Reading Animal Tracks in the Snow - February 7, 2022

A walk in the woods after a snow fall is a great time to look for tracks and learn a little about the wildlife that are also walking in that woods with you. The chance of you actually seeing these critters may be slim, but finding their tracks is easy. It just takes slowing down the pace a little and spending some time looking and pondering. We identify some of the most common tracks in our woods and look to see what these fellow inhabitants are up to in the woods today. We identify Opossum (Didelphis marsupiales), Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), Whitetail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes), Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) and Cat (Felis domestica).
Oak Haven is a 60-acre private woodland in Southwestern Ohio near Cincinnati. Jim and Julie Varick both have degrees in Botany and over thirty years of experience in managing natural areas. They enjoy sharing their enthusiasm for the natural world and would like to build relationships with like-minded people to share knowledge and resources.

[@everyman6328]

Walking through the woods, looking at tracks, is one of my favorite things to do. Thanks for the video.

[@gdglock]

I agree with the other poster, it looks like fisher cat. We have them in Central, Vermont, a friend has seen them in Central PA.

[@Chad20109]

thank you for taking the time to make these woodland walk videos, it is an invaluable resource for the internet

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Thanks for watching!

[@allisons4814]

Online it says that the Wisconsin Grey Fox can climb trees! They have retractable claws, like cats, that would allow them to climb up a tree while remaining ground dwellers.

[@OspreyTwo]

This was such a pleasant and informative video. Great content.

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Thanks! It's fun to walk through the snow and see who walked there before you.

[@nathanb7539]

This year in Akron we got enough snow to learn my huskies tracks….centered with chest imprints

[@nyjunie1941]

Thank you so much^^*

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

You're welcome 😊

[@deadpinecollective]

I run a trapline and come across so many different tracks. It’s always challenging to figure some out, especially if they are not fresh

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

It's a fun game!

[@markhoffman4587]

Grey Foxes have semi retractable claws, and can climb straight up a tree. I've seen them do it, and I filmed one, coming down a tree, with a thermal camera

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

Very cool. I would love to see that.

[@markjones5561]

"geriatric olympian" :) LOL

[@carlkraus6034]

disappearing tracks might be a fisher. Fishers climb trees. Fishers love squirrels for dinner.

[@TheWoodlandSteward]

That would be cool! We are too far south for a Fisher, though.

[@carlkraus6034]

@@TheWoodlandSteward We have fisher here in central NY near Syracuse. You may have them and don't know it.

[@corniss]

I just want it to melt. Can barely get around.