Tracking Quiz website

Tracking Quizzes

Quiz #29 - Question

 
Here’s a quiz from sunny Arizona.
 
Photo 29A

Habitat: Sonoran desert, southern Arizona. (For those of you into astronomy, the structure on the mountaintop is Kitt Peak Observatory.)

Time of year: March

Photo 29B

I was driving down the highway just after sunrise in this remote area of Arizona. I pulled over to stretch my legs, and flushed up an animal from the shoulder of the road, near the saguaro & prickly pear cacti and mesquite trees.

Photo 29C

I jumped out of the car and found some of the animal’s footprints in the dust amidst the human and car tire tracks (Photos 29C & 29D).

Photo 29D
Photo 29E

Photo 29E is zoomed in on the short trail of the animal that was visible in the dust. The animal was turning, so it was not possible to measure stride exactly, but its stride was about 6 inches, and its trail width was about 4½ inches.

Photo 29F

Photos 29F, 29G and 29H are closeups of the tracks. The tracks measure approximately 1 3/8 inch wide by 3½ inches long.

Photo 29G

 

Photo 29H
 
Questions:
  1. What desert creature made the tracks?
  2. How can you rule out this animal’s “cousin”?
 

Quiz #29 - Answer

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