ABOUT THIS BOOK

Mammal Tracks and Sign of the Northeast is a field guide for identifying the tracks of mammal species native to the region which extends from New England, New York, and Pennsylvania to eastern Canada. Simple to use and light and easy to carry in the field, the book contains the most important information that a tracker will need—including life-size illustrations of tracks and scat, gait patterns, trail width, species habitat, food sources, scat and urine information, breeding seasons, range maps, and special tracking tips for all thirty-seven species. A unique dichotomous key devised by the author allows trackers to identify even the most confusing track through a process of elimination. The charming, highly detailed, and to-scale pencil illustrations are indispensable aids to accurate identification. Mammal Tracks and Sign of the Northeast is an artistic and accurately rendered guide suitable for professional trackers, naturalists and wildlife professionals, outdoor educators, hunters, and amateurs alike.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

DIANE K. GIBBONS is an accomplished naturalist and illustrator and has spent over twelve years studying wildlife tracking with some of the best trackers in the United States. She has a Masters of Science in Environmental Biology from Antioch New England Graduate School. Diane leads workshops in tracking, wilderness skills and nature awareness, and lives in southern New Hampshire with her husband Paul and their four dogs.

REVIEWS

“Though intended for the layperson rather a hard-core ichnologist, this book is a nifty little tool to carry in the field, to pass the time identifying traces produced by bear, skunk, deer, opossum, beaver or raccoon in any substrate, in summer or in winter. This is also a text in which ichnologists can reevaluate the approach to identification of trace fossils and reconsider who forms the audience ichnologists are trying to reach. Perhaps a lesson can be learned from MTSN because the audience Gibbons will reach includes anyone interested in learning about mammals and tracking in general. As ichnologists our audience should be every discipline outside our own, encouraging others to use ichnology to understand better paleoenvironments, paleoecological relationships, or paleohydrologic and paleoclimatic settings in which trace fossils were constructed.”—Ichnos: An International Journal for Plant and Animal Traces

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 Method of Deivising the Key and Manual 3 Using the Key 4 Definitions of Terms 5 Gaits and Corresponding Track Patterns 7 A Key to the Mammal Tracks of the Northeast 11 Compression Shapes 15 MAMMALS OF THE NORTHEAST FAMILYSPECIES DidelphidaeVirginia Opossum 18 SoricidaeShrews 20 LeporidaeCottontail, Eastern and New England 22 Snowshoe Hare 24 SciuridaeEastern Chipmunk 26 Woodchuck 28 Gray Squirrel 30 Red Squirrel 32 Flying Squirrel, Northern and Southern 34 CastoridaeBeaver 36 MuridaeDeer Mouse and White-Footed Mouse 40 Voles 42 Muskrat 44 MurinaeNorway Rat 46 ZapodidaeMeadow Jumping Mouse and Woodland Jumping Mouse 48 ErethizontidaePorcupine 50 CanidaeDomestic Dog 52 Gray Wolf 54 Coyote 58 Red Fox 60 Gray Fox 64 UrsidaeBlack Bear 66 ProcyonidaeRaccoon 70 MustelidaeWeasels, Long-tailed, Short-tailed, and Least 72 Mink 74 Marten 76 Fisher 80 River Otter 82 MephitidaeStriped Skunk86 FelidaeHousecat 88 Bobcat 90 Lynx 92 Mountain Lion 96 CervidaeWhite-Tailed Deer 100 Elk or Wapiti 104 Moose 106 Comparison Pages 109 Breeding Seasons in the Northeast 128 Notes 131 Bibliography 133 Index 135