tracks tell the story. Look closely for the impression of the Bluegill (fish) plucked from the ground by a scavenging Turkey Vulture.
California tarantula and trail. Drawn by Mike Kresky.
Tracking as Storytelling
To interpret tracks and signs trackers must project themselves into the position of the animal in order to create a hypothetical explanation of what the animal was doing. Tracking is not strictly empirical, since it also involves the tracker's imagination.
LOUIS LIEBENBERG, THE ART OF TRACKING: THE ORIGIN OF SCIENCE, 1990, P. V (IN THE INTRODUCTION)
Tracking is both science and storytelling, and the competent tracker is a practitioner of both. The scientific method involves testing and substantiating hypotheses created in the field, meaning finding and reporting real evidence to support one's claims (for example, the shape of toes as evidence of a Fisher and the known sounds of a bird as evidence the fox was moving nearby).
Storytelling is the interpretation of the scientific evidence with your logical mind and imagination; it is the reporting phase of science. Storytelling is also a means by which trackers share their findings in the field with a larger community, whether that consists of family, friends, researchers, or conservation managers. Articulating evidence is an essential skill of the tracker.
Thus, science and storytelling work hand in hand. One cannot be an effective tracker without practicing both skills. Storytelling also allows others to “listen” to what we are finding, so that they may provide us essential feedback that will improve and refine our skills. Trackers receive constant feedback on their skills from wildlife-they either find animals or they don't-but people provide us something more. We are social creatures sharing an increasingly crowded world. Conservation requires teamwork; unified is the only way we will conserve diversity on a global scale.
Tracking Is Possible
Tracking skills are real and amazing. Yet they do not come easily, and they require ample time in the field. Consider this example: Stander and colleagues (1997) observed a Zebra dying of anthrax (blood sampling confirmed the cause), and over the next several days a Lion pride, hyenas, and vultures feeding and disassembling the carcass. They brought a team of four Ju/'huan trackers (Bushman in Namibia) to the area three days after the Zebra had died and asked them to reconstruct what had happened. The trackers investigated the area for two hours before coming to an agreement as to what had occurred. Then they correctly pointed out the spoor of the Zebra and said that the animal was sick and had died from that sickness. They correctly identified all the scavengers and the order in which they fed. They also correctly estimated the relative chronology of events, including the death of the Zebra.
A page from author Mike Kresky's tracking journal.
You, too, can achieve this level of tracking, given persistence and practice. We hope this book provides some of the necessary building blocks and so shortens your journey. Now follow Gary Snyder's (1995) advice found at the very start of this chapter, and “go out and explore California!”
GETTING STARTED
Why Tracks and Scats?
Mark Elbroch
We were faced with a decision at the start of this project. Given the size parameters of this field guide series, we could either present a detailed look at animals' tracks and scats, or use a more superficial approach to a broader diversity of signs—that is, evidence of feeding, beds, and the like. In the end we decided on the former—an in-depth presentation of just several topics. This book is a visual presentation of the tracks, scats, and scent-marking behaviors of California's wildlife.
Interpreting wildlife tracks and signs is challenging detective work; it is an engaging exercise in clear thinking and deductive reasoning. The most reliable tools we have at our disposal to solve the natural mysteries we encounter in the field are animal tracks and scats. Tracks and scats are the foundation blocks in interpreting all indirect evidence of wildlife, and a detailed knowledge of tracks and scats will aid you in interpreting nearly every natural mystery you encounter.
The presentation of this book also includes numerous citations of work completed by others. They may at first seem obstacles to easy reading, but they serve two powerful purposes: First, they are evidence that tracking has forever been integral to wildlife research and monitoring, and second, they are additional resources for you, the readers, to follow up and seek out should a specific topic grab your interest.
There are without doubt numerous methods to speed you along in your study of wildlife tracking. One of us, Michael Kresky, provides a lively description of one method—track journaling—and through this method he has become an expert interpreter of wildlife tracks and signs. Here he shares tips on this process.
Look closely for the California Red-backed Vole remains and the two uric streaks, which are the best evidence that the killer was an American Kestrel.
Honing Your Tracking Skills through Track Journaling
Michael Kresky
Tracking Journal
Track journaling builds your knowledge of tracks and sign by making you observe tracks in close detail; your journal also becomes data, meaning scientific records, of what you discover. The physical act of drawing tracks and taking notes on your surroundings sharpens your ability to see clearly and with greater discernment. While you hover over a set of prints, patterns and shapes begin to emerge. We realize that journaling can be intimidating at first, but keep in mind that each journal is highly personal and evolves over time. Nature Drawing—A Tool for Learning, by Clare Walker Leslie (1995), can guide you in this process.
Author Mike Kresky journals a set of raccoon tracks under a bridge in Santa Barbara, California.
Tracker Louis Liebenberg taking measurements to create an accurate, life-sized rendition of wolf tracks in central Idaho.
When drawing tracks, do not be daunted by the unknown. Often scrutinizing prints and investigating details with poignant questions will lead to tracks revealing themselves. Even when they do not, it is still valuable to draw the track and revisit your journal at later times.
In the field you need a sketchbook or clipboard, pencils or markers, and a measuring device (ruler or calipers). Begin by finding four to six clear prints that you believe belong to the same animal, and choose a single track to draw. Make sure that the track is between you and the light source. Treat the track and the area around the tracks with deference. This preserves the features of the track as well as the story around the tracks.
An effective track journal includes the date, time, weather, habitat, substrate, and wildlife and human activity in the surrounding area. Draw
