Fisher trailsįishers are said to walk, trot, lope, and gallop. That is because in the hind foot it is covered with fur. Notice that the heel does not register as a discrete pad. Here again you get the faint impression of connectivity between toe tips and metacarpal pad. Another fisher track which broke through a thin crust of snow. Follow the trail, examine multiple tracks, and observe behavior before jumping to conclusion. Such a track may be confused with an otter track. Note that because the foot breaks through a thin crust, it gives the appearance of webbing between the toes. You can even see a hint of the connection between the finger tips and the metacarpal pad. The toes, metacarpal, and carpal pads all register well. In this case the snow was moist and covered with a thin crust. The snow here was moister/stickier than in the previous photos, so the toes are clearer. I think, from right to left, it’s RF, LF, RH, LH.) Tracks made by a fisher facing to the right, in a stop pattern – just standing still on all 4 feet. (Edit : I may have labeled the tracks incorrectly. Because the fisher has furry feet and because the snow is dry and powdery, the pads are relatively indistinct. So, while the “heel” often registers, a discrete heel pad does not register. The anatomy of the hind feet is very similar to that of the front feet except that the carpal pad is covered with fur. Hind tracks are smaller at about 2-3 inches in width. But sometimes you can see a hint of those connections – it depends on the substrate. What this means is that the you usually cannot see the connection between the finger tips and the metacarpal pad. In between these pads is a lot of fur, creating “negative space” between the pads. There is also a carpal pad which sometimes registers as a dot. There is a C-shaped metacarpal pad (actually several fused pads) which usually registers. That innermost toe often does not register, but the other toes usually do. It has 5 clawed toes, with the innermost toe (toe #1) being small and set back. The front track usually measures about 2 1/4 to 4 inches in width. Better for one’s own survival to overestimate rather than underestimate danger. Suffice it to say that the tendency for humans to exaggerate the size and ferocity of wild animals is likely an adaptive trait. The latter is a fascinating topic in and of itself, but outside the scope of this article. I think overestimates are common partly because of the animal’s fluffy coat and long tail, and partly because people tend to overestimate the size of wild animals in general, especially predators. A typical guestimate is 20 pounds, and I’ve heard excited reports that “it must have been 50 pounds!” However, the largest fisher on record weighed about 20 pounds and the average fisher is much smaller. I say “only” 5-12 pounds because many people who are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of this secretive predator estimate its size as much, much larger. Weighing in at only 5-12 pound, on average, this medium sized mustelid (member of the weasel family) has a long slender body, long tail, and short legs. So take some time to familiarize yourself with fisher tracks and sign before your next sojourn into the snowy woods, and you might just get to see the action of this forest dwelling creature. You get to see a lot in a short period of time. It’s a generalist predator that searches for small mammals in the nooks and crannies in trees, under roots, and between rocks, and once in a while you may see evidence of a fisher kill site – perhaps a squirrel tail. It winds through the forest, often from from the base of one large tree to that of another, occasionally pausing to scent mark, and occasionally to climb a tree and then jump down. The fisher ( Pekania pennanti) is one of my favorite animals to track in snow because it does a lot within a relatively short distance.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |