Post by lockmaster on Feb 3, 2006 14:31:41 GMT -5
Reading Whitetail Signs – Deer Tracks
This article is an excerpt from the Whitetail Addict's Manual, by T.R. Michels.
Tracks can help you determine the sex of the animal and it's size. There are a number of factors to consider when you are looking at deer tracks. Having nailed more than a couple of shoes on horses, and trimming a number of hooves as a guide, horse trainer and riding instructor, I know that no two hooves are alike; right and left, and front and rear hooves each have different shapes. When you look at tracks check the shape, size, travel pattern and how the imprints are placed in relation to each other. Look for drag marks and chips or abnormalities in the hoof. It is not a simple matter of size or shape that helps determine size and sex, it is a combination of factors. I especially don't fall into trying to categorize an animal only by the size of its tracks.
Purpose, Scent, Travel Direction
Asking what the purpose of the track is may sound crazy, but there is a purpose to deer leaving tracks. However, it has little to do with the visual clue of the track itself. It's the scent from the interdigital gland in deer species that has a purpose. Interdigital scent is so specialized that animals can tell the difference between individuals no matter how many there are in the area. Interdigital scent is the main means of a deer tracking another deer. Females use it to track their young, and males use it to track females. Because scent molecules breakdown at different rates animals can even tell which direction the other animal went.
Size
There are 30 different recognized subspecies of whitetail in North America. These subspecies differ in size and type of terrain they inhabit. Deer in swampy or soft soil have less wear on their hooves than deer in rocky terrain. The large subspecies of the north have larger hooves than the Florida Key Deer, the Texas Fantail or the small Coues Deer. Like some humans, some big deer have big hooves and some have small hooves, so we have to speak in generalities. Usually older, bigger deer have bigger hooves than other deer in the area. This means that males often have the biggest hooves. One study shows that the width of the back of a mature buck's front hooves (when they are not greatly splayed) is wider than 2.25 inches. But, size is not enough to say that the tracks were left by a buck.
Hoof Dragging, Depth, Splaying, Sex
Obviously if you see drag marks from September on, in dirt or light snow, you can make a bet that the animal is a buck. Mature bucks walk stiff-legged, and swing their toes out, which causes them to drag their hooves. In deep snow any animal may make drag marks. By determining the placement of the hooves, looking at the travel line, and the shape of the hooves, you can become more sure of the sex of the deer. Because the buck carries a rack and has a swollen neck during the rut, it has a lot of weight on the front hooves. This weight is not carried directly over the hooves however. The mechanics of this are similar to a fulcrum and lever, like when you use a long handled jack to lift up your vehicle. Because the added weight of the neck and rack are in front of the hooves they exert more pressure than the actual weight. This causes four different effects on the front hooves: 1. the hooves sink deep into the ground, 2. the toes spread apart, 3. the toes point outward, 4. the hooves drag.
Travel Pattern, Shape, Configuration of Sets
There are three other factors to consider when you are looking at tracks:
1. Because bucks make scrapes, especially dominant bucks, they round off the tips of their front hooves. Hoof prints that appear rounded on the tips are usually made by a scraping buck, meaning a breeding buck. This doesn't mean a trophy buck, a small racked buck with a high testosterone level may be the dominant.
2. Bucks generally travel in a straight, purposeful line.
3. Bucks often step directly in or short of the prints of the front hoof with the hind hoof. Because does have a wider pelvis for fawning their hind hooves often land outside and ahead of the front tracks.
Groups of Tracks, Other Sign
If you see one set of tracks in the fall, instead of two or three of different sizes, or if the one set of tracks lead to a scrape or rub it is probably a buck. Large clumped droppings nearby, or large pellets indicate a buck. A urine stream that points straight down (not a spray toward the back) is from a buck. By process of elimination, and following the tracks to read the other sign, you can make an informed guess on the size and sex of the animal, but not the size of the rack.
This article is an excerpt from the Whitetail Addict's Manual, by T.R. Michels.
Tracks can help you determine the sex of the animal and it's size. There are a number of factors to consider when you are looking at deer tracks. Having nailed more than a couple of shoes on horses, and trimming a number of hooves as a guide, horse trainer and riding instructor, I know that no two hooves are alike; right and left, and front and rear hooves each have different shapes. When you look at tracks check the shape, size, travel pattern and how the imprints are placed in relation to each other. Look for drag marks and chips or abnormalities in the hoof. It is not a simple matter of size or shape that helps determine size and sex, it is a combination of factors. I especially don't fall into trying to categorize an animal only by the size of its tracks.
Purpose, Scent, Travel Direction
Asking what the purpose of the track is may sound crazy, but there is a purpose to deer leaving tracks. However, it has little to do with the visual clue of the track itself. It's the scent from the interdigital gland in deer species that has a purpose. Interdigital scent is so specialized that animals can tell the difference between individuals no matter how many there are in the area. Interdigital scent is the main means of a deer tracking another deer. Females use it to track their young, and males use it to track females. Because scent molecules breakdown at different rates animals can even tell which direction the other animal went.
Size
There are 30 different recognized subspecies of whitetail in North America. These subspecies differ in size and type of terrain they inhabit. Deer in swampy or soft soil have less wear on their hooves than deer in rocky terrain. The large subspecies of the north have larger hooves than the Florida Key Deer, the Texas Fantail or the small Coues Deer. Like some humans, some big deer have big hooves and some have small hooves, so we have to speak in generalities. Usually older, bigger deer have bigger hooves than other deer in the area. This means that males often have the biggest hooves. One study shows that the width of the back of a mature buck's front hooves (when they are not greatly splayed) is wider than 2.25 inches. But, size is not enough to say that the tracks were left by a buck.
Hoof Dragging, Depth, Splaying, Sex
Obviously if you see drag marks from September on, in dirt or light snow, you can make a bet that the animal is a buck. Mature bucks walk stiff-legged, and swing their toes out, which causes them to drag their hooves. In deep snow any animal may make drag marks. By determining the placement of the hooves, looking at the travel line, and the shape of the hooves, you can become more sure of the sex of the deer. Because the buck carries a rack and has a swollen neck during the rut, it has a lot of weight on the front hooves. This weight is not carried directly over the hooves however. The mechanics of this are similar to a fulcrum and lever, like when you use a long handled jack to lift up your vehicle. Because the added weight of the neck and rack are in front of the hooves they exert more pressure than the actual weight. This causes four different effects on the front hooves: 1. the hooves sink deep into the ground, 2. the toes spread apart, 3. the toes point outward, 4. the hooves drag.
Travel Pattern, Shape, Configuration of Sets
There are three other factors to consider when you are looking at tracks:
1. Because bucks make scrapes, especially dominant bucks, they round off the tips of their front hooves. Hoof prints that appear rounded on the tips are usually made by a scraping buck, meaning a breeding buck. This doesn't mean a trophy buck, a small racked buck with a high testosterone level may be the dominant.
2. Bucks generally travel in a straight, purposeful line.
3. Bucks often step directly in or short of the prints of the front hoof with the hind hoof. Because does have a wider pelvis for fawning their hind hooves often land outside and ahead of the front tracks.
Groups of Tracks, Other Sign
If you see one set of tracks in the fall, instead of two or three of different sizes, or if the one set of tracks lead to a scrape or rub it is probably a buck. Large clumped droppings nearby, or large pellets indicate a buck. A urine stream that points straight down (not a spray toward the back) is from a buck. By process of elimination, and following the tracks to read the other sign, you can make an informed guess on the size and sex of the animal, but not the size of the rack.
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