By Marilyn Levand, Wildlife Education Manager

As the season changes and the weather becomes colder, we often think of snow blanketing the landscape, nature quieting down to rest, and wildlife taking a long winter’s nap. However, many native animals remain active all year. Taking a hike in the woods or even an open field can give you a glimpse into the winter lives of some animals as they forage for food or search to find a safe den.

Walking in nature in the winter is the best way to become familiar with different animal signs. While professional trackers can track animals in any weather, winter is the easiest time to learn to identify the different signs that animals may leave behind. 

Pine cone remnants from a red squirrel’s meal

One obvious sign is footprints or tracks in the snow. The best snow to find detailed tracks in is a fresh thin layer over a hard base such as a parking lot or hard-packed snow. Tracks can help you identify not only the type of animal that passed by, but also whether it was just casually walking or actively running. The best way to get familiar with animal tracks is to invest in a tracking guide. Depending on your commitment, these guides can be simple or very detailed. 

Habitat is as important as tracks when deciphering animal signs. For example, you are hiking in the woods and you come across tracks that could belong to a rabbit or a squirrel. Taking the time to follow those tracks briefly, you find that they end abruptly at a tree. From this evidence, you are then able to determine that the tracks belong to a squirrel rather than a rabbit, because rabbits can’t climb trees.

The best way to get familiar with animal tracks is to invest in a tracking guide.

One of the more obvious animal signs is scat. While it isn’t a pretty sight, it can give a clue to the animal that paused for a moment to leave a deposit. Scat may not be important to us, but to wildlife it is like leaving a business card. It is often used to mark territory or attract a mate. Many species, including raccoons and otters, use a latrine or a favorite spot to leave scat. Animal scat comes in many different shapes, sizes, and colors; and yes, there are field guides for animal scat too. 

When animals forage for food, they may leave behind evidence such as a beaver that has gnawed down a sapling, or a rabbit that may have chewed the bark all the way around a small tree or bush. When you find a large pile of shells in one spot you know that is your neighborhood chipmunk or squirrel’s favorite spot to eat. 

Signs of a beaver gnawing on a tree

When looking for signs of wildlife remember that tracking doesn’t mean just footprints. Other signs can include a deer scrape on a tree, an abandoned nest in the bush, or even a hole in the ground next to a garden. As winter comes, with or without snow, you can still be a wildlife detective by looking around at the clues that animals leave behind.