News

Identifying Individual Mountain Lions from Footprints

Published on October 13, 2017 under News

I have been working for several years now with Zoe Jewell and Sky Alibhai from WildTrack on a system for identifying individual mountain lions from their tracks. We recently published an article in the open access journal PLOS One and it's available to read…

Central Texas Certification 5/28/2017

Published on June 12, 2017 under Certifications

The Earth Native Wilderness School organized a Track and Sign Certification in and around Austin Texas from May 27-28, 2017. We saw the tracks of 30 species, including 16 mammals, 5 birds, 3 herps, and 6 invertebrates. We spent the first day at a pond at…

San Diego Certification 5/7/2017

Published on May 18, 2017 under Certifications

The San Diego Tracking Team organized a Track and Sign Certification in San Diego, California from May 6-7, 2017. We saw the tracks of 27 species, including 15 mammals, 6 birds, 3 herps, and 3 invertebrates. We spent the first day at Lake…

Big Bend Specialist Certification 4/09/2017

Published on April 17, 2017 under Certifications

Dave Scott organized a Track and Sign Specialist Certification at Big Bend National Park, Texas on April 8-9, 2017. Specialist Certifications are arduous. Participants have to answer 57 very difficult questions over 2 days. Two evaluators (1 standard and 1 external) are present at Specialist…

Los Padres Specialist Certification 11/15/2016

Published on November 15, 2016 under Certifications

Marcus Reynerson organized a Track and Sign Specialist Certification in the Los Padres National Forest, California on November 12-13, 2016. Specialist Certifications are arduous. Participants have to answer 57 very difficult questions over 2 days. Two evaluators (1 standard and 1 external) are present…

Ventura Tracker Certification 11/6/2016

Published on November 7, 2016 under Certifications

The Channel Islands Tracking Team hosted a Track and Sign Certification in Ventura, California on November 5–6, 2016. We saw the tracks of 26 species, including 15 mammals, 4 birds, 3 herps, 3 invertebrates, and marks of a branch moving in the wind. We…

How to Tell Buck from Doe Tracks

Published on July 28, 2016 under Articles

There are few tracking challenges as burdened with lore and conflicting information as how to tell a buck from doe. Some common methods I've heard suggest that bucks show dewclaws, or drag their feet, others say that buck tracks tend to splay more, and one…

Central Texas Specialist Certification 5/22/2016

Published on May 23, 2016 under Certifications

Casey McFarland and I conducted a Track and Sign Specialist Certification for Earth Native Wilderness School in Austin, Texas from May 21-22, 2016. During a specialist certification, participants have to answer 50 very difficult questions and 7 bonus (extremely difficult)…

Central Texas Certification 5/15/2016

Published on May 16, 2016 under Certifications

I conducted a Track and Sign Certification for Earth Native Wilderness School in Austin Texas from May 14-15, 2016. We saw the tracks of 24 species, including 11 mammals, 6 birds, 5 herps, and 2 invertebrates. We spent the first day…

San Diego Specialist Certification 4/3/2016

Published on April 4, 2016 under Certifications

Dan Hansche and Kersey Lawrence organized a Track and Sign Specialist Certification in the deserts near San Diego, California on April 2-3, 2016. Specialist Certifications are arduous. Participants have to answer 50 very difficult questions over 2 days. Two evaluators (1 standard…