snowshoe hare tracks

Tracks on Steam Mill Brook




These look similar to the tracks posted by Arghman. When they caught my eye, I thought it was a lynx following a deer. There are toe marks without claw marks and they are over 4" across. They did not have the distinctive teardrop shape, but as I tracked them, I found tracks that clearly showed it to be a hare.

Happy Trails

Great track photos. Um, could we see the line at the left any closer? Did you examine it at the photo location or farther down the line? I'm not convinced that our little white friend didn't have some feline "company" on his route.

I find it fascinating that you often hike with the sole (or at least partial) purpose of tracking animals. I'd like to hear more details of your adventures. How far do you track them? Ever get too close for comfort? Ever get lost? Have you ever been the tracker only to become the trackee ? Etc. Always nice pix, too.

I saw the photos this morning at home (can't see them now on the work PC) and am really impressed ! They look EXACTLY like the lifesize tracks depicted in the Tracks poster I have next to my desk. That bunny must have been there just before you. I'm not sure what sardog means by "the line" at this point. Is there a second set of tracks ?

sardog means the line of tracks to the left of the hare tracks on the first photo above. Chip, this line shows very clearly in my view of the photo ???

sardog1 said:

sardog means the line of tracks to the left of the hare tracks on the first photo above. Chip, this line shows very clearly in my view of the photo ???

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No doubt it does, I just can't see the pics right now ! (Work Computer )

I came across some snowshoe hare tracks once (near Indian Pond off the Katahdin Ironworks Road in Maine) and didn't think much about them, aside from the fact that they may have belonged to Sasquatch, until I noticed bobcat tracks apparently in pursuit. I made it a threesome as I followed suit.

This game went on for at least a half mile at which time I lost the tracks but managed to find a spruce trap. Couldn't help but chuckle as I climbed out at the possibilities that a rabbit and a cat were waiting nearby with bibs and silverware, sort of like an Alice in Wonderland scene, but did manage to escape unscathed and uneaten.

Do people hikely "solely" for tracking? maybe some do but I hike, or snowshoe, for it's own rewards and sometimes tracking is one of them.

dvbl said:

I find it fascinating that you often hike with the sole (or at least partial) purpose of tracking animals. I'd like to hear more details of your adventures. How far do you track them? Ever get too close for comfort? Ever get lost? Have you ever been the tracker only to become the trackee ? Etc. Always nice pix, too.

Click to expand...

When I was a kid, most afternoons in winter were spent tracking stuff, often while on snowshoes -- foxes, hares, deer, etc. It's an amazing way to learn details of their existence. I got to the point where I could follow fox tracks right up to their maker and follow it for a while undetected. It taught me an enormous amount about observing wildlife. The highlight was probably the moment when a great gray owl launched from a tree branch above me while I was intent on some tracks. I still do it -- would much, much rather traipse through now-frozen swamps and other habitats looking for sign than bag some peak.

Winter is such a wonderful time to see how much activity is going on around you that one rarely gets to see. This recent snowfall has been perfect to find really clear prints. The rabbit tracks do look huge on top of the snow but that is why they are called ‘snowshoe hare’. There are tiny tracks and big tracks and holes dug and tracks meeting up with others who has found dinner or dinner was too quick. Today I found a fresh moose bed from overnight. Several times I’ve seen fresh scat in the snow that seems to be still melting it yet has no tracks anywhere. That’s when you slowly look up.

Did I ever say, "I love winter!!"

In general, it is soooo cool to see all the tracks in winter! On a snowshoe the other day, I couldn't believe how many different types of tracks we saw. Good stuff. (OK, so I didn't really add anything to this thread, but I just love winter! This is just one more reason!)

??? yours look kind of like mine. how do you know one is snowshoe hare & the other is a cat? I thought the x's in the palm of the paw indicates felines.

I guess I should stick to plants...

sardog1 said:

Great track photos. Um, could we see the line at the left any closer? Did you examine it at the photo location or farther down the line? I'm not convinced that our little white friend didn't have some feline "company" on his route.

Click to expand...

Wow! I see what you mean, but at the time it just looked like a dear track. Now I see what looks like a paw mark.

dvbl, I often hike for the sole pupose of seeking wildlife and sign, and in the winter, tracking is easy for a non-expert like me. I'll learn more over the years. Last year, I saw an amazing story in the snow in the col b/w Middle Sister and First Sister of Mt. Chocorua. There snowshoe hare tracks all over the place, then the straight track of a bounding lynx came flying right through, then both tracks disappeared into thick spruce, which I could not successfully follow. At the time, I did not realize there was a big difference in bobcat and lynx tracks, and I assumed it was a bobcat. Only when I got home and looked at a track guide did I realize that bobcat tracks are small. These tracks were 5" or 6" across. Within days I read about the confirmed lynx tracks by the state biologists up in Jefferson.

Twice, I have followed moose tracks and caught up to the moose!

Happy Trails