What made these footprints?
Feb 14, 2014 13:33:44 #
Just curious....I was out on a walk last evening and came across these and am wondering if any "hoggers" can enlighten me as to what made these footprints. The circular depressions are around 3". Please don't critique...I intentionally oversharpened and overdid the contrast to perhaps make them easier to "read" Thanx.....
Feb 14, 2014 13:41:45 #
Birds or mice hopping through the snow, can't tell which without a closer view, but it does look more like a mouse tail to me.
Feb 14, 2014 13:49:54 #
Actually...they are too big..lots of field mouse tracks in the same area. Here's a highly cropped b&w version......
Feb 14, 2014 14:58:34 #
When we see tracks in such a perfect straight line, as if one foot in front of the other, it's a fox.
See this from google...
Fox Tracks
Like other members of the canine family, the fox has oval-shaped prints; the tracks are longer than they are wide. They have four equally sized toes on each paw. On each of the four toes, the fox has a claw. These claws show up in tracks, particularly the claws at the top of the two center toes. The back pads of fox paws are triangular and often spread out from the toes. In ideal snow tracks, you will also see the ridge in the heel pad. Foxes "direct register" when they walk, which means they place their hind foot in the track made by their front foot, so you'll only see one set of prints for each side.
See this from google...
Fox Tracks
Like other members of the canine family, the fox has oval-shaped prints; the tracks are longer than they are wide. They have four equally sized toes on each paw. On each of the four toes, the fox has a claw. These claws show up in tracks, particularly the claws at the top of the two center toes. The back pads of fox paws are triangular and often spread out from the toes. In ideal snow tracks, you will also see the ridge in the heel pad. Foxes "direct register" when they walk, which means they place their hind foot in the track made by their front foot, so you'll only see one set of prints for each side.
Feb 14, 2014 21:41:19 #
Since we can't see a closeup of toes and claws, it could be some animal on a pogo stick with a small stride?
Feb 15, 2014 02:35:59 #
Feb 15, 2014 14:13:13 #
MT Shooter wrote:
Birds or mice hopping through the snow, can't tell which without a closer view, but it does look more like a mouse tail to me.
I'm with MT Shooter here, especially if the snow was soft and fluffy. The 3" depression is probably a whole-body imprint made when the critter was making headway by jumping a few inches at a time and the groove definitely looks like a tail. I have fox in my yard daily...those aren't fox prints.
Feb 16, 2014 00:37:09 #
Brian in Whitby
Loc: Whitby, Ontario, Canada
I have spent a lot of time outdoors and seen lots of animal tracks but nothing like these.
Although they are in a straight line, I don't think they are fox tracks.
Although they are in a straight line, I don't think they are fox tracks.
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