and the Canal. The mink will occasionally slide - 
these troughs will be 5 - 6 in. wide, the ice holes A - 
5 in. across. He makes a 'rabbit' type print generally. 
The otter is a playful creature who slides more than he 
runs. I followed an otter trail across country last 
winter for 2 miles and he slid all the way, making a 
track like a heavy narrow toboggan. The otter slide 
is smooth and flowing compared to the wallowing trough 
made by the porcupine. The skunk, an unweasel-like 
member of the family, is usually seen around buildings 
and garbage. His prints are pretty and catlike but 
are larger and show five toes to the cat's four. 
Tracks of the dog family show four toes with 
prominent claw marks, especially the front two. The 
main problem within the family is eliminating domestic 
dog tracks. Pets play more, run in erratic lines and 
often travel near or along roads, while native canines 
are more serious and secretive; they rarely use roads, 
and hunt in straighter, more deliberate lines. In 
tracks of a group of dogs, compare the size of the 
prints; domestic dog packs usually are quite hetero¬ 
geneous with some small and some large tracks, while 
those of wolf or coyote packs are quite similar in size. 
Tracks of a small band in open country (Mer Bleue) 
would be those of coyote. The shorter, more dainty 
steps of the fox can be seen in the Experimental Farm. 
Wolf tracks are occasionally seen in the wilder areas 
a bit to the north of Ottawa. 
Cats have a round and clawless print. The lynx 
often takes to trees and can be found just north of 
Ottawa. The similar but smaller bobcat seems to be 
less common. 
Most rodent tracks have a similar style: larger 
hind feet (generally paired and somewhat splayed), 
leading smaller (generally unpaired) front feet; tail 
marks often show. Groundhogs are out only early and 
late (except for February 2nd of course!). Their 
tracks are easy to confirm by following them the short 
distance to their burrow entrance. Chipmunks are 
frisky creatures, but only early and late — they hiber¬ 
nate. They, along with red squirrels and gray squirrels 
(black squirrels are merely a melanistic form of the 
gray), are very common in the city, especially in the 
AO 
