Last week’s challenge asked you to identify a structure standing near a spring on Lake Wingra. Though it looks like a king-sized muskrat lodge, it belongs to a beaver. This corner of Wingra has plenty of beaver sign, both the usual—chewed trees such as this one—and unusual: a chewed boardwalk just yards from the lodge, where the beaver has rounded the edge for more comfortable travel.
Now to this week’s photo challenge (how to play). Tracks of a wide-ranging mammal crisscross Wingra marsh and the southwest margin of Lake Wingra. Other signs include a possible bed and, sometimes at night, its voice. Given these clues, what animal do these tracks belong to?
Unseen Madison 
February 12, 2010 at 11:00 am |
ok… had to end up on Jeff’s photo site at http://twitpic.com/10i7ey to get the certain answer of coyote.
Did a web search for places to do a compare and contrast of the pattern of the track in the photo, but didn’t find anything helpful.
The tracks themselves are not distinctive enough for me to even guess at an animal. If someone knows of a website that would be good for such, I’d appreciate if you’d post a link to it.
February 15, 2010 at 5:02 pm |
Yes, the file name rather gave it away. I wouldn’t have guessed it, but I saw my first coyotes in WIsconsin last December.
I have some good tracking books, but don’t know of any useful web sites–sorry.