Animal signs

Who passed through here?

Tracks are just one clue. Look for the pattern around them.

Published September 25, 2026 · By Jeremy L. Koering

Look at the whole scene

On a muddy trail, note the direction and spacing of a trackway before focusing on one print. Weather, soil and overlapping feet can change its shape. A single blurry impression is rarely enough for a confident identification.

Follow several prints in a row. Here the split tips point right, and the bracket shows the distance between two successive prints in the same row. Real tracks can overlap or vary in spacing, so use the pattern as a clue alongside the shape of a clear print.

Illustration of the two halves of a deer hoofprint in damp mud — Up close, a clear deer print can show two pointed halves. This AI-generated illustration shows print shape; use a ruler beside a real track to record its size. See the deer track guide.

Find a second clue

Look for a worn route through vegetation, chewed seeds or nuts, disturbed leaf litter, or a place where an animal entered water. Deer often use narrow paths; raccoons may leave handlike impressions in soft ground. Many species share the same trail, so keep your conclusion tentative until several clues agree.

Try this: Photograph the tracks from directly above with a ruler beside them for scale, at the same ground level as the print. Take a wider photo that shows several consecutive prints and how they’re spaced. Don’t disturb a nest, den or animal to get a closer look.

Return after rain to see which signs are fresh. The question “what changed?” is usually more revealing than “what animal is this?”

Let weather help

Rain, wind and passing feet can soften or erase signs. Record whether a print has crisp edges, a puddle within it, or leaves resting over it. Those details may suggest relative freshness, but they do not give an exact time. Compare the site on several visits before drawing a firm conclusion.

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