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Tracking Quiz

Welcome trackers!  We have put together a tracking quiz using photographs of clear prints.  Unfortunately, many of the photos do not have a ruler or object to scale them by, so they will be challenging; however most questions can be answered using a field guide- if you are not already familiar with them.  We recommend Mark Elbroch's Mammal Tracks & Sign - gait questions are answered using Mark's terminology from chapter 2.  There are 20 questions, and the answers are at the bottom of the page, so you will have to scroll down to see them.  We suggest writing the answers to the quiz on paper so you can take the test without constantly scrolling up and down.  Good luck and good tracking!

 

#1.  What species made this track?

 

#2.  What animal made this track?

 

#3.  What is the species? What is the gait?

 

#4.  What species?  Which foot is on top?  Which foot is on bottom?

 

#5.  What species?  Which foot?

 

#6.  What is the species?

 

#7.  What is the species?  Which foot is which?

 

#8. What species? What is the gait?

#9.  Which species?  Which foot?

 

#10. What is the species?
What is the gait?

#11.  What species?  Which foot is which?

 

#12.  What species?  Which foot is which?

 

#13.  What species?

 

#14.  What is the species?  What is the gait?

 

#15.  What species?

 

#16.  What species?

 

#17.  What animal made these tracks?  What was it doing?

 

#18.  What animal made these tracks?  What was it doing?

 

#19.  What species?

 

#20.  What species?  What gait?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers:

#1.  Mountain Lion (Puma concolor)

#2.  Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

#3.  Jumping Mouse, bound

#4.  Northern River Otter (Lontra canadensis), right rear above, right front below

#5.  American Beaver (Castor canadensis), left rear on top of left front

#6.  American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

#7.  Eastern Chipmunk (Tamia striatus), front feet

#8.  Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis), tranverse lope

#9.  Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), left front foot

#10.  Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor), rotary lope

#11.  Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana), left front above, left hind below

#12.  Bobcat (Lynx rufus), right hind above, right front below

#13.  Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

#14.  North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum), overstep walk

#15.  Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

#16.  Long-tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata)

#17.  Fisher (Martes pennanti), climbing

#18.  Northern River Otter (Lontra canadensis), sliding

#19.  Common Grey Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

#20.  Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), bound