A Field Guide to Mammal Tracking in North America

by James C. Halfpenny, Elizabeth Biesiot (Illustrator)

Animal tracks in the snow of the mountain forest, in the mud along a streambank, or in the sand of the desert are much more than footprints. James Halfpenny’s Field Guide will allow the nature lover to satisfy his or her curiosity by identifying the animal that left the prints. But identification is only the beginning of a fascinating interpretation is the rewarding goal of this book. With it anyone can be a nature detective, able to reconstruct the behavior of mammals from mice to moose. Tracks tell stories and the user of this book can read them. Based on field research, much of it the author’s own, the book brings the amateur naturalist the latest information on animal gaits and the interpretation of scat.

Genres: Outdoors, Field Guides, Nature

Paperback

Published April 1, 1986

Reviews

[Luke Stuntz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best mechanistic discussion of mammal locomotion as it relates to tracking of any book I've come across. Written in an accessible, but appropriately academic fashion. Systematic approach to identification of print formula and hierarchical classification of gait patterns is extremely useful.

[Beckie Gaskill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came recommended by my local DNR when I started in their predator tracking program. It is super useful and I think it's laid out better than most. It is a great manual!

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am awed by Halfpenny’s depth of knowledge, not least of all with his unrivaled scat collection (!), and I especially appreciate the interactive “Reading Trails” section. However, as a beginner to tracking, I struggled to manage the wealth of information. I felt overwhelmed by the facts crammed together for each animal family, listed one after another in no discernible order. I walked away with a headache and very little hope for tracking.

I imagine that this book is an incredible resource for experienced (even intermediate) trackers, but I suggest that beginners approach the field guide merely to become habituated with hearing the lingo rather than to learn it.