This list was developed in the Marin Tracking Club. The idea is to look at a track (or sign) and ask as many such questions as possible, before actually naming the animal.
The point is to strengthen your ability to observe details about a track and its surroundings, opening to more sensory input and landscape awareness, as an end-around the common tendency to stop looking once an ID is established.
It is indeed remarkable how many such questions can be asked without reference to an identity.
1. When was it here?
2. What indicates the time?
3. What was it doing here?
4. How fast was it going?
5. How big is it?
6. Why did it come this way?
7. Where was it coming from?
8. Where is it going?
9. What is its gait?
10. What other tracks are around it?
11. What other signs are around it?
12. How many toes on the front foot, on the back foot?
13. Is this track front or back, right or left?
14. What is the shape of the track?
15 Are there any claws?
16. Is there any indication of hair on the feet?
17. What is the shape of the toes, of the heel pad?
18. What pressure releases are in the track?
19. How is the floor different than the surrounding substrate?
20. How symmetrical is the track?
21. How heavy is the animal?
22. What was the mood of the animal?
23. How many more can you think of?
Point Reyes Tracking School 