412 PRACTICAL ZOOLOGY 



them. There is also a remedy in the case of mammals, and that 

 is the study of animal tracks. 



By an animal track is meant the footprint of an animal. 

 When these footprints continue for some distance, they consti- 

 tute a trail. Broken twigs and other signs are also of service 

 in deciding what kind of animal was present and what it was 

 doing. The character of the track depends somewhat on the 

 way the animal walks. The bears and man, for example, walk 

 upon the entire surface of the digits ; they are called plantigrade. 

 Cats and dogs rest only upon the outer parts of the digits (digiti- 

 grade), and the hoofed mammals such as the horse are sup- 

 ported on the ends of the digits (unguligrade) . 



The snow records the movements of animals very clearly, and 

 consequently winter is the best time to study animal tracks 

 (Fig. 281). Hard, dry snow, like a daily newspaper, is only a 

 temporary medium, but tracks made in loose, wet snow may 

 last for weeks or months. Wet sand, clay, or mud are also good 

 recorders of animal tracks, but they can be found, as a rule, only 

 near bodies of water. 



To determine the kind of animal one is tracking it is necessary 

 to know something of the habits of the animals, the structure 

 and size of their feet, and their methods of locomotion. Thus 

 the tracks of the mink, least weasel, and wolverine are shaped 

 alike, but that of the weasel is only an inch long whereas that of 

 the wolverine is five inches long, and the track of the mink may 

 end in a hole in the ice. The direction in which an animal was 

 moving may be determined by the claws. 



Tracks frequently indicate emotions such as fear, dislike, 

 or anger. Fear or caution are most often expressed. For ex- 

 ample, a rabbit came through a forest and was forced to cross a 

 frozen creek before it could reach a swamp it wished to enter. 

 The distance between its tracks as it neared the creek decreased 

 from over three to less than two feet. It finally landed backward 

 at the edge of the forest, facing its track to see if it was being pur- 

 sued. Here it stayed long enough to melt the snow under its 



