Week of January 19, 2025 – January 25, 2025
by Kaylen Iorio, Environmental Educator
Here in Central New York we have many different species of animals, some more elusive than others. We often see White-tailed Deer grazing in open fields, Turkey Vultures soaring above a park, or Eastern Cottontails scurrying to get out of your way. But, for our more sneaky and stealthy creatures, we must look for the tracks they’ve left behind.
I’m often looking for tracks in the snow this time of year that will help tell me if an animal has been nearby, but it can sure be confusing to tell the difference between similar tracks! Take feline vs. canine tracks – sets of paw prints that are an exciting find but hard to differentiate. All cats in the animal kingdom are in the Felidae family, representing carnivores built for hunting with large canine teeth, retractable claws, and muscular bodies. Canidae is the family name for dogs, which are also carnivorous animals but with long, slender legs and muzzles, large, strong teeth, and often bushy tails. It can be easy to confuse these two groups of carnivores, so here are some key differences to look out for.
Let’s take the Bobcat, a member of the Felidae family. Their tracks are small and round, about 2 inches in length and width with four toe pads and a central foot pad. Their foot pad, usually with five lobes (two at the top of the pad and three at the bottom), leaves little space between itself and the toe pads. A canine such as a fox or coyote will have a more oval shaped print, usually having 3 or 4 lobes on their foot pad (one at the top and two or three at the bottom). Members of the Canidae family will have much more negative space between their toes and their foot pad. The negative space of a canine’s track will be in the shape of an X, and the negative space of the feline track will be in the shape of a U.
Another key characteristic in recognizing a feline paw print is the lack of claws in the track. Cats have the ability to retract their claws, which you may already have observed on your house cat. On the other hand (or paw), canines cannot retract their claws and, therefore, will have claw marks present in their tracks. You can also compare the gait of the tracks. For example, foxes often walk in very straight lines whereas bobcat tracks will appear as more of a slight zig zag. Canines tracks will often show their hind foot covering a partial part of their front foot track whereas felines will show their hind foot completely covering their front foot track. However, this is not perfectly accurate. Sometimes felines will show their hind foot partially covering their front foot track and canines will show their hind foot completely covering their front foot track.
Share your track photos with us at [email protected]!