Who Could It Be? This Animal I Did NOT See ©

 

 

Mystery animal tracks, who could it be, this animal that I did NOT see?!  My apologies to Zaboomafoo and the Mystery Animal Song.  Photograph by Kathleen Reynolds, used with permission.

So, I woke up one Monday morning two weeks ago, and since it was garbage day, I went outside to drag the wheelie bins up to the end of the driveway.  And when I did, I noticed that there were tracks all over my driveway.  One set of tracks was easy to identify, it was one of those pesky city rats that live in my neighbor’s garage, but the other was harder to identify.  It had claws like a dog and its tracks were about the size of a medium sized dog or coyote’s, but unlike a coyote or dog’s tracks, these tracks showed five toes, not just four. 

 

Examples of dog tracks, an excerpt from Roger Tory Peterson Field Guide: Animal Tracks, by Olaus J. Murie, page 89.

The track pattern was a 2 x 2 lope, much like an inch worm would leave, not a 3 x 4 rotary lope that would be expected for a coyote or a dog.

 

Examples of dog track patterns, an excerpt from Roger Tory Peterson Field Guide: Animal Tracks, by Olaus J. Murie, page 90.

Who could it be...?

 

Someone was walking in my backyard.  Photograph by Kathleen Reynolds, used with permission.

The tracks ran down my driveway, beside my garage from the backyard and circled around the backyard and large spruce that sits on the edge of my property.  Apparently, whoever it was that had left the tracks, had started out up in the spruce tree before climbing down and following the rat tracks out to the street.

 

Photographs by Kathleen Reynolds, used with permission.

But who could it be, this animal that I did NOT see?  I had a sneaking suspicion, even when I first saw the tracks, that it was someone in the weasel (mustelidae) family.  But as far as I knew, there weren’t any members of the weasel family that big, except perhaps otters along some of the wilder rivers in the area, so who could it be?

 

It was time to break out the books and compare the photographs my wife took, to what the experts had to say on the subject.

 

Tracking 101

 

An excerpt from A Guide to Nature in Winter: Northeast and North Central North America, Donald W. Stokes, page 283.

The size of the tracks, their gait and stride length, but most importantly their straddle, or the width of the trail, can tell you a lot about who made the tracks.  In addition, there were several distinguishing features about the tracks, which will be helpful in identifying this mystery animal.

 

The height and length of the tracks, graphic by the Author.

First off, the tracks are 2-¼ inches high by 1-⁷/₈ wide (5.7 cm high by 4.8 cm wide), which means that they were likely made by a medium sized animal, somewhere around the size of a cocker spaniel.  Although it must be remembered that animals that hunt in the snow, usually have larger paws for their size, and that is why paw size doesn’t always directly correspond with the size and weight of the animal.

 

The stride and the straddle, or width of the trail, graphic by the Author.

So, we know that the stride of the trail is 14 inches (35.6 cm) and more importantly the straddle, or width of the trail, is 6-½ inches (16.5 cm).  Because the straddle is less variable it is the more important than the stride in identifying a mystery animal, because the stride varies depending on whether the animal is walking, loping, galloping, or running.

 

The distinguishing features of the tracks, graphics by the Author.

Now our mystery animal had five toes with claws, although toe number five, on the inside of the paw, didn’t leave much of a mark, and the tracks showed that the creature had an upside down “U” shaped foot pad.

 

The track pattern that our mystery animal left in the snow, graphic by the Author.

And the track pattern that our mystery animal left in the snow of my backyard, was a 2 x 2 lope, looping like an inch worm.

 

So, knowing all of that who could it be? 

 

An excerpt from Roger Tory Peterson Field Guide: Animal Tracks, by Olaus J. Murie, page 60 and 61.

According to my Roger Tory Peterson Field Guide: Animal Tracks, in which the author wrote on page 61 that “The average walking stride of a large male fisher is 13 inches [33 cm]...while that of a female fisher is about 9 inches [23 cm]...The average jump of a large fisher is around 26 inches [66 cm].  The stride and size of tracks are extremely variable depending on snow conditions and gait”.  He also wrote on page 62 that, “On firm mud or sand footprints will measure approximately 1 ½ inches [3.8 cm] x 2 inches [5 cm], excluding claws.  In snow, however, the individual track will be 2 x 2 ½ inches [5 cm x 6.4 cm] at least, and has been reported 4 x5 inches [10 x 13 cm], indicating rather loose snow”.

 

For more information on fisher tracks and tracking, I consulted “Fisher Tracks and Sign”, by Janet Pesaturo, which is an excellent resource (HERE), which both agreed with what was written in the Field Guide and expanded on it.

 

Well, my tracks looked just like the ones in the Field Guide and those pictured in “Fisher Tracks and Sign”, and they even showed the almost invisible fifth toe.  Also, since “Fisher Tracks and Sign” showed that a fisher’s straddle is 6 inches (15 cm) and the Field Guide stated that large male fishers have an average stride of 13 inches (33 cm), my mystery animal had to be a large male fisher, a martes pennanti!  

 

But I had always thought that they were extinct in Western New York, only surviving in the remoter parts of Western Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and the Adirondack mountains of New York.

 

Well, it turns out that I was wrong, they aren’t extinct in Western New York anymore!  According to multiple sources they are becoming more common in the Western New York area, and have been spotted around Buffalo, and now apparently, even in my backyard!¹

 

For more on Fishers around Western New York read “Large Fisher Found in Orchard Park”, HERE, and “Do It: Fearsome fisher on the move in western New York”, HERE.

 

“Fisher Ipswich River, Massachusetts”, from Wikimedia, HERE.

Fun fisher facts...

 

An excerpt from The Science of Trapping, by Elmer Harry Kreps, page 66.

 

These fun facts were found in “Question: Are There Fisher Cats In Upstate Ny” and “Quick Answer: Are Fisher Cats Martens”, for more fun facts go HERE and HERE.

 

·       Do fisher Cats eat cats?  A fisher will eat a cat if the opportunity presents itself, but so will other predators that are common and plentiful in the state, including coyotes.  Fishers do not specifically seek out cats for dinner, particularly when easier, more desirable prey like squirrels are available and abundant.

 

·       Are fishers in WNY?  Fishers were reintroduced into Pennsylvania in 1994 and, combined with populations from West Virginia, are now dispersing into western New York.  Animals from both the Adirondacks and the Catskills are colonizing central New York, including the Finger Lakes forests.

 

·       Where do Fisher Cats like to live?  Their preferred habitat is mixed forest with heavy canopy cover, rarely traveling in large open areas.  They commonly use hollow logs, stonewalls, tree cavities and brush piles to rest.  Fishers are omnivorous, meaning they are indiscriminate feeders, eating what’s available, be it meat or vegetation.

 

·       Where do Fisher Cats sleep?  They commonly use hollow logs, stonewalls, tree cavities, and brush piles to rest.

 

·       Why is it called fisher cat?  ‘Fisher’ is thought to be derived from early European settlers likening the animal to the European polecat, called a ‘fitche’.  As for ‘cat’, the fisher is about the size of a large domestic cat, with a dark brown to black, close-cropped glossy fur coat and a long bushy tail.

 

An excerpt from the Science of Trapping, by E. Kreps, page 210.

Many of you have enjoyed my articles on tracking and so, if you haven’t already read them, check out, “Tracks and Tracking in the Winter ©”, found HERE, “Who Came To Visit Me Last Night…©” found HERE, and, “Who could it be? ©” found HERE, Tracking at Work ... Wait, What!?©, HERE. 

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Weather for Woodsman, Buys-Ballot's Law ©”, where we will talk about how to tell where the center of the storm is when the wind blows.

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ Maybe the fact that I have a large male fisher visiting my backyard is the reason that I found the gobby, leftover bits of a large city rat dropped on my canoe, which was lying upside down under the spruce tree.

 

 

Sources

 

Bydanna; “Quick Answer: Are Fisher Cats Martens”, December 5, 2021, [© 2022 BikeHike], https://bikehike.org/are-fisher-cats-martens/, accessed March 28, 2022

 

Bydanna; “Question: Are There Fisher Cats In Upstate Ny”, December 5, 2021, [© 2022 BikeHike], https://bikehike.org/are-there-fisher-cats-in-upstate-ny/, accessed March 28, 2022

 

Kreps, Elmer Harry; Science of Trapping: Describes the Fur Bearing Animals, Their Nature, Habits, [A.R. Harding Publisher, St. Louis, MO, 1909], https://books.google.com/books?id=gxJIAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=science+of+trapping&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjQrtql0Of2AhUVmXIEHV9TAo4Q6AF6BAgLEAI#v=onepage&q=science%20of%20trapping&f=false, accessed March 28, 2022

 

Moden, Clay; “Large Fisher Found in Orchard Park”, February 15, 2017, https://wyrk.com/large-fisher-found-in-orchard-park/, accessed March 28, 2022

 

Murie, Olaus J.; Roger Tory Peterson Field Guide: Animal Tracks, [The Easton Press, Norwalk, Connecticut, 1974]

 

Pesaturo, Janet; “Fisher Tracks and Sign”, January 30, 2020, [©2022 - Winterberry Wildlife - Weaver Xtreme Theme], https://winterberrywildlife.ouroneacrefarm.com/2020/01/30/fisher-tracks-and-sign/, accessed March 28, 2022

 

Roth, Leo; “Do It: Fearsome fisher on the move in western New York”, [© www.democratchronicle.com, Rochester, NY], https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/columnist/roth/2014/03/02/fearsome-fisher-move-western-new-york/5930061/, accessed April 2, 2022

 

Stokes, Donald W.; A Guide to Nature in Winter: Northeast and North Central North America, [Little Brown & Company, New York, New York, 1976] p. 271-296

 

Wikimedia, “Fisher Ipswich River, Massachusetts”, by Brunop, May 27, 2012, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fisher,_Ipswich_River.jpg, accessed April 2, 2022