spoor
SPOHR
The track or trail left by an animal — footprints, droppings, scent marks, broken vegetation, disturbed ground. Spoor is the total record of an animal's passage, not just its footprints. Reading spoor is one of the oldest human skills — it requires attention to compression, moisture, direction, gait, age of the sign, and the behavior implied by the path taken.
Etymology
Afrikaans and Dutch spoor, meaning track or trail. Related to Old English spor and German Spur. The word entered English through southern African hunting and tracking traditions.
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