TRACKS IN THE SNOW 293 



animals have their young, what havoc would be 

 wrought among the weaker species by such creatures 

 as the mink, the weasel or the fox. The home of the 

 young would be revealed to man and beast. But, 

 fortunately, few animals, with the exception of the 

 mice and the porcupine, give birth to their young 

 until after the treacherous snow has gone. 



To give an accurate description in words of the 

 forms of the various animals' tracks in the snow 

 would be almost if not quite impossible, so subtle are 

 the differences, and it seems best to advise anyone 

 interested in the subject to visit a zoo on a snowy 

 day, and then make mental and pencil notes while 

 the tracks are fresh and there is absolutely no 

 question as to by what animal they are made. Of 

 course, where you have the good fortune to see 

 a wild animal in its wild state and the snow is in 

 good condition, take advantage of the circumstance 

 by making a careful examination of the tracks, 

 following to see whether they change much under 

 different conditions. It is scarcely necessary to 

 say that a knowledge of the form of the animal's 

 foot is desirable. Such knowledge may be partially 

 obtained from skins and mounted specimens in the 

 museums, but, owing to the drying of the pads, no 

 accurate idea can be gained of what the footprint 

 is like except from the living or freshly-killed 

 animal. A muddy day in a zoo will teach you 

 more about the exact form of an animal's footprint 

 than all the museums in the world. 



