourism company Spur Wander (https://www.spurwander.com/) in February this year. Who’s track?
A red fox track from Poland, photo by Kersey Lawrence
These critters are amazingly widespread and were well recognized. There was some debate between red and grey (or gray) fox tracks on this one. Let’s look a drawing of each from Mark Elbroch’s Mammal Tracks & Sign (2nd ed.).
The sketches of grey fox and red fox tracks from Mark Elbroch’s Mammal Tracks & Signs, 2nd ed.
Other than a size difference, where grey fox tracks are smaller and red fox tracks are bigger (with some overlap), the sketches show a much furrier foot reflected in the tracks of the red fox. Frequently, there is also a conspicuous “bar” across the metacarpal (heel pad) of the front foot – the little line. If you look at the photo from Poland, you see a very furry foot with a bar.
Comments from our participants that were helpful in the process:
Robert Hendrix (USA) – I’m seeing fur on pads, and right size for fox. pressure release – to me – shows possibly being very sneaky and quiet. I only have experience with reds and haven’t seen grey sign that I know of. So, it would only be a guess, the hairy pads is really all I know. I did see a post about the nails not registering. Normally I’ll see a bit of nail – but if this guy waz tipy toen his nails might be up far enough not 2 register. If that’s even the case, soooo, I’d guess red fox.
Mark Apgar (USA) – I’d go with fox due to toe arrangement and lots of hair showing in the print. If it were in my area, I might lean towards gray fox due to the lack of claw imprints. (Later, Mark changed his mind to red fox).
Anya Rose (USA) – When I first met Dan (Hansche) and started studying tracking with him, he taught me that reading the ground is like reading letters and there are some tracks you learn to “read” just like you would read a word immediately by sight. Same with teaching reading. My immediate reading says red fox bc of the fur and also the time of year. In winter I think they grow more fur on their feet. Which also helps them walk through snow better. I think a gray fox might be a little wider and maybe more square than this track. A red fox track looks elongated to me.
northwindswildernessschool (Blake Samuele Southard, USA) – I love this track. If they have red foxes in Poland, I say red fox. The fur in the track, the rear toes tucked in behind the front toes. The narrowness of the overall track.
Lauren Lay – Looks foxy.
Stuart Wedge (UK) – Toe arrangement points to wild k9. Negative space between the pads and star shape of the raised area in the middle with an overall thin linear shape rather than thick oval. Hair in the track is very indicative of Red Fox. Normally would show two very parallel claw marks but these are not in the track.
Liz Snair (USA) – Red fox due to the fur in the negative area surrounding pads.
Taryn Ingram-Gillson (RSA) – A small fox?
Sandy Reed (USA) – Red fox. Bar on the metacarpal pad and super furry track. Also, right size.
nico.kritzinger – I have no idea what is happening in Poland but with those toes it looks like a jackal that got his toenails clipped. Looks like the animal was walking a bit downhill hence why the back pad is no showing nicely. Also looks like there is a lot of hair in between the toes but it’s not lynx. Would love to know what it is.
acornsnvenison (Richard Pashu Esquibel, USA) – Fox, direct register. 4.5 cm, four toes, furry paw, small heal pad, oval shape, the H or X in the middle of the foot…. the only thing I can’t see is claw marks, that would really settle it for me… nice track.
foxtracker805 (Mike Watling, USA) Red fox, right hind. This track is definitely canid; small pad and can draw an “x” between the toes. Red fox as the track is showing lots of fur and I can see a small horizontal bar diagnostic of red fox. I call it a hind (a) due the overall shape being more oval than round, (b) the amount of negative space and toes 2&5 are tucked neatly under toes 3&4, and (c) the size at 4.5 cm is at the lower end for V.v., but that size fits for the hind. As to side of body, I see a slight asymmetry which indicates the right side. That’s my thinking for a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Richard Andrews (UK) Red fox. Furry, compact canine arrangement of pads. Front “bar” on palm-pad. Claws sometimes don’t show clearly.
Sunday 24 May 2020
Our question today comes from our Ngala Training Camp in the Greater Kruger area of the Republic of South Africa (RSA). What bird is this and what is its significance to trackers?
A red-billed oxpecker sitting on a rhino in South Africa, photo by Lee Gutteridge
I LOVED this question, because it starts to really get into what tracking is about. It’s so much more than just identifying tracks, although identification is the obvious first step. My motto is, “Trackers identify, interpret, follow, and find.” If you aren’t doing all of these, you need to take the training wheels off. So, this question is all about animal communication, which is sometimes called “bird language” in the USA. Animals communication is part of animal behaviour, which trackers need to know to stay safe and help find animals.
Here is an excerpt from my PhD dissertation about it:
Alarm calls are part of a suite of animal communications that also includes body language and flight patterns. A series of sharp, short, high-intensity barking calls by a vervet monkey can alert other monkeys in the troop of a nearby predator such as a leopard. Another monkey, or an observant tracker, hearing those alarm calls, can watch the alarm calling monkeys to determine the direction they are looking. The whole troop will turn to face the direction of the leopard, often climbing into the canopy of the tallest nearby trees, so they can watch the leopard until it has moved far away. This combination of alarm calling and body language is one part of animal communication. Of course, trackers must know something about the different intraspecific calls of monkeys (or other animals), in order to distinguish regular communications from alarm calling. Trackers further differentiate the alarm calls of monkeys into their species-specific calls. Studies have shown that vervet monkey has at least a dozen recognizable calls, each for a different specific threat. Knowing the difference between these calls will help the tracker to determine whether the monkeys are specifically alarming at a large bird of prey such as a crowned eagle, a dangerous reptile such as a southern African python or a large terrestrial predator such as a leopard or lion. The intensity of alarming can also help the tracker to determine the proximity of a predator. If the predator is close, several monkeys may call together, in its direction. As it gets further away, less dominant members of the troop seem to lose interest in the threat, although larger male monkeys might continue for a longer time period. The intensity of alarming can also help the tracker to determine the type of predator. Leopards are well known predators of monkeys and baboons, therefore, the alarm calls for leopards are extremely intense in sound and cadence, whereas a predator like a hyena won’t initiate the same intensity because they can’t climb and aren’t as successful in catching monkeys and baboons. African tree squirrels have a less general upward and downward alarm calls, and similar systems of body language for their predators. Whether or not the squirrel goes to the top of the tree, or remains under cover of branches, can help with determining if it is a terrestrial or aerial predator, and whether or not the predator can climb. Ungulates, such as bushbucks, impalas, and kudus, also have a sharp barking alarm call for their predators and a vigilant body posture with senses focused towards the threat. Even silent creatures, like giraffes, are sometimes able to see predators from far away and stand, focused in that direction until the threat passes. Birds, too, have systems of communication through alarm calls, body language, and flight patterns. Some of the most useful birds to know in South Africa are two species of oxpeckers. Oxpeckers eat insects, especially ticks, from hairy animals. A tracker, hearing the calls of oxpeckers while walking through the bush, can become alerted to Cape buffalos or rhinos nearby. Hearing the calls of oxpeckers flying overhead in the air, and then watching the oxpeckers suddenly fly down, as a group, into thick bush ahead can also similarly indicate the presence of dangerous animals. Alarm calls of almost any bird, combined with intensity of vocalizations and body language (pointing position and height in vegetation), and flight patterns, can warn trackers of snakes or other animals of interest and concern. Flight patterns include mobbing, vs fleeing behaviours, and the flight distance often tells the tracker something about the intensity of the threat. Some birds will even follow predators, at a safe distance, to keep them in view until they leave their territories. Soaring-dynamics in birds-of-prey and scavenger-birds can give away the presence of the kills of predators. First arrivals to a kill site are bateleurs and tawny eagles, which can see from great heights. Their presence is noted by different species of vultures, who then arrive in great numbers, dropping from the sky. If these birds remain perched in nearby trees, it’s likely that the predator(s) are still feeding on the kill, whereas if the birds are dropping all the way to the ground, the predator has left the kill and this allows the birds to come in and feed.
In recent years in the USA, animal communication has been popularized into “bird language” with an almost exclusive focus on birds and “sit spots”, but all animals communicate and this language seems universal and interpretable with regards to trackers and tracking. It’s an old language, one that humans have been paying attention to for much longer than any label we could give it. Jon Young, together with Dan Gardoqui as his science editor, have a USA-based book on the topic that lays out a process for learning through sit spots and bird language, called, What the Robin Knows. Even more recently, Dan, through his company Lead with Nature, has concentrated even more on birds and their communication by combining the sit spot and bird language into a focused “bird sit.”
Here are the amazing answers we got from our participants:
Pete Fletcher (UK) Red Billed Oxpecker. I believe the significance is that if tracking and these are seen it is a good indication there is Buffalo around nearby. I believe this is particularly important when on foot so as to not accidentally bumping into Buffalo.
Justene Tedder (Canada) Red billed oxpecker. Listen for the calls for large ungulates while on foot especially. buffalo giraffe and even rhino.
natureofyoga (Kat Koch, USA) It’s a red-billed oxpecker (the bill is a solid red color & has a yellow eye ring). While I’ve never experienced this, I’ve heard they are quick to alarm call when predators approach their hosts. This can help keep trackers safe while in the Bush & grab their awareness to say “Hey! There might be something cool/dangerous. Pay attention!”
If you’d like even more info on these birds, oxpeckers (the one in the photo is a red-billed oxpecker), and how wildlife also use them, check out the scientist, Roan D. Plotz’s work: https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/birds-on-rhinos-back-help-them-avoid-poachers/#transcripts-body
Monday 25 May 2020
Our question today comes from the Republic of South Africa (RSA). What happened to this piece of soapstone?
A soapstone rock that has been used by humans to sharpen blades, photo by Kersey Lawrence
So, no one attempted this one! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, because it’s not your classic animal tracks or signs, it’s human sign. But what are we, but human-animals? It’s important to know human sign, also, so you don’t mistake it for animal sign. It’s also important in search and rescue, fugitive recovery, anti-poaching operations, and just because it’s interesting and sharpens all the tools in your toolbox. This sign is old, from some days past when a little village probably existed in the area, and people from the village used this soft soapstone to sharpen their tools. Cool, eh?
I hope that you all are getting a sense that this tracking thing is big…
Thanks to everyone who participated. Let’s keep learning together! If you have photos (with an explanation that you’d like to contribute), please contact me at kersey@originalwisdom.com – your contributions will be credited to you.
HEADS UP! Even though we aren’t out of the proverbial “woods” yet with this coronavirus pandemic, I need to start transitioning away from a #DAILYTRACKINGCHALLENGE. While I’ve enjoyed the interaction and the learning very much, it takes a lot of time to do this, and is difficult to do from the bush with limited wifi. Therefore, in mid-June, after Week 10, we will be transitioning to a one-question-a-week format, on #TrackerTuesdays, and the answers will be published on the first Tuesday of every month in our Newsletter.
#dailytrackingchallenge, #trackertuesdays, #trackingisoriginalwisdom, #natureguidetraining, #cybertracker, #trackercertification, #trackermentoring, #alwaystracking, #environmentaleducation, #ecologicalliteracy, #ecologicalintelligence #wildlifetracking, #animaltracking, #tracksandsigns, #systemsthinking, #ecology, #nature, #science, #conservation, #sustainability, #resilience, #adaptation #thinkinglikeamountain #weareallconnected #BeMoreNeedLess #trackinginafrica #greaterkruger
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