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Tracking
Quizzes
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Quiz #12 - Answer
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The answer is BEAVER. Photo K7 shows the beaver’s LODGE that was directly above the burrow
shown in photo K6.
However, that said, I came upon the tracks in the
mud 30 minutes before I found the beaver lodge. The lodge was well
hidden in thick willow brush, and if I hadn’t done the bushwacking, the
tracks would’ve been my only clue. So I didn’t necessarily make the quiz
harder than it was in the field. |
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Photo K7 |
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| Beaver tracks are not easy to find. They spend most of
their time in water, and when they are on land their footprints are
usually obliterated by the beaver dragging its tail, a tree, or
something else. The tracks in this quiz are the finest beaver tracks I
have found, and I was very thankful to encounter them. |
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The footprint in Photo K3 is typical of the
beaver’s hind foot – a large webbed foot with five very long toes that
have thick, prominent nails. (A large beaver has toes that are almost as
long as your fingers. This makes it very distinct from muskrat or
otter.) Books say that commonly, only 3 or 4 toes can be seen in the
footprint but the webbing can be seen; in this case, however, all 5 toes
clearly registered but the webbing basically did not. |
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Photo K3 |
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| In this beaver trail, the hind tracks obliterated almost
all of the tracks from the front feet, which Elbroch reports to be a
common occurrence. However, the faint remains of the smaller footprint
pointed out in Photo K4 are the beaver’s front foot. Beavers have tiny
front paws and great big hind feet. |
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Photo K4 |
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| The inward pitch (or "pigeon-toed" appearance) to the
footprints is consistent with sketches shown in some references,
although other references show zero pitch, and I have yet to find any
book that comments on that. |
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| The habitat in this quiz was consistent with beaver, as
were the trail width, stride, and signs of feeding on willow twigs –
there were hundreds of twigs in the marsh that were bitten off like the
one in Photo K5. |
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Photo K5 |
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| The "burrow" was more than just a plain burrow – it was
an entrance to the beaver lodge. Usually beaver lodge entrances are
underwater and impossible to see. However, one clue in this quiz was the
time of year – late August. At this time of year, water levels can
recede enough to expose entrances to beaver lodges. If you look closely
at Photo K6, you can see that this burrow was completely underwater at
an earlier time in the year. |
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Photo K6 |
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| Hope you enjoyed this quiz and stay tuned for the next
one! |
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Quiz
#12 - Question
...on to Quiz #13 |
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(All photos on this page are Copyright © by Brian Booth
or Walter Muma unless indicated otherwise)
To send comments, questions or feedback about these quizzes,
email me |
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Tracking Quizzes |
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