The drawings have been condensed and grouped con¬ 
siderably due to space limitations. Most tracks will 
actually be more spread out than the illustrations in¬ 
dicate. Also, animals which make similar tracks are 
shown beside a series representative for the group - 
as in the shrew, or the weasels which make a ’paired 1 
pattern. To identify an animal track using the draw¬ 
ings, first decide which of the series the track in 
question most closely resembles - then make the appro¬ 
priate measurement to identify to species. 
Shrews are high-speed insectivores. The smoky 
shrew prefers forests and generally travels under the 
snow. Pygmy and masked shrews make similar-sized tracks 
one of these creatures lived along the Rideau River near 
the Heron Road bridge last year. The short-tailed shrew 
prefers open situations and is the most commonly en¬ 
countered. 
Black bear tracks can be seen in the Gatineau 
early and late in the winter. 
Raccoons are fairly common in the city especially 
near waterways, for in addition to being garbage pickers 
they are good fishermen. Note the hand-like front paw. 
There are eight ’weasels’ in the area and they 
make very characteristic tracks: either a ’rabbit’ 
style print, or a ’paired’ pattern. In the ’paired’ 
pattern hindfeet register on top of the front. In the 
’rabbit’ style note that in this family, unlike rodents, 
the four feet are similar in size. Tracks of the 
northern wolverine have been seen in the last few years 
in Gatineau Park near Luskville Falls. These are cer¬ 
tainly worth watching for. The fisher’s paired-style 
print can also be seen in the Gatineau. The marten is 
a slightly larger sister to the water-loving mink, 
but it prefers drier, more coniferous areas. Mer Bleue 
or just north of Ottawa is a good place to look for his 
’rabbit’ style track. The tiny tracks of the least 
weasel have also been seen in Gatineau Park. The short¬ 
tailed and long-tailed weasel (ermine) make similar¬ 
sized paired prints. These hunters are very spirited 
and often leap and bound through the snow. Ermine as 
well as mink tracks can be found along the Rideau River 
37 
