Please do not use "post comments" to ask for camera help and advice.
Use phone, Skype IM or eMail.

Friday 14 January 2011

Squirrel Tracks

After a fresh fall of overnight snow I was out last Sunday and came across this jumble of tracks on a forest road.

They were left by a pair of Red Squirrels mating. The first image shows where they mated and the second image shows where they moved away together and then split off in separate directions.

Squirrels leave a set of four prints in each group on a trail, that fill a square no more than 150 mm. For anyone not familiar with their appearance the third image shows such a group. The footprints widest apart are the hind feet and the two closer together are the fore feet. The Squirrel is moving in the direction of the hind feet because when the Squirrel hits the ground it lands on its fore feet and brings its hind feet in front for the next jump.


























Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
This web site is about the wildlife, particularly the mammals, of the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve area in the north west Highlands of Scotland, UK; and the equipment I use to search for them, which is chiefly trail cameras.

I provide a technical support and parts service for the Ltl Acorn range of cameras and the income from this provides for the upkeep of this site and the purchase of cameras for my own surveying.

I hope you find the site useful and informative; and please contact me if you have any questions that I haven't already covered.