stupid question of the day

[Man of Tanith]

Am i right in thinking that animals all use the same trails where possible?
rather than there being a muntjac trail used solely by muntjac and anothe seperate one for badgers yet another for foxes etc etc?
Sam

 

[Mesquite]

I've been told that most animals, like us humans, use the path of least resistance so if there's a path they can take they'll use it regardless of who made it originally

 

[BorderReiver]

Can't answer that but it would make sense for animals to use ready made trails rather than forcing their own.

From observation, muntjac or roe don't seem to bother with trails. It might depend on how thick the vegetation is in their particular habitat.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Thats what i figured but didnt want to make a fool of myself when telling people what i'd found
Thanks gents
Sam

 

[Front Room Woodlander]

You could always lay a bed of sand on the track. Then identify the prints left behind.
Works well for deer, badger and poachers.

 

[Man of Tanith]

no sand in the area and dont wanna carry any in but a good idea for some other places ive been nosing at

 

[Bushwhacker]

Trails don't tend to have one particular species using them, many will.
Offshoots (runs) from the main trail will be more specific to one type of animal.

 

[swyn]

If you've ever wandered about in woodland after a snowfall you will see that the trails look like a grid system. I've found that some tracks are major ones used by all sorts and others seem to be specific....Badgers for example.

I agree that most will take the line of least resistance, hence the busy tracks. I have an example at our Hoot site where, some years ago, I cut a path to the lower site and this is now heavily used by the deer population when not used by 'crafter folk.

I've also noticed that if one drives in a field to check the water troughs even quite a time before the sheep arrive, they will follow one set of wheel marks without deviation. I have confirmed this by driving all wriggly and watched the trail to that trough a week later!

Swyn.

 

[ged]

In terms of energy, an easy route costs less to negotiate than a difficult route.

Energy comes from food.

Food is a scarce resource.

Animals aren't stupid.

 

[JeroenK]

They will share trails.

Funny I know a track in use by badgers, foxes and roadeer. At one point a tree has fallen over the track. Badgers and foxes can still walk under it, but the roadeer not, so just before the tree the roadeer have their own track around the tree, which connects back to the main trail after the tree.

 

[badgeringtim]

As fairly well confirmed above animals will share trails.
Checking after snow or even hard frost can give you an insite, if there is not naturally sand i the area how about sand or just check any muddy patches - clear prints can often last for a long time in these. Or if the surface is fairly loose - lightly rough up an area and smooth it. Likely some critters will be curiouse to the change and have a sniff and walk over it then you come along and ID them from the prints! (mud and snow by far the easiest to id secies though).

Have fun.

 

[Justin Time]

You can get some idea of who made the path though. Badgers seem to be like miniature bulldozers so their paths tend to be wide and scraped clean, and they're happy to go straight up and down hills. Fox paths can be narrow and meandery, their long legs don't tend to disturb the grass so much.