Comparing real-life animal tracks to pictures found in books or online can be a bit confusing, as the tracks you find in nature are very rarely nice, neat and orderly. Doing so can be a fun and interesting way to appreciate local wildlife, or it can at least answer the question of, “What is it going to take to get rid of those things?!” But as you’re embarking on your backyard biology expedition, try to keep a couple things in mind: It’s not uncommon for people who find animal tracks on their property to want to learn more about them. Image courtesy of Virginia State Parks Staff via Wikimedia Commons. According to the photographer, this picture was snapped just after the squirrel was spotted bounding across a park road! Rest assured that the owner of these tracks was not running backwards or suffering from some kind of deformity that’s simply how a squirrel’s feet and hands tend to land when they’re moving quickly. Note: in the photo to the right, the squirrel’s handprints are actually behind its footprints. ![]() Their toes are also longer and thinner, and may even look a bit more like human hands in their shape and toe distribution. Squirrel footprints look similar to raccoon footprints, but they tend to be slightly more rectangular in the sole area. Squirrel tracks are usually much smaller than raccoon or opossum tracks, but one thing that definitely sets their handprints apart is the presence of only four “fingers”-raccoons and opossums both have five fingers on each hand. Image courtesy of Michael Lensi via Wikimedia Commons This is actually an indentation from the opossum’s tail dragging on the ground! One more thing: when you’re looking at opossum tracks, you may also notice a long, vertical line that seems to run in the same direction that the animal was traveling. Unlike dog and cat paws, though, an opossum’s “finger” pads are visibly connected to their palms-there’s a definite line joining their fingers and palms instead of them appearing to be different structures.Ĭuriously enough, opossum footprints bear a very striking resemblance to human handprints, with four distinct “fingers” (which are really their smaller toes) and an opposable “thumb” (which is really their biggest toe). Opossum handprints are more paw-like than raccoon prints their palms are closer to the triangular shape exhibited by dogs and cats. The “sole” of the foot is pulled into the shape of an inverted triangle. Raccoon footprints, meanwhile, look like an elongated version of their handprints. Raccoon handprints have five “fingers” and slightly pentagonal-shaped “palms.” They do not resemble the triangular palms that are usually seen in dog and cat tracks again, they’re more similar to human hands than “paws.” If you find what looks like a tiny human handprint with long, sharp fingernails, then chances are, there’s a raccoon nearby. For the sake of simplicity and clarity, we’re going to refer to marks made by an animal’s forefeet as “handprints” and marks made by their back feet as “footprints.” Quadrupeds don’t really have hands and feet the way that humans do, but using those terms makes it a bit easier to describe what we’re looking for. Here’s a quick guide to three different kinds of animal tracks commonly found in suburban areas. While an occasional footprint or trail in your yard is usually no big deal, a constant stream of tracks may indicate a full-scale invasion. One simple way to ID your intruder is by looking at their tracks. ![]() ![]() Some critters are easy to identify there’s nothing quite like the odor of a skunk wafting up from under your porch! If all you hear is generic scratching and non-descript chewing noises, though, then you might have to search a little harder to figure out what’s going on. When pest animals move into your home or onto your property, it’s likely that you’ll see (or hear) signs of their presence long before you actually encounter the animals themselves.
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