Library EventAnimal Tracking with Bur Oak Land Trust

Nature can often seem mysterious, but if you know what to look for, the landscape will tell you its story. Tracking and reading animal signs is an ancient, sacred, and captivating way to connect to and learn from nature. It is often thought of as a task in which storytelling and science meet. It involves taking measurements, finding evidence, and a knowledge of wildlife biology. However, at some point after you have taken all the data, you use your imagination to put together the story of the creature you have been tracking. Tracking is one of the most intimate ways to connect with wildlife, because it brings you into the center of real animals' lives, and homes. Consequently, trackers carry the responsibility to observe without disturbing the species.

Join Bur Oak Land Trust’s Conservation Education Specialist, Darcey Gans, as she teaches us how to safely identify and distinguish various wildlife tracks and signs. Learn how you can recognize the presence of wildlife through tracks, trails, scat, urine, nests, food scraps, and more. Find out how your observations can not just bring you closer to your local land, but how you can help contribute to conservation as a community scientist.