Today I set out to a cropping of trees near my dorm building, University Heights North. I encountered a set of small prints where the hind legs landed before the front legs, which made me narrow it down to a galloper. I used the context of pattern to observe the tracks led to a tree and then away from it, making me realize it was likely a squirrel. I then deduced it was an eastern gray squirrel due to the place. I also observed some diagonal walker prints following along the outside of a fence and found these to be interesting because there were no human prints in proximity. Still, based on the location and appearance of the prints I deduced them to be from a dog, likely exploring off leash. I found that adding the eastern gray squirrel pictures that I observed to iNaturalist app was a very user friendly and positive experience.
Squirrel prints I reported to iNaturalist.
Dog prints I also observed.