Tracking Quiz CASE 2

[JonathanD]

Ok peeps, here's another tracking problem for you to solve. What creature made this. The only clue I'll give you for the time being is the massive noise they made kept me awake all night, and one came within a foot of me before noticing I was there.

I got these tracks the next morning and put my knife in for scale...

 

[sapper1]

Badger ?........

 

[JonathanD]

Badger ?........

Not a badger.

 

[nitrambur]

Weasel?....

 

[JonathanD]

Weasel?....

Nope, not a weasel.

 

[sapper1]

maybe an otter?

 

[lou1661]

Fox?

Lou

 

[Shewie]

Looks ottery to me

 

[Tadpole]

I'd say Otter as well

 

[JonathanD]

You are all spot on. I have the best luck in spotting wildlife. Amazingly there is an excellent otter population just outside Stourbridge. Couldn't believe it when I spotted one about four years ago, I even convinced myself that it must have been a mink despite getting a good six foot away view of it swimming. Since then I've seen them a few times whilst enjoying a brew on the banks and they are definately otters. The noise they make, piping at each other in the woods at night is really annoying. Keeps you awake.

Here are some better pics of the prints in context. I've yet to get pics of the animals themselves as they show up with no warning.

 

[Andy2112]

You are all spot on. I have the best luck in spotting wildlife. Amazingly there is an excellent otter population just outside Stourbridge. Couldn't believe it when I spotted one about four years ago, I even convinced myself that it must have been a mink despite getting a good six foot away view of it swimming. Since then I've seen them a few times whilst enjoying a brew on the banks and they are definately otters. The noise they make, piping at each other in the woods at night is really annoying. Keeps you awake.

Here are some better pics of the prints in context. I've yet to get pics of the animals themselves as they show up with no warning.

Blimey JD, never would have thought that we have got otters round our way!!! you live and learn.

 

[JonathanD]

Blimey JD, never would have thought that we have got otters round our way!!! you live and learn.

You certainly do. Not 15 minutes walk from where I am. You can imagine what a great feeling I got when I saw the first one. I was dumbfounded. Some naturalists go for years without seeing one in the otter hotspots. Here I am finding them in Stourbridge

 

[Andy2112]

You certainly do. Not 15 minutes walk from where I am. You can imagine what a great feeling I got when I saw the first one. I was dumbfounded. Some naturalists go for years without seeing one in the otter hotspots. Here I am finding them in Stourbridge

There's hope for me then as we've got a little freshwater (i presume) brook at the bottom of the road, it used to feed some watercress beds up the road years ago. Maybe there's crays in there, lol

 

[JonathanD]

I've never found crays in this perticular stream. It has a sandy bottom and not to many rocks. There are pebble beds further down, I shall have to check it out sometime.

 

[Andy2112]

I've never found crays in this perticular stream. It has a sandy bottom and not to many rocks. There are pebble beds further down, I shall have to check it out sometime.

So you know where i mean then, lol. Only seen beer cans and the likes in there. It does go into tunnels though in some places. I wonder where it ends up? Stour perhaps?

 

[JonathanD]

So you know where i mean then, lol. Only seen beer cans and the likes in there. It does go into tunnels though in some places. I wonder where it ends up? Stour perhaps?

I imagine it does. It is one of these small tributaries that runs into the Stour, and the Stour itself that amazingly have the otters. You certainly wouldn't have found fish in there twenty years ago, let alone otters.