This past Saturday, I ventured to the golf course behind Davis Hall and found numerous animal tracks. I saw lots of squirrel and rabbit tracks. They were mostly traveling from tree to tree throughout the woods, right before the golf course. I also spotted deer tracks farther into the course. When determining the species of the tracks I looked at the shape and gate of them. The rabbit tracks were most likely a form of snow hare. This was determined by the bounding and slight tail drag present as well as the four prints per jump. While squirrel tracks had two prints per step. The deer tracks were very distinct, easily spotted by their hoof print. One set of rabbit tracks led to a hollow tree stump that could potentially be a den.
Using iNaturalist was not complicated and very helpful. I was able to plot the exact spot on the map where I found the tracks. My photos were not as clear as I hoped so the program did not always provide a suggested species. I mostly used my scat and track book to determine species.
