Tracking Challenge...

[British Red]

Had a good day out today and saw some nice sights. Got clued into a local animal and got some great "ID shots". The creature is easy to tell, but can anyone tell me what we have in each shot?

Q1

Okay prints...nice and clear...but what animal(s)? Fore print, rear print etc.?

Q2

This is the first spot I made....what am I looking at?

Q3

This confirmed waht beasty was near...what is it?

Q4

What behaviour was I photographing here?

Red

 

[Shewie]

Q1 - Fox prints, left is a hind foot and right is a front ?

Q2 - Badger claw scrape mark ?

Q3 - Badger latrine ?

Q4 - Badger tidying up their home, digging some old out and adding some new bedding ?

 

[Bluefrog]

Badger tracks
warn, so im guessing a path the badger takes regularly
Latrine
Bedding being pulled out of the set and left there

 

[Bluefrog]

Badger tracks
warn, so im guessing a path the badger takes regularly
Latrine
Bedding being pulled out of the set and left there

slight change after further examination to the first one, print on the left is badger print on the right is dog. The right one is well difined, im guessing thats the front as thats where most of the weight is.

 

[Bluefrog]

slight change after further examination to the first one, print on the left is badger print on the right is dog. The right one is well difined, im guessing thats the front as thats where most of the weight is.

even further examination, a badger print between the two prints much older then the other two.

 

[British Red]

Interesting stuff so far...I'm fairly sure we don't have fox there...the outer pads overlap the inner too much for me to say fox...

 

[JonathanD]

I've been discussing this with Red, and here's my take based upon the evidence to hand.

All but the first picture is classic badger sign. The first pic with the obvious badger foreprint on the left is clear, but what of that right hand print? Could be dog track, but the lack of any rear pad definition points me towards another conclusion. It is the same size and formation as the left hand foreprint but with deformed toes, especially the bean shaped toe on the left. I reckon it is made by the same a badger, but with slight rear foot injury. It seems to be putting all weight down on the digits and deforming them, which would make them spread forward and give them an elongated appearance. This much is backed up by the solid evidence of the lack of rear pad. I'd say it was lame, but not from a new injury, and it has developed this way of walking naturally due to that. The outer 'bean shaped toe', looks to have been broken and healed towards the one side, causing this unique print.

Without seeing the entire area and sign, makes this theory impossible to verify of course. But I would say this is the case rather than it being made by a dog.

 

[British Red]

As I said chatting to Jon, my initial thought was "dog", then I tented to "weird badger print" (didn't have the nouse to think of an injury). It clearly is walking "weight forward" on its toes whatever it is - those are fairly fresh tracks in soft sandy soil so the lack of a rear pad is strange. I have lots of other shots - wider and narrower fields, but none show that dog like print...which perhaps supports Jon's theory of "not dog"?

Red

 

[Bluefrog]

I've been discussing this with Red, and here's my take based upon the evidence to hand.

All but the first picture is classic badger sign. The first pic with the obvious badger foreprint on the left is clear, but what of that right hand print? Could be dog track, but the lack of any rear pad definition points me towards another conclusion. It is the same size and formation as the left hand foreprint but with deformed toes, especially the bean shaped toe on the left. I reckon it is made by the same a badger, but with slight rear foot injury. It seems to be putting all weight down on the digits and deforming them, which would make them spread forward and give them an elongated appearance. This much is backed up by the solid evidence of the lack of rear pad. I'd say it was lame, but not from a new injury, and it has developed this way of walking naturally due to that. The outer 'bean shaped toe', looks to have been broken and healed towards the one side, causing this unique print.

Without seeing the entire area and sign, makes this theory impossible to verify of course. But I would say this is the case rather than it being made by a dog.

wow very interesting. the badger would have to be taking half steps with the rear right foot due to it being next to the one on the left. the front right is taking normal steps as you cant see the rear pad in a similar place to where the rear pad of the rear right foot would go. wow confusing, hope you get what i mean

 

[21st century pict]

Q1.Badger and Domestic Dog.

Badger left but with no clear claw marks hard to say but probably forefoot
.Nice and clear track 5 claws 5 digitals interdigital and proximal pad

.
Q2.Claw marks ? presumably badger.
Q3.Badger latrine .


Q4.Beding.