Animal Tracks

How long it’ll take:

45 min

What the goal is:

Campers should develop an understanding of identification of animals based on signs they may leave.

What the objectives are:

Campers should be able to identify tracks and scat of common animals. They should also be able to respond appropriately when encountering an animal in the outdoors.

What you’ll need:

• Animal tracks stamps

• Tracks check-off cards

• Dry-erase markers

What you’ll do:

Introduction (5 min)

Ask the campers, “What are some ways to identify animals based on signs they may leave?” (You’re looking to get ‘scat’ and ‘tracks’ out of this question).

Tracks (10 min)

1. Away from campers, use the animal track stamps in a sandy/muddy area to create animal tracks. Make sure the sand is pretty wet as that will allow you to create better tracks.

2. Ask, “What are some similarities and differences that you notice between all these animal tracks?” Point out that some show claws and some don’t, the number of toes in the track can vary, the way the animal walks can be seen in the tracks, etc. Have the campers use their identification cards to determine which tracks correspond to which animal.

**if the ground is not conducive to pressing prints, showing tracks and having kids draw the print, or doing crayon rubbings could be good alternatives.

Animal encounters (10 min)

3. True, False game: Designate one area as true and one area as false*. Read out a variety of questions about scat, tracks, and what to do when encountering bears and other animals. These can be as ridiculous or as straight-lined as you want.

Some examples include:

• The difference between cat and dog tracks is that dog tracks always show their nail whereas cats walk with their claws pulled back. (true)

• When you see a baby deer, you should block its mother from seeing it in order to get closer to it. (false)

• When you see a black bear, you should go try to hug it. (false)

• When you see a brown bear, you should climb a tree. (false)

• If a bear charges you, you should drop your pack and run as fast as you can in the other direction. (false)

• If you see a bear but it doesn’t see you, you should stay quiet, back away, and detour quickly. (true)

• If a bear is roaming around your car-camping site, you should call the park service or person in charge of the camping area. (true)

• You should never purposely get between a mother animal and her baby. (true)

• Taking a cool beetle or bug home and keeping it as a pet is a good idea. (false)

• If a bear approaches you, you should group together with others and put your arms overhead to look larger. (true)

• If you see a squirrel that’s looking hungry, you should feed it. (false)

• Bear scat usually has berries in it. (true)

• Black bears and grizzly bear tracks both show 5 toes. (true)

• Never run from a bear. (true)

*Step it up: Instead of making it just true and false, use a rope to establish a continuum. Tell the campers that one end of the rope is “strongly agree” and the other end is “strongly disagree”. Phrase your questions so that they can be answered somewhere in that continuum. Get the campers to stand on the rope in a place that would correspond to how they feel about whatever statement you made.

Alternate Idea: Have campers use the track stamps in conjunction with creating Field Guides.