The past few days have been unusually warm in Vermont, with temperatures almost hitting the low fifties. With these warm temperatures, a lot of the snow in Burlington has almost melted away, leaving animal tracks hard to come by. One must look in the mud and by water to see if they can find signs of life.
I went to Centennial Woods with a few of my friends to try to find animal tracks in the Burlington area. Immediately, we found smaller paws off the side of the trail right in the beginning. Using a handout sheet and our guide books, we were able to identify the tracks to be a raccoon’s tracks. From looking at the claw imprint, number of toes, and overall size of the print, it became easy to narrow it down to raccoon.
It was an enjoyable experience tracking animals because it made me become more aware and observant of my surroundings when I was in Centennial Woods. I uploaded the photo above to iNaturalist, and through the website, other people can comment and confirm if it is a raccoon or not. I think that it is a helpful and educational tool in identifying tracks and other living organisms.