FF – 6A: Primary Tracks
MATERIALS:
Tufts of hair or study skin of a mammal
Feathers
Leaves
Petals
Dead branches
Sets of tracks stamps (12each, Each set is color coded – Red, Yellow and Blue)
a. Chipmunk
b. Coyote or Dog
c. Deer
d. Frog or Toad
e. Gull or Duck
f. House Cat
g. House Mouse
h. Bird, Junko
i. Pigeon
j. Raccoon
k. Skunk
l. Woodrat
Ink pad
Ink
Ten extra stamps are available in an additional bag
Seven ink pads
One bottle of stamp pad ink
Two rolls adding machine paper
One field guide of animal tracks
One set of track cards
One track poster
Eight picture folders with tracks illustrated
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TRACKS
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WINTER 1995/ Environmental Volunteers
OBJECTIVES:
Identify and classify various woodland animals' footprints.
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SCIENCE THEMES:
Scale and structure, evolution, patterns of change.
PROCESS SKILLS:
Observing, comparing, relating, inferring, applying, categorizing
GRADE LEVELS:
Grades K - 6
FOCUS WORDS:
Plantigrade, digitgrade, ungulate, register, track, footprint, scat.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
What are tracks?
Certainly everyone accepts that they are footprints. A record of who has passed through - coyote or rabbit,
mouse or wolf. But what about jet vapor trails, tire prints, snail or slug slime? What about a spider web,
animal scat or burrows? What about petrified wood or fossils? What about radio waves from stars, signals
from space craft, echo location in bats and porpoises? What about highways, telephone wires, worn spots
on stairways or across a lawn? What about tufts of fur found on bushes, marks of claws on tree trunks and
branches?
If you look closely and use your imagination, tracks become more than just a record of something passing
by. They can tell a story as simple as who came by first and who followed after, or who ate whom. The
story can be less concrete and involve traffic patterns (wild animals, children, autos) and lead to thoughts
about social interactions.
A track is a sign left to tell who or what passed a place or what happened there. There are various kinds of
tracks. It can be an impression of a foot or footprint. A footprint is the picture left by a foot such as a wet
footprint on cement or the prints made by our latex tracks.
The tracks in our learning station were made in various ways. Some were made from footprints we found
in the hills. Some from live animals and some from stuffed animals in a museum.
What other kinds of tracks might animals leave? (scat, tufts of hair, feathers)
Do plants and trees and flowers leave tracks? (How about leaves, petals, dead branches on the ground?)
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We do have wild animals in our area. We can find clues of them even if we don't see the animal.
Animals don't all walk like we do; there is even variation in the walk of animals of the same species.
Take time to notice tracks in the field or in town. Often they are a record of events we might otherwise
miss. Animals which are nocturnal, shy or simply not numerous may leave their tracks in the mud or dust a record to be read later by visitors if they will take the time to look. Tracks can be a statement about the
habitat of the animal or reveal its habits - does it walk or jump, roam or stay close to home? As an animal
has adapted to a particular habitat or life style, its feet have also modified.
Flat-Foot Walkers
Let's start with our own feet. Take off your shoes and step firmly on the ground. What part of your foot
touches? Your heel, sole of your foot, and toes do. Have someone push on you (gently). It's not too easy to
push you over. Flat-footed animals (plantigrades) like man, bear, raccoons, and porcupines walk
deliberately and with a great deal of stability. They rely on strength, brains, or special protection for
survival, not speed. Notice your own tracks at the beach on the sand or with wet feet on pavement.
Who are the Flat-Footed Walkers?
Raccoon - has a "flat foot" print that looks remarkably like a human print. Note the separate thumb print.
Thumbs come in handy for grasping and manipulating. Raccoon tracks are commonly found along streams
and ponds, including suburban pools. This animal feeds on fish, frogs, mice, berries, as well as human
refuse, dog or cat food and pets.
Porcupine - is another flat foot walker depending on defense rather than speed The tail may leave little
brush marks in the trail. Northern Indians called him little brother of the bear because of the similarity of
their tracks. Porcupines are found in wooded areas and eat plants - branches, bark, leaves or anything salty.
Although we have prints of the porcupine, they do not live in our foothills area.
Marmot - this print resembles that of a squirrel but is much larger. Again the sole of the foot, toes and
toenails all contact the ground. This rodent eats grass, grain, leaves, roots, mice and insects. It lives in
meadows, fields, among rocks in a hole or borrow. (Tame marmots can be seen beside the highway in
Yosemite). Abandoned borrows become homes for rabbit, skunk and others.
Opossum - this nocturnal animal lives both in trees and burrows, in cities, suburbs and woods. The foot
print looks like a human hand - thumb and toes come in handy for grasping tree branches. Opossums eat
almost anything from garbage to birds, fruit and carrion.
Rat - not a North American native, the rat immigrated from Europe on early sailing ships. The rat's prints
are similar to those of a woodrat. Rats make their home chiefly near human habitations. Hind feet have 5
toes, front feet 4 toes. Rat trails may show a walking pattern or leaps with 7 inches between jumps. A rat's
diet is varied; like the raccoon he is an opportunistic feeder. This adaptation has insured his survival in all
areas of the world. There are several types of rats in the Bay area.
Gopher - another rodent and soil excavator. Gopher feet have long claws adapted for digging. In a print the
claw marks are far in front of the toes indicating the long length of the claw. Gophers are vegetarians
eating roots and leaves of plants. The hole may show an earth plug or have the earth pushed away to one
side of the opening. Unlike the mole, the tunnels are entirely below the ground.
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Rabbit - has a long hind foot print and short front foot print, the rabbit does not really run, instead it moves
in leaps. A series of tracks show hind footprint before front print. Have children practice leaps as in the
game of "leap frog" and note where their feet land - hind feet before front feet. Rabbit prints are fuzzy
because of fur on the bottom of the rabbit's foot. Long hind feet allow for speed and power. Found in
grassy areas, a rabbit's diet is mostly grains and grass.
Skunk - the front and hind prints are very similar. The front foot has large toenails useful in digging for
insects and turtle eggs. Skunks also eat mice, frogs and fruit. They are primarily nocturnal and live almost
any place including farmyards, fields, woods and beneath houses.
Ground Squirrel - is a rodent that feeds on vegetation and also eggs, birds and carrion. Its long toes and
toenails are adapted for agility, grasping and digging. Ground squirrels live in burrows often with
interconnecting tunnels. They are sociable and sometimes live in large colonies.
Mole - is a subterranean excavator. Moles have highly developed front legs and claws for efficiently
excavating and moving earth. Compare the front and hind feet. Its semi-subterranean tunnels are apparent
as characteristic ridges on the surface of the ground. A mole hole looks like an eruption dirt is pushed up
with no apparent opening. Its food is earthworms and insects.
Woodrat - these prints are similar to those of a rat. However, their habitats are quite different. Woodrats
live in oak woodlands or brushy areas along streams. They construct large nests (up to 4' high) of sticks.
The nest often becomes a home for others - snakes, toads, lizards, insects. A rodent, the woodrat eats nuts,
grains and meat (when available). It was considered to be a delicacy by California Indians. The woodrat's
furry tail also helps differentiate it from a common rat.
Toe Walkers
Now sprint across the room. What part of your foot did you use? Your toes. Animals that must rely on
speed to capture food, walk only on their toes. They are called digit grade animals. Dogs and cats move on
their toes; their heels are permanently raised. - (See descriptions of cat and dog prints for similarities and
differences). Stand on your toes and have someone push on you. Did you have trouble keeping your
balance? Toe walkers give up some stability in order to gain speed. The toe walker often walks softly, not
pushing hard on his foot, so his toe nail marks may not always show in the track.
Why does a deer come rustling through the woods while a cat can move silently? Animals that stalk their
prey look where to put their front feet so they can move without breaking twigs or crushing leaves. Then
they place their hind feet in exactly the same spot as the front feet and thus can move silently. Placing the
hind foot into the impression of the front foot is called registering. Stalking animals like cats and wolves
register. Running animals do not. Dogs with their years of domestication have lost the ability to register.
Who are the Toe Walkers?
Sparrow - this perching bird has three toes forward and one to the rear, a useful adaptation for grasping
branches. Climbing birds like woodpeckers have 2 toes in front, and 2 in back for better balance on tree
trunks. Sparrows hop when on the ground - prints will usually be paired. Birds that spend a great deal of
time on the ground don't hop they walk - right and left prints alternate.
Dog - the toe nails are not retractable and usually show in a print. Cat prints show no nails. Do you know
why? Dog tracks differ from coyote and wolf in size and in habitat.
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Cat - another toe walker, the cat has retractable claws. It can pull its claws into sheaths when walking usually leaving no claw marks in its tracks. The tracks differ mainly in size from those of a bobcat or
mountain lions. Both bobcats and mountain lions are found in our foothills. Members of the cat family
attempt to cover scat by scratching soil over it - a good clue for scat identification in the field.
Fox - a member of the dog family, this toe walker leaves toe nails extended. The track differs from the dog
mainly in size. The walking pattern of fox tracks may show prints almost in a straight line. The fox likes
grassy areas with some brush cover and eats rabbits, mice, insects and fruit.
Coyote - another member of the dog family who walks on his toes with his nails exposed. Coyotes
"register" or step in their own tracks. The coyote hunts at night, thoroughly exploring a field for small
rodents and rabbits. He may leave toenail marks where he scratches the ground while hunting. His diet
varies considerably depending on the season. Coyotes have adapted to living in proximity to humans and
their diets reflect this. They will consume human refuse and both wild and domestic fruit, as well as hunt
for small mammals.
Toenail Walkers
What if you could push off on your toenails, could you run faster? Some animals' feet have been modified
so much they walk only on enlarged toenails. Ungulates or toenail walkers such as cows, deer and horses
are grazers or browsers and rely on speed to escape predators. Could you stand on one toenail? The
toenails of mountain goats and sheep are adapted for gripping rocks and scrambling over rugged terrain.
Can you tell the size or shape of an animal by its tracks? If you have a fairly complete trail look at the
distance between steps. The shorter the legs the closer together are the steps. A turtle with short legs will
leave prints close together. If the turtle is 12" wide it will leave 2 lines of tracks 12" to 14" apart. A deer
with long legs leaves much more space between tracks. Try this with children of different heights (see
suggested activities).
Who is a Toenail Walker?
Deer - An ungulate or toe nail walker Deer browse on twigs and leaves of trees (the reason for wire shields
around young trees) and graze in open areas near the edge of chaparral and woods. Deer trails can be
differentiated from human trails by width and smoothness. Deer trails are narrow, deer hooves dig into the
soil and rough it up. Flat human feet pad trails down smoothly. Next to man, the most important predator
of deer is the mountain lion. The deer's food is grass, foliage, twigs, fruit and acorns.
ACTIVITIES:
Pass out the prints to students divided into small groups.
Discussion:
Ask students to name some kind of tracks they have seen —.
animals
bird
some insects bicycle
people
reptile motorcycle
car
a meteor falling through the sky
a jet airplane vapor trail
Think about these things —
• How many toes? Are they all the same? Claws? How might the animal use the different types of
foot? (We have no webbed feet, but discuss these. We hope to get webbed footprints later. For now,
you can use webbed feet from the Beaks and Feet Learning Station.)
• What can the animal do with each type of foot? Will size make a difference?
• How will size change the difference in the space between footprints of this or any other animal?
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Does the animal walk flat footed, on toes or toenails?
How would the above features make this animal live differently from any other?
Does the animal have jointed toes as we do? If so, what can he do with these? Do they act like our
fingers?
Can you select the front and hind feet that go together? (If not, look at the track key in the learning
station and match front and hind feet of the animal if we have both.) How does front differ from
hind on the same animal? Why?
Do you see any marks on the footprints? How might this texture help this animal?
Can you tell by looking at the footprints how the animal might live? (swim, climb trees, root in the
ground)
How would the placement of the tracks look if the animal runs, walks, hops, jumps? (See the
placement in the track book in the learning station.)
ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS WHEN TIME IS SHORT
Classroom and Schoolyard
•
Tape down your thumb to the palm of your hand. Try and do some common tasks. Does the
absence of a 'thumb' cause you to modify your behavior? Put a sock over your fist - now you are
a hoofed animal. What happens to your behavior now? What comes first, the behavior or the
modification?
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Map tracks on a schoolyard - bike tracks, footprints, signs of water that has flowed.
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Read Ruth Alyanak's Track Stories
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Teacher furnished newsprint type paper. Children each made a "story", using at least 2 kinds of
tracks. Later written up for their English class and displayed for open house. A few students
preferred making "samplers" and labeling prints. Or one large group-story is possible.
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Sitting alone at your desk with just a paper and the ink pad, how can you make a small track of
your very own that nobody else in the whole world can make? (fingerprint) Let them work it out
for themselves. Any greasy substance plus charcoal makes a good fingerprint also. Are
fingerprints alike? Why or why not? How are fingerprints used?
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In a hospital when a baby is born, what sort of track does the nurse make to identify that baby?
Footprint? Yes
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If there is enough time, have students remove shoes and socks, make a footprint on large paper
on the floor - water soluble poster paint or the dry powdered paint (tempera) mixed with water,
used in most schools, will work for this. (Also try hand prints).
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Have students look at the many individual differences in size, shape etc. You can also measure
footprints and hand prints and point out variation in size.
Karen Nilsson's 1/2 hour program idea:
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Do something with the cards (i.e.. sorting, identifying)
Relate card prints and animal pictures
Find a print you like - your favorite
- Guess what kind of "walker" it is
- Front or hind foot?
- Guess kind of animal it is
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Be told kind of print - some of the identification marks
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Make print(s) on paper
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Match up with other people in your group and tell a story with your prints (example: coyote
chases rabbit)
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Sorting Pass out prints - equal number to each group. See that each group has at least one of the small double
prints (front and hind on same piece).
• Let them sort them, without teacher suggestions.
• Ask if they can tell how animal walked: toe, toenail, flatfoot Would there be another way to sort
them? Name some ways.
• How do you walk? Do any other animals' prints look like yours? Other familiar animals domestic, etc.?
• Look at the prints that show both front and hind footprints. Can you match up front and hind feet
of other prints?
FIELD TRIP ACTIVITIES
What signs of animal life do you see?
• Can you tell which direction the animal was going?
• Choose a leader to follow the tracks. Don't walk on them. Stay to one side. Other students follow
and look. Change leaders.
• Do the tracks follow a clean cut path so you can follow a long distance?
• What may make you lose the track?
• What other kinds of tracks do you see on the ground? Above it?
• What is lying on the ground that gives you a clue to what may be under the ground?
• Animal or snake holes? Types of rocks? Aren't rocks a kind of track too?
• Geologists study underground tracks to learn about our underground formation. What kind of
tracks do they find that help us?
• Minerals, earthquake faults, etc. How do we know there has been an earthquake after many years?
Without looking up at the trees, what do their tracks tell us? What do you see on the ground to tell you
about the tree?
• Leaves, cones, branches, pods.
• Was there a storm that sent these to the ground?
• Natural life cycle of the tree?
• A lot of wind?
• Fire?
• Did an animal or bird throw it, knock it down? What shows he was up there?
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VARIOUS SUGGESTIONS
•. Put "Vick's Rub", cold cream or Crisco on a piece of cardboard and leave it exposed to the air for
several hours. Cinder dirt from the air will fall and stick to the cardboard. Tracks of a city?
•. Draw a map or picture of all the tracks you can see where you are now. Can you guess where they
came from? Are they man-made or natural?
• Hare and Hound - Have children play a version of hide and seek. Agree on trail markings - stones,
branches, chalk on a school yard. One group leaves a trail, the others follow.
•. What kind of foot prints can you find? Consider all surfaces and markings, floors, ceilings, walls,
land surfaces, sky, etc.
• Make a sketch or impression of the most interesting footprint you can find. How would you
characterize the animal or thing that made this footprint?
- Draw a picture of it.
- Reconstruct a three dimensional image.
- Bring in objects that would make up its environment.
- Does this species exist in large numbers?
- What circumstances would inhibit its growth?
- In what conditions would this species multiply?
- Where is the home of this species?
- Is this species a threat to the existence of human beings?
- Can you find the footprint of an extinct species?
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Insect tracks - Let sow bugs walk through baby powder. Will an ant walk over Vaseline? What
happens to a worm in colored water on a piece of glass? Can you find ant trails? Are they visible?
Animal behavior and tracks - visible and not visible - are a whole other, approach. Scent marks
left by deer, dogs and cats are tracks that "smell", yet you can't see them. Can you think of other
animals with such invisible tracks?
Man made tracks can be collected and catalogued - cars, bicycles, litter, desk tops that are carved
and trees with initials. Can you think of some more?
Printing on cloth with textile paint
This is more difficult than printing on paper.
Working in small groups –
• Lay out materials in an orderly manner to prevent mess and confusion
• Place clean prints and "key" separate from work area.
• Cover work areas with paper and protect surrounding floor if it is not washable. Plastic "drop
cloth" best, newspapers better than nothing.
• If tracks have been dusted with talc or flour before packaging, wash and dry.
• Place each color with needed brushes in a separate area with a jar of water and towels.
• Have student move work from one color area to another rather than walk about with jars of color
that can be spilled.
• Have student select the stamp he wants to use and wash and dry it after he uses it and return it to
the "clean" table. This will prevent paint buildup so prints will stay clear cut.
• After all work is finished, wash latex prints with soap, water, and scrub brush in the learning
station box. DO NOT USE ANY OTHER LIQUID TO CLEAN LATEX PRINTS LATEX CAN
BECOME DAMAGED.
• Dry at room temperature or in the sun. If sticky dust with talc or flour
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Materials for track printing with textile paint: (NOT SUPPLIED BY EVs)
Water based paint only (Versatex a satisfactory brand)
(About acrylics - you may have heard acrylic paint takes washing well but we have found it ruins the
latex of our footprints. The paint dries on it so fast that it is hard to keep moist while printing and then
builds up on the latex and will not wash off and it can only be picked off bit by bit with your fingernails.
Hard on both you and the latex. Hence we say .Acrylic paint ruins the latex of our footprints. NO
ACRYLIC ON OUR TRACKS)
Cloth, cotton best, see instructions with paint
Brushes - small watercolor brush
- flat, stiffer brush for stencils
- medium soft watercolor brush
Cardboard covered with paper towels for base under cloth
Iron & protected ironing board (most textile colors need to
be heat set; see paint instructions)
RESOURCES:
* Indicates book in EV Library at the Center. Other references in various public libraries.
* Field Guide to Tracks of North American Wildlife - Myron & Charles Chase copy in Learning Station Kit
*Mammals of the San Francisco Bay Region - William D. & Elizabeth Berry
A Field Guide to Animal Tracks - Olaus J. Murie
The Mammals - Richard Carrington, Life Nature Library
Mammals of the Pacific States - LLoyd G. Ingles
"Nature Notes "- City of Palo Alto Foothills Department of Community Services Nature & Science
"Foot Facts and Toe Tips", Ranger Rick Magazine
John Walton - Department of Community Services City of Palo Alto
Eric Jorgenson - Hidden Villa Ranch, Los Altos
EVs — Gretchen Leland, Karen Nilsson, Elly Hess, Marj Stooke, Ruth Alyanak, Molly Lusignan
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