BlO—Lancaster Farming; Saturday, December 19,1981
Do you recognize animal tracks?
LANCASTER An enjoyable
part of playing in the woods is the
discovery of animal tracks in the
snow. Tracks can be found during
any season of the year, but fresh,
white snow provides an excellent
base for them in the winter.
Tracks tell the story of an
animal’s life in the woods. They
reveal where the animal travels,
what he eats, and where he sleeps.
It is difficult to find perfect
prints that show all details of the
animal’s foot. Snow may melt, turn
slushy, or drift over the track.
Parts of the prints may be missing
or the impressions may be
distorted. These conditions make
the tracks hard to read, but often
the pattern or arrangement of the
prints are more important than the
details of the foot.
Here are some common tracks to
look for and they are grouped
according to the best place to look
for them.
Woodland Tracks
Porcupine These tracks are
rarely clear, but are easily iden
tified because porcupines plow
through snow and drag their feet.
Their trails usually lead from
ground burrows or rock dens to
feeding areas.
Gray Squirrel The tracks of
the gray squirrel usually lead from
tree to tree. Interruptions in the
tracks indicate where the squirrel
stopped to dig for a buried nut, or
some other type of food.
Look for these tracks near farm
land:
Opposstun These tracks are
most common on open farm land.
The best places to look are in old
orchards and along paths and
roadways. The hind foot of the
oppossum has a hand-like thumb
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Composer and tohn Paul
TONES SEA CAPTAIN,
which makes this print easy to
identify.
Skunk Even though this
animal may be inactive during
very cold weather, their tracks
may be found in the snow. Skunks
sleep in burrows or establish dens
under buildings. The prints are
found in a diagonal pattern.
Look for these tracks near
water:
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Porcupine
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Muskrat Muskrats like water.
They make underwater burrows,
dig for the roots of water plants
and build houses from piles of
aquatic plants.
Raccoon Look for raccoon
tracks along streams and mar
shes, and other water areas. The
raccoon is also an excellent
climber, so watch for prints at the
base of trees.
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Squirrel
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Raccoon
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, Make plaster casts
of animal tracks
If you follow this procedure,
you can take a plaster cast of
an animal track in the soil or
snow. Try to find a clear,
clean print, and remove all
leaves and branches around it.
1. You will need 2-inch strip
of cardboard and a paperclip.
Make a circle with the strip
and secure it with thfe paper
clip. Press this into the soil or
snow around the print to make
the form.
2. Mix about 1 2/3 parts
plaster of pans with 1 part of
water to make a thin batter.
Snow - will melt when the
plaster is poured unless you
use lots of snow to cool the
piaster, nr dry dust plaster of
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pans in the print, to make a
base. Pour the mixture
carefully over the print.
3. When the plaster is hard,
depending upon your batter,
lift the cast and ca> fully
remove the cardboard. Clean
it gently with a brush. This is a
negative cast.
4. To make a positive cast,
coat the negative cast' with
vaseline, and repeat the
casting process, in-an old
container.
5. When the plaster is hard,
remove the' negative
carefully. You now have a
positive cast which is a
duplicate of the original print.
Opossum
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Muskrat