Here’s a challenging quiz. But if you’re new
to tracking, fear not, as this is probably equally challenging for
experienced trackers.
Photo 50A Habitat:
High elevation in the deep, snowy summits of the North Cascade
mountains of Washington.
Time of year: May. (In this severe
habitat, May is basically like late winter.)
Photo 50B
You are on a mountaineering trip,
and when reaching the lofty summit, you encounter a set of tracks
going uphill. The stride was 26 inches and the trail width was 6
inches.
Photo 50C
All the tracks in this uphill set
looked basically the same. Photos 50C / 50D / 50E show closeups
of a few examples. The footprints averaged 5½ inches long by 3¾
inches wide.
Photo 50D
Photo 50E
Photo 50F
After reaching the summit, the
animal went downhill on the opposite side
Photo 50G
Photo 50G is zoomed in to show the
stride & gait of the downhill set. The group length measured 21
inches. The stride measured 30 inches. The trail width was 6 inches.
Photo 50H
There were two distinct types of
footprints in the downhill set. Photos 50H / 50I are closeup
examples of each. The 50H track measured 3¼ inch long by 3¾ inch
wide. The 50I track measured 4 inches long by 3½ inches wide.
Photo 50I
Questions: 1. What animal visited the
mountain summit? 2. What gait was the animal using while going uphill?
Why are all the tracks the same? 3. What gait was the animal using while
going downhill? Which tracks are the front and hind? 4. Why did the
animal change gaits?
