Guess the Track?

 

In a tidal creek in Alaska's Katmai National Park, I saw this track the size of a dinner platter before I saw the animal that made it. Can you guess these animals from their tracks?

Easy! It's a bear. Katmai is home to some of the world's biggest brown bears.

Tracks like these in the snow are common in back yards in the Eastern United States. These animals love the suburbs. And when the clover is in bloom, they hop right to it!

Another easy one. A bunny! Eastern cottontails have small front feet and large back feet that leave tracks in pairs in the snow. 

More snowy tracks. Let's not get too fussy about what species it is, though I have my suspicions. What makes these tracks like little jet planes?

Sure, it's a bird. Probably a sparrow or cardinal like this one. Keep going!

You might find tracks like these on Eastern beaches like Ocean City's where I found these. These nimble animals have adapted to hunting in suburbs, too. And they are mostly active at night, leaving only their dainty telltale tracks behind each morning.

It's a red fox. I don't see them nearly enough.

To find these tracks, I went to another beach, this time in Costa Rica. These animals have tracks very similar to another masked bandit, the raccoon. They eat fruit and insects. And on this beach at Manuel Antonio National Park, one was munching on hermit crabs! Its name might not be as familiar as a raccoon, but if you ever see one, you will not soon forget it.

Did you get it? It's a coati. These little omnivores eat everything from fruit to lizards to hermit crabs to your entire dinner if you're not careful. They are bold and friendly. Maybe too friendly sometimes! Anyway, be prepared to pay the coati tax if you stumble upon one.

To find these tracks, I had to go to Africa and this sandy riverbed in Kruger National Park. These animals live in family groups, which makes it easier to bring home the bacon — or the warthog. 

Lions are a favorite photo subject. They leave enormous telltale prints in the sand and dirt. 

We're staying in South Africa to find tracks along another riverbank. But I wouldn't dare follow them. If you have keen eyes, you'll notice those webbed feet and the big belly mark between them. But those front feet look awfully small. What am I?

Yup, it's a crocodile. While crocodiles can walk some distance without dragging their bellies, the biggest ones often do, leaving that telltale belly slide behind. 

These tracks in the sand coming toward you are nearly as big as they get. These animals hang out in the same waters as crocodiles, but I wouldn't say they're friends. They're not friendly to people, either.

It's a hippo's! Hippos are scary. Except for this little baby. She's adorable. Also, someone lost a pink Croc on Uganda's Kazinga Channel, but I'm not going to help you get it back!

Here's a track left behind in the dirty snow by an animal I barely caught a glimpse of while exploring Superior National Forest outside Ely, Minnesota, in the winter.

Here's another example of this animal's footprint. I found this track while photographing coastal brown bears in Katmai National Park, one of the most remote places I have ever been.

Did you get it? It's a wolf. I've been lucky to see them in Minnesota, Wyoming and Alaska, where I photographed this one. This was my very first wolf encounter. This animal loped right past the park bus in Denali. I couldn't believe it. I went looking for coastal wolves in British Columbia's Vancouver Island but failed. And I have seen wolves on numerous occasions in Yellowstone but always a million miles away. I return next month to look some more. Hope springs eternal!

Last one. These enormous tracks are left behind by a bird that has become increasingly common in many suburban neighborhoods. Benjamin Franklin famously preferred them over bald eagles.

Turkeys! Hope you had fun. I love finding new tracks.