Test Your Tracking Skills #1

Foxes have four toes that show up in a track. The whole track is diamond shaped. They have very furry feet so there is a lot of space between the toe pads and the palm pad. Two claws (known as ‘buddy claws’) are often visible at the front of the track. The usual gait for a fox is a trot when the hind foot lands neatly on top of the front foot track – called a ‘direct register’.

The other tracks in the snowy photo are made by a mouse.

The track below is made by a dog. Again, four toes but the track is squarer and not so narrow. You can see how much bigger the palm pad is and how close it is to the toe pads. Dogs also trot but lope more often than foxes.