Cope Reynolds (@Desertscout1)

For 12 bucks, you can order this animal track chart on Etsy. Usually, charts like this are for educational purposes. That may have been the intention for this chart but it looks like some of these tracks were awarded a name that was pulled out of a hat, whatever it may have been. Most of us know that cat tracks show no claws, regardless of size or breed, because they are withdrawn into their sheath while walking. Once in a great while, you'll see claws come out when they need the extra traction, but that's rare. This makes diagram 1, 3 and 5 automatically wrong. Canine tracks, OTOH, always show their claws. This automatically makes #4 wrong It says #2 is a meerkat track. I'm not sure what that track actually is but it's not close to a meerkat. Meerkats are the size of squirrels or prairie dogs and have very slender feet and long claws. See the picture below. #6, they say, is... a rabbit? Seriously? #7 supposedly shows a horse and a donkey track. One could argue that this is what they look like in mud or sand. However, since this is for educational purposes, shouldn't they be facing the same direction as all the rest of the tracks on the chart? The zebra track is going the right direction. So, if the neophyte tracker were using this chart to hone their tracking skills, they're going to find out where the horse and the donkey came from, not where they're going. The moose, #8. It could be argued that this track shows the animal walking in thick mud or some other soft material, which tends to make the cloven hoof spread. Otherwise, a moose track is not a whole lot different than deer and elk, just bigger than both. The pictured track also shows dew claws. Again, these will be evident in mud or snow, but not on solid ground. Picture of moose foot below. There may be others that I'm not familiar with that are incorrect as well. So, why do I post this? Somebody posted this same picture on a local off-grid group. I'm sure it was posted with the intention of helping people and apparently, the guy that posted it wasn't familiar with some of the tracks. It's not really his fault I guess, you would think that the people that make charts like this would have some idea as to what they're doing and you should be able to trust them. I pointed this out to him and he blocked me from the group. LOL!