This past week, I ventured out into Burlington in search of tracks. I utilized the Intervale lab in order to find wildlife sign in the land-sharing farmland. Unfortunately, most tracks were indistinguishable, lost to snow and time. Thus, I had to do a lot of inference to figure out what I found.
At first glance, one might think they are deer tracks. However, I had a sneaking suspicion that they belonged to another animal, but had been denatured over time. Deer are diagonal walkers, whereas these tracks were in a straight line, which suggested rather than the two imprints being one track, they were actually two, in a bounding pattern. I didn’t have a ruler on hand, but looking back at my Mammal Tracks and Scat Life-Size Pocket Guide, based on size, I was between the ID of a fisher and otter. However, I didn’t see any body slides, and the tracks didn’t head in the direction of the water, so it is less likely to be an otter. I posted it to iNaturalist under the ID of a fisher. (Linked here)
The great thing about iNaturalist is that while I may be totally wrong, there are tons of experts on the site who can suggest a new ID. I have used the site before, not only for courses but for my own interests, specifically in the field of mycology.
I also think it’s pretty cool that you can see some animal pee in the corner, likely from the fisher (or other creature). I’d be interested in learning more about tracking through other forms than just prints.