Another Track quiz !

[Gerel]

Some more tracks found in the snow for you all.

Nice and easy to start with,



Number two is slightly harder perhaps,



And finally,



ATB

Steve

[Dogghound]

1. Badger
2. Dog/fox no pad detail, but basic shape suggests fox
3. Carnt see any detail

[Badger Watching Man]

Nice one - I love quizzes!

I go for:

1) Badger - although I've not seen a furrow in the snow like that

2) Fox - based on general shape and the perfectly registered (foot on top of foot) trail pattern

3) Dog - based on the trail pattern - imperfect register - feet almost but not quite on top of each other.

[Gerel]

Yes, badger for number 1, I've seen photos of the furrow made by the belly but this was the first time I'd seen it in the field.

Number two is fox for the reasons Badger Watching Man gave, plus (though you couldn't know from the pics) the trail comes out of what I know is an active earth

I'm afraid I can't give a definite answer for the third, I was hoping someone would recognise the pattern. The size and spacing was wrong for either of our dogs (and no others would have been there). the prints emerged from an area covered in the signs of badger, fox and squirrel. I did wonder if it was a running badger (paw size would be right) but I can't find a example of the pattern left by them running to compare.

Steve

[alisonclair]

Am becoming very intrigued by all these footprints. Can anyone tell me if this is a badger print? (sorry, think I may have smudged it a bit....duuh!)

[Badger Watching Man]

Looks like it to me!

You've got two prints overlapping there. The front paw (with the claws) is slightly ahead, and the back paw (a bit melted) is overlapping it slightly at the back. This makes it look like one long print, but in fact it's two.

Either that or it's a very small yeti...

[alisonclair]

Thanks!

[christina]

Whilst on a footprint identification, does anyone know who or what made these prints please?




Many thanks

[Gerel]

Could be squirrel, what sort of size were they?

Steve

[christina]

Hi Steve, they were small prints and I guess they would be squirrel as we do have at least one who visits the garden. Thanks for the ID.