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The Tracker's Field Guide
A Comprehensive Field Guide for Tracking in the United States
by James C. Lowery

      More than simply determining where an animal crossed the road, tracking can lead to a study of how the animal uses its habitat, how it travels, where it feeds or hunts, how it breeds and raises its young, and how it survives. In this book, Jim Lowery distills his expertise, gained over decades of intensive research and practical field experience, into a comprehensive field guide to tracking North American mammals.

      The Tracker's Field Guide includes some interesting features that are not covered, or not covered as well, in the other books. First, Lowery has included a simple comparison chart for print identification that makes it possible to quickly narrow down the possibilities based on the number of toes, the shape of the track, and whether or not claws are visible in the tracks. Next, the shaded and labeled tabs along the edges of the pages make it a snap to jump to the right family of animals for additional information. Once there, you will find, in addition to the photos and drawings of the tracks, a side-by-side comparison of multiple different gaits commonly used by each species. The book also includes photos of the tracks in context, showing trail segments and sign. Interestingly, Lowery maps out real-world examples, illustrating actual events he has observed in the wilds. These examples, along with the comprehensive text, provides the reader with a sort of window into the secret lives of the animals that live all around us. Lowery also includes some coverage of pressure-releases, connecting the dots between the type of soil displacement in the tracks, and how fast the animal was moving.

      Based primarily on his experiences in southern California, Lowery's book has a slightly western slant to it, but it covers in detail a wide variety of mammals, including all type of cats and dogs, rabbits and hares, rodents, weasels, raccoons, opossums, bears, insectivores, and an array of ungulates including sheep, burros, feral pigs, deer, and even llamas. The Tracker's Field Guide has a water-resistant, wipe clean cover with pre-rounded corners and extra-durable binding made to withstand the rigors of field use. It includes more than 500 high-resolution black-and-white photos plus hundreds of first-rate drawings. Falcon Press. ISBN: 0-7627-3981-9. 406 Pages. 2006.

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Mammal Tracking in North America
by Dr. James Halfpenny

      Tracks are more than just impressions in the mud, sand, or snow. They are a record of what an animal was doing, where it was going, and what it was thinking. Author Jim Halfpenny has taught tracking since 1967, and today he continues to lead people out to find the wolves of Yellowstone National Park or the polar bears of the arctic. My kids and I once borrowed a telescope from Jim Halfpenny on our way into Yellowstone, and Jim told us exactly where to go to see a grizzly bear. We drove out there, set up the telescope, and sure enough, there was a grizzly bear sitting on the side of the hill where he said it would be!

      Based directly on field research, Mammal Tracking in North America brings the amateur naturalist the latest information on animal gaits and the interpretation of scat. This book includes everything you need to know about track identification, gaits and following trails. Halfpenny takes special care to provide track comparisons between similar species, so you can identify tracks with confidence and accuracy. But identification is only the beginning. Reading the story behind the tracks is the real reward, and Halfpenny gives the reader the tools of a detective to read that story.

      Mammal Tracking in North America includes hundreds of artistic and precise illustrations by Elizabeth Biesiot, including stop-motion style drawings to better communicate the gait patterns, plus a handy photo gallery of scat for easy comparison. Mammal Tracking is just the right size, weight and content to bring on every outdoor trip. Johnson Books. ISBN: 0933472986. 163 pages. 1986. Printed with soy ink (except the cover) on recycled paper with 50% post-consumer content.

Mammal Tracking in North America     $15.00     Quantity:

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Animal Tracks
A Peterson Field Guide
by Olaus J. Murie, Mark Elbroch and Roger Tory Peterson

      Animal Tracks is a classic book based on Murie's research starting in 1921 and first published in 1954. More than fifty years later it is still one of the best books on tracking. This all-new edition includes descriptions of the habits, habitats, tracks, signs, and ranges of all the mammals of North America, as well as of selected birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects.

      Animal Tracks is especially helpful for track identification of the smaller animals, the woodchucks, ground squirrels, tree squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, gophers, rats, mice, voles, shrews, etc. It also covers more obscure species that are not covered in other tracking books, such as the ringtail, peccary, armadillo, seals, opossum, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Animal Tracks covers tracks as well as gaits of more species than you would have thought existed in North America. Animal Tracks even covers the domestic livestock--sheep, cows, horses and pigs--to help you distinguish them from their wild cousins. More than one thousand line drawings and a hundred color photos show individual tracks, track patterns, droppings, and gnawed trees. The text includes natural history, inspirational stories, and relevant information about the tracks and signs of North American animals. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 061851743X. 432 pages. 2005.

Animal Tracks: A Peterson Field Guide     $20.00     Quantity:

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Field Guide to Tracking Animals In Snow
How to Identify and Decipher Those Mysterious Winter Trails
by Louise Richardson Forrest. Illustrated by Denise Casey

      A white season complement to other tracking books, A Field Guide to Tracking Animals in Snow focuses on animal track patterns, making windblown and obscured tracks identifiable. It includes important winter habits and habitat preferences of the animals.

      Tracking Animals in Snow includes 24 black and white photos plus range maps and 150 drawings. Paperback. 192 pages. Stackpole Books. ISBN: 0-8117-2240-6.

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How to Age a White-tailed Deer Poster
Recommended by Tamarack Song

      This poster clearly illustrates how to age deer by jaw and teeth analysis. An invaluable tool! Please note that these posters have been folded and creased and show some shelf-wear. 26"x17" Poster.

How to Age a White-tailed Deer Poster     $5.00     Quantity:

See also
Tracks & Tracking Guides
Tracking Videos