by Erin Riddle
Many of us spend our daily lives inside. We are inside in front of the computer, in front of the television, in our cars, and at our place of work. Few of us have the opportunity to learn a tradition that connects us to nature, an understanding of nature’s creatures, and the delicate balance that is being continuously disrupted. That tradition is animal tracking.
Animal tracking is the art of identifying the presence of wildlife using clues that animals leave behind as they move around. Linda Spielman, naturalist and staff member at the Cayuga Nature Center in Ithaca, NY, is sharing with us her skills in tracking animals. She is involved with the national organization Keeping Tracking, based in Burlington, VT, which collects data on wildlife and uses it to provide planners with information on wildlife habitat to be incorporated in town and regional plans. Linda is the coordinator of the local chapter, Cayuga Keeping Track, and organizes tracking outings for them.
On November 13,2002, Linda presented a slideshow showing common signs trackers can see during a fall outing. The evening slide show was a great chance to learn about the language of nature with other interested people, and get a brief introduction to animal tracking and a preview for signs we might see during the subsequent outing. The idea of citizens learning tracking skills and then using them to keep tabs on the animals of their own region is so simple and wonderful that Linda wants everyone to know about it. The interest shown and the questions asked by the audience were encouraging and stimulating.
Most of those who saw the slide show also came out on subsequent outing on Saturday, November 16, 2002. Nature was kind to us and gave us some snow, which isn’t normally expected at that time of year. So we were able to apply some of the points from the slide show, comparing the tracks of rabbits and squirrels, seeing how the walking gait of a deer produces a zigzag track pattern, and even observing the very different pattern produced by a bounding mink. We walked all the way up the ravine to a beech tree first discovered by the Cayuga Keeping Track group two years ago. The claw marks still show clearly how the bear dug in with its back feet and pulled up with its front to get up to the top where the beechnuts were. Everyone seemed to feel that the walk was worth it. The discussions we had throughout our walk could only have happened with people who appreciate the outdoors and have given some thought to our relationship to our surroundings. All in all a great time!
The second part of the series took placed this past week, Wednesday, January 15, and Saturday, January 18. Linda taught us the subtle differences of tracks of rabbit and squirrel, fox and the domestic dog, and bobcat and the domestic housecat. We also learned common qualities of mink tracks, a more rare delight. A group of approximately nine trackers braved the bitter temperatures on the following Saturday at Michigan Hollow Rd in Danby.
The Finger Lakes Group will be presenting a second session of animal tracking series in collaboration with Linda in late April/early May.
For more information on Keeping Track and animal tracking, contact Linda at 844-8522 or Lminkspiel@aol.com. For information on the local group of the Sierra Club, contact Erin Riddle at 256-9993 or elr@peoplepc.com.
