Swan Valley Connection's Conservation Director Luke Lamar demonstrating the gait pattern of an animal whose tracks were found along the roadbed. Class participants (L-R) Kevin Slade, Jon Simon and Rick Murney listen intently.
Swan Valley Connection's Wildlife Tracks and Signs Class gathered around the deer carcass Feb. 5.
Swan Valley Connection's Eli Estey following tracks to gather more information telling the story of the animal.
SWAN VALLEY - Even though three inches of fresh snow covered the ground, it looked like a crime scene. Spots of blood and clumps of hair were scattered over the hillside. Footsteps through the snow revealed stomach contents. Luke Lamar Swan Valley Connections (SVC) Conservation Director told the Wildlife Tracks and Signs class he saw an eagle and ravens flying in this area when he was scouting for tracks in the early morning Feb. 5.
This is the big picture view that can start a tracking expedition. Learning to study the tracks and signs, can tell the story of what's always going on in the forest.
"There is an incredible array of animal tracks and sign to be discovered in nature," Lamar wrote in the article "The value of animal tracks and sign skills" printed in the Seeley Swan Pathfinder Nov. 29, 2018. "Some are obvious and some are very subtle. Footprints, droppings, scrapes on trees and foraging sign are just a few things that can provide clues about an animal species' presence and how it uses a given area. Learning and honing animal tracks and sign skills is an art that challenges the human sensory system and requires no technology."
SVC, originally as Northwest Connections, has been teaching tracking classes for over 20 years. Over the years, hundreds of people have taken the classes and become better readers of their surroundings. Tracking mammals in the Swan covers cats (mountain lion, lynx and bobcat), dogs (fox, coyote and wolf), mustelids/weasel family (weasels, badgers, otters, martens, minks and wolverines), rabbits (cottontail and snowshoe hare), ungulates (deer, elk and moose) and rodents (squirrels, mice and voles). Families of mammals all make the same track although size will vary depending on the age and sex of the animal.
"We learn to read so we can read books," SVC Program Assistant Eli Estey said. "Tracking helps us learn to read the forest and see the story that is there."
As the class approached a tracked location, the first observation was awareness of the area.
Is it a dense forest? An open road? Near water? Different species range in different areas. The class noticed that these tracks went in a straight line alongside a plowed road next to the forest for over 100 yards. This behavior gave a clue to what kinds of animals will travel like that. This narrowed the field of animal possibilities.
Second, the group approached the actual tracks. The distance animals leave between tracks indicates their size and helps narrow down the species some more. In studying the track, Lamar taught that the back foot may step into the front foot's track, even overtake the front foot, or there may be more than one animal traveling which can add complexity to the sign. The class followed this set of tracks for 100 yards and saw the tracks separated, so it became obvious that two animals were actually there.
The last step was to finally look at the features of the track. The shape of the print helped define the species. Then the class examined the characteristics of the actual track; toes, claws, pad shapes and spaces between the pads that might be within the footprint. From the total of all this information, they made an informed guess about what species it was. By tracking the animal for longer periods of time, more clues will become apparent to further define the species.
"I've learned more about some species, like wolverines for example, by following them for countless hours across the landscape than I have from any book," Lamar said. "In the end, it's most satisfying to learn about how the animal is using the land and how that can change over time as habitat changes such as logging, wildfire or natural forest succession."
Coming upon the fresh kill presented the class with a story with many characters. Participants commented on how important it is to be aware of their surroundings when approaching a kill-site, especially when bears are active."
What was left of the deer's body was at the bottom of a low hill. Signs of disturbance further up the hill probably indicated the site of the attack. The body appearing at the bottom of the hill indicated an animal of considerable strength had been dealing with it. By the time we arrived, the scene had been completely tracked over by a few species of mammals and a lot of birds.
The cause of death can be determined by examining the carcass if it's not too destroyed. In this kill, several ribs were broken on the side, a sign of a predator strong enough to snap ribs with its jaws. Further examination showed that the deer's neck was broken near the head, a common mountain lion technique.
Lamar used his saw to cut a leg bone in half to look at the marrow. This gave a clue as to the animal's condition, and this deer was healthy. Next Lamar examined the deer's lower jawbone to check the age, which indicated that it was a weanling. The story Lamar and Estey pieced together was the young deer was likely on its own for the winter, and although healthy and strong, subject to predator attack due to its innocence in the ways of the forest.
During the rest of the field day, the class observed tracks from different mammals in many locations, looking into the hidden lives of animals in the Swan Valley.
A trail left by a mother and young mountain lion showed the cub split from its mother, then double back on itself and scurry over and leap from fallen trees to rejoin her.
The confusing medley of canine prints along the side of a plowed road turned out to possibly be the path of a romantically inclined pair of coyotes, since this is their mating season and signs of marking were along the road.
Then there were the bounding tracks of the red squirrel as it visited its cache and drug out a pinecone for a meal.
Estey said, "Tracking gives you a window into the things that are happening around you that otherwise we just walk right by."
If interested in learning how to identify tracks or learning more about the ecology of the various species that they may track through the woods, SVC's next tracking class is Feb. 26. Contact Swan Valley Connections at 406-754-3137 or email info@svconnections.org to sign up.
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