 TRACKS
AND TRAILS – WHAT DO THEY TELL?
Deer Track Quiz, Part I
EDITOR’S NOTE: You’ve heard talk that a
big buck is feeding in a green field, but despite watching
from dawn to dusk, you haven’t seen hide or hair
of him, just some does and small bucks. What’s
wrong? As long-time deer hunter Larry Norton of Butler,
Alabama, explains, "Big bucks, especially in the
South, rarely come to green fields in daylight hours,
even during the rut. They don't have to come out in
the open and show themselves to find a hot doe but instead
can walk along a trail 30 to 40 yards off the downwind
side of the field and still smell the does. Generally
they'll wait until dark and then move out into the fields
to eat." So, you haven’t seen the big buck
because he’s not using the same trail as the does
and the smaller bucks. The lesson: deer use several
different kinds of paths or trails. If you know what
to look for and where to look, you can take a stand
and drastically increase your ability to find and bag
deer. Let’s take a look at some of those trails,
and try a short quiz that’ll help separate rumor
from reality.
 Some
deer-track experts say they can tell the size, sex and
age of a deer by its tracks. Hunters often claim that
seeing the dew claws as part of the deer's track directly
indicates that a buck has made the track. Because so
much misinformation exists about deer tracks and what
information they can communicate to those of us who
hunt, try this quiz prepared with the help of wildlife
biologists and avid deer hunters to learn the truth
about deer tracks.
1) Question: Can you tell the sex of the deer by its
track?
According to Dr. Bob Sheppard, a longtime bowhunter
and a student of deer behavior from Carrollton, Alabama,
"The only sure way to know if a deer track you've
found is that of a buck or a doe is to see that animal
standing in its track." Although most wildlife
scientists agree with Sheppard, Bob Zaiglin, a wildlife
biologist and manager for several Texas ranches, explains
that, "Some experienced hunters can distinguish
a buck by the size of the track and more importantly
by the spread of the feet. A buck's dew claws hang down
somewhat, and sometimes a buck will drag his feet and
turn a little more dirt up when he walks than a doe
does." Joe Hamilton, a wildlife biologist in South
Carolina, believes, "When a hunter spots a big
track on the ground in the eastern U.S., he's probably
looking at the track of a large doe, since in many areas
the does are allowed to live longer than bucks and become
bigger. However, in regions with snow, sand and/or mud,
the buck may drag his feet and/or make deeper tracks."
Ronnie Groom, a bowhunting seminar teacher from Florida,
comments that, "The medium the track is in and
the speed at which the deer is moving often determine
the size of the track more than the weight and the size
of the animal do. If a 100-pound doe jumps off a small
hill onto a muddy road, she may leave a very wide, big
track with dew claws showing. But if a 250-pound buck
walks up a hard, clay creek bottom, he may not leave
a very-wide track because the ground doesn't give way
and instead absorbs the weight of his body."
 2)
Question: Can does have bigger tracks than bucks?
All the biologists and hunters answered this quiz question
much the same way. The type of deer-management program
conducted on the lands where you hunt determines the
size of a doe's tracks. In much of the East, hunters
will find a larger number of older does than deer herds
in states like Texas, which have managed deer intensively
for numbers of years, will have. As Harry Jacobson,
a wildlife professor in Mississippi, observes, "Sometimes
deer populations are so badly managed that hunting pressure
eliminates a large majority of the bucks, whereas the
does are treated like the sacred cows of India and allowed
to put on heavier body weights and reach much older-age
classes than the bucks. That may be why a doe's track
is bigger than a buck's track in regions where the deer
herd contains does that are older than bucks."
3) Question: Can you tell the weight and/or physical
condition of the deer by its track?
Charles DeYoung, a Texas wildlife professor, explains
that you can note some general characteristics about
deer if you see their tracks side by side, "Particularly
if one set of tracks is a fawn's and the other's a buck's.
But generally you can't determine this, unless you're
an Apache." However, a well-trained scientific
eye like that of wildlife biologist Joe Hamilton may
detect some physical characteristics from the animal's
track that the average hunter may not recognize. "You
can determine if a deer has a broken leg or not, because
the track of the broken leg will be smeared and will
make a different impression than the other three tracks
of the same animal," Hamilton observes. "If
the deer is feverish and taking very short steps, we
may be able to determine his poor physical condition,
particularly if the animal is walking in a good tracking
medium like soft earth or mud. If the deer is very cold
and walking stoop-shouldered, he may  be
taking smaller, shorter, choppier steps, which you also
may be able to detect."
4) Question: Can you tell from the tracks whether the
deer is walking or running?
Dr. Keith Causey, a professor of wildlife science at
Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, says, "Usually
you can tell whether a deer is walking or running by
the distance between the tracks as well as whether the
toes are spread on the impact from running. If a deer
is wounded, obviously one of the legs will be impaired
tremendously, and the animal will put much less weight
on that leg than on the other. The wounded foot will
leave a lighter track."
TOMORROW: DEER TRACK QUIZ PART
II
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