March 15, 2010

Animal Tracking Clinics 2010
by Adam Lieberg
photos courtesy of Erika Edgely

Class participants study a fresh set of mountain lion tracks

It is safe to say that this year we could have swapped out snowshoes for sunglasses on our
Animal Tracking Clinic gear list. Despite the mild nature of this year’s winter, we still taught our
usual Animal Tracking Clinics in February. While the tracking conditions were tough, we still managed to find a nice representation of tracks made by wildlife wintering in the Seeley-Swan.

Here is a list of all the different species we tracked from both weekend courses:

• Moose
• Elk
• Deer
• Coyote
• Mountain lion
• Pine marten
• Mink
• Snowshoe hare
• Tree squirrel
• Grouse
• Ermine
• Bobcat
• Long-tailed weasel
• Beaver
• Shrew
• Mouse
• Multiple vole species.
  
  

Morning lesson in the barn
Students ponder track characteristics	Lessons in the field with Tom Parker
Students take stride measurement on mountain lion tracks
Adam Lieberg measures pine marten tracks	Melanie Parker helps interpret a set of mink tracks
Tom discusses the importance of down woody debris	Participants measure the stride of bobcat tracks
The group interprets beaver tracks and sign along the Clearwater River
A participant measures coyote tracks	The group studies a pair of moose tracks
Striding moose tracks is a two-person job
The class enjoys a sunny hike back to the vehicles after a long day of tracking