It's a happy accident when we encounter an animal in the wild. If we're out and about during the day, animals often see us before we see them. And many animals are most active after dark, when we're asleep. But we can often tell more about animals by the signs they leave behind than we can from direct contact with them.
Animal tracks are important clues.
When you learn to read the signs, it's like being let in on little secrets of animal life. Montshire is offering a day-long adult tracking workshop led by expert guide and naturalist Alcott Smith on January 23. So this week on the program, we'll be playing Sherlock Holmes, looking for clues in the woods and solving small mysteries. A friend tells the story of pursuing an interesting track while cross-country skiing across a frozen lake. There were two sets of tiny marks in the snow.