Tag: tracking/scat

The damage done to young trees by a male deer rubbing its antlers against the bark and branches, stripping and shredding them. The older, more specific hunting term for what modern trackers call a rub — from the medieval tradition that catalogued dozens of such marks.

A narrow path worn through undergrowth by repeated animal passage. Fainter than a human trail, readable only with attention, often the only route through dense brush. Game trails follow the logic of the animal that made them — the path of least resistance weighted by the need for water, cover, and food.

A gap in a hedge or fence habitually used by a hare, worn by repeated passage. Close kin to smeuse, but specific to hares and older by several centuries.

The footprint of an animal — especially a large one. Used primarily in the Indian subcontinent for the tracks of tigers and other big cats. The pugmark is both evidence and identity: Indian wildlife censuses once counted tigers by their pugmarks alone.

The wavering or deviation of an animal's tracks from the median line — visible when the animal is tired, injured, or heavy with young. A straight-tracking deer that begins to sway is telling you something about its condition without you ever seeing the animal.