![]() One clear indication that you are dealing with opossums is the spread out toes, these often look like little starfish.Īlthough they have nails, these don't seem to show up much in the tracks, unlike a raccoon or a dog which have prominent nail marks. The opossum tracks also have a smaller front and a longer back track but the shape is very different with the toes clearly spread out. On the left, raccoon tracks, front and back paws, on the right opossum tracks. At first I figured they were raccoon or skunks but I soon realized that they were opossums.Ĭoyote and dog tracks however are not particularly difficult to tell apart. It took me a while to figure out what the strange new tracks were. They also have the endearing habit of eating ticks. They are far easier to have around than the raccoons. They would come at night and eat the catfood I left out for the 2 remaining feral cats I had moved from my Toronto colony.Īs it turns out, even though they look like insane giant rats having a bad hair day, they are very peaceful and don't seem to get into much trouble. Ontario, I discovered I had lots of opossums around. Many people are not familiar with the opossum tracks. Opossum have been migrating further north and we're starting to see their tracks. To learn more about Whistler’s natural world, go to Whistlernaturalists.ca. Naturespeak is prepared by the Whistler Naturalists. The following week I happened to be in the right place at the right time-as I was walking in Spruce Grove, a bobcat ran across the road in front of me! Our family is enjoying being new members of the Whistler Naturalists and my grandkids are excited to learn more about tracks and wildlife in Whistler. Neighbours along the way confirmed they had spotted the bobcat walking through their yards and hiding under a shed. We especially like her suggestion to try to move like a raccoon: “To experience the typical raccoon waddle in your own body put a hand and a foot side by side on the floor then step forward with the other foot and put the other hand down next to it-over and over.”Ī few days later, there was a fresh snowfall and we saw a line of bobcat prints in our yard-we now know that dog or coyote prints would have shown claw marks-and followed the tracks as they wove through backyards all the way to Lost Lake Park. Good mnemonic device when first starting out.” I like to think that the raccoon, which sports a Zorro-like mask, makes a Z-like pattern in the snow. The long string of tracks shows that the prints alternate-front on left, front on right. Its pattern is two tracks side-by-side, one front paw and one back paw. On all the prints you see the toe pads connected to the palm pads by long skinny toes. So we asked the Whistler Naturalists for help and the mystery was solved-a bobcat and a raccoon had also walked through our yard that night.īioBlitz scientist Mallory Clarke wrote: “Five-toes is most definitely a raccoon. But after photographing the prints and track patterns, then looking for information on the internet, we were still puzzled. Was it a dog or coyote or maybe a bobcat? The second was a print with five toes and the tracks travelled through the yard in a Z-shaped pattern. The first had one large pad and four round toe pads. A second set of smaller prints, we also knew, were made by a squirrel-two hind feet side by side and two front feet in front in a roughly U-shaped pattern.īut two other sets of tracks were a mystery. A snowshoe hare has a distinct pattern of two circular front feet in a line then large snowshoe-shaped back feet side-by-side in front, like a “Y.” We have often spotted snowshoe hares in our garden and enjoy watching them change colour through the seasons. We donned coats and boots, grabbed a tape measure, magnifying glass, and camera, and headed outside to identify the tracks. ![]() Fresh tracks in the snow! Out our window, my three grandkids and I spotted four sets of animal tracks weaving through our backyard in White Gold. ![]()
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