Animal Tracks

It's always more fun when you can identify the wildlife that is, or has been, in the area. Learning to identify animal prints around you is just one way to do that. Listed below are some of the more common wildlife prints that you may come across in your outdoor experience.

On this page:

Hoofed Prints
Mule Deer print Mule Deer
Odocoileus hemionus
Print: 2 ½” long (f)
H: 42” shoulder W: 175 lbs 
A: 8 yrs Diet: H
The mule deer is recognized by its large ears and black tail tip. It often travels by “bouncing or jumping” with all four feet off the ground.
Bighorn Sheep print Bighorn Sheep
Ovis canadensis nelsoni
Print: 3 ½” long (f)
H: 38” shoulder W: 250 lbs
A: 11yrs Diet: H
Each sheep has an acute sense of sight, hearing and smell. Rams are known for their large turning horns. Ewes and lambs rely on steep mountainous tracks for safety.
Elk Print Elk
Cervus elaphus
Print: 4 ¼” long (f)
H: 48” shoulder W: 500 lbs A: 20 yrs Diet: H
The tall deer-like animals are known as Wapati. Stags, or males, live alone until mating season. Antlers are light and have straight branches.
Pronghorn Antelope print Pronghorn Antelope
Antilocapra americana
Print: 3 ¼” long 2 ¾” wide (f)
H: 33” shoulder W: 124 lbs
A: 9 yrs Diet: H
This fast moving animal has a record speed of 53 mph. Pronghorn antelope are awake day and night occasionally stopping to eat, rest and walk.
Five Toe Prints
Black Bear print Black Bear
Ursus americanus
Print: 7 ½” long 3 ½” wide (h)
H: over 5 ft long W: over 258 lbs
A: 21 yrs Diet: O
Black bears are very adaptable and opportunistic. Human food sources will encourage bears to encounter humans.
Marmot print Marmot
Marmota flaviventris
Print: 2” long (f)
H: 18” long W: 5 lbs A: 3 yrs Diet: H
Yellow-bellied marmots burrow beneath rocks and use them for sunning and lookout sites. They form societies and use a variety of tail movements and calls for communication.
Beaver prints Beaver
Castor canadensis
Print: 6” long 4 ¾” wide (h)
H: 46” long W: over45 lbs 
A: 12 yrs Diet: H
The two prominent features of the beaver are the long paddle-like tail and two narrow and long incisors which beavers must wear down with growth and age.
Racoon print Raccoon
Procyon lotor
Print: 3 1/8” long (h)
H: 23” long W: 6 lbs A: Diet: O
The long fingers of the raccoon are opposable and sensitive to touch. Raccoons may be seen making delicate manipulations with their fingers.. They are highly adaptable to urban areas.
Spotted Skunk Print Spotted Skunk
Memphitis mehitis
Print: 1 ½” long
H: 20” long W: 4 lbs A: 4 yrs Diet: O
The animal is similar in size to a house cat and has the distinct white stripe on black fur and musky scent. Striped skunks don’t chase fast-moving prey, but sit and wait or stalk prey.
Bruck Rabbit print Brush Rabbit
Sylvilagus bachmani
Print: 3” long (h)
H: 11” total length W: 2 ½ lbs A: 4yrs Diet: H
Brush rabbits range in color from dark brown to gray brown. The family of cottontails includes a variety of species found throughout Nevada. These rabbits forage on a variety of plants.
Muskrat print Muskrat
Ondatra zibethicus mergens
Print: 1” long (h)
H: 15” long W: 2 ½ lbs
A: 5 yrs Diet: H
Muskrats are stocky broad rodents with small ears, and a tail nearly equal in body length. They create two chambered dens with a long tunnel connecting the dens.
Mink print Mink
Mustela vison
Print: 1 3/8” long
H: 23” total length W: 2 lbs A: 3 yrs Diet: C
Typically weasel-like, the mink’s tail comprises of one-third of the total body length. Sometimes mink are predators on muskrat. Minks live in dens near water areas.
Four-toed Prints
Kit Fox print Kit Fox
Vulpes macrotis nevadensis
Print: 1” tall 1” wide (f)
H: 21” long W: 8 lbs 
A: 4 yrs Diet: C
Foxes are the only members of the dog family known to climb trees. Most dens are located on flat open ground areas. These nocturnal hunters feed mainly on rabbits.
Bobcat print Bobcat
Lynx rufus
Print: 1 7/8” long 1 ¾” wide (f)
H: 33” long W: 22 lbs 
A: 7 yrs Diet: C
Bobcats are known for the short bobtail and similar color and shape to a domestic cat. Male cats are 33% larger than females. The bobcat is best described as a crepuscular hunter rather than nocturnal.
Mountain Lion print Mountain Lion
Felis concolor
Print: 3” long 
3 ½” wide (f)
H: 5 ft long W: 176 lbs A: 10 yrs Diet: C
The Mountain lion is also called the puma, panther, and cougar. This specialized carnivore has a home range of around 114 miles in one season.
Coyote print Coyote
Canis latrans
Print: 2 1/3” high (f)
H: 1½” ft long W: 25 lbs 
A: 13 yrs Diet: C
Elusive and social dogs, can run up to 40 mph. Coyotes hunt day or night, but are mostly active at sunrise and sunset. They have soft sandy to gray colored fur.
Three and Four Claw-like Toe Prints
American Crow print American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
Print: 3/4” to 1” long
H: 17” long W: 1 lb A: 7 yrs Diet: O
Crows are large all black bird that is identified by their more wide bill shape. They are mostly seedeaters, but eat road kill and other easy access foods.
Golden Eagle print Golden Eagle
Aquila chrysaetos
Print: 4” long
H: 32” long 78” wingspan W: 9 lbs
A: 26 yrs Diet: C
This raptor is easily mistaken for the Turkey vulture and immature bald eagle while in flight, due to the dark markings and dark colored feathers on the body.
Great-horned Owl print Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus
Print: 1 ½” to 2” long
H: 20” long 55” wingspan W: 3 ½” lbs 
A: 12 yrs Diet: C
The female is almost twice as large as the male even though they are very large owls with prominent ear tufts. They have yellow eyes to find prey during their crepuscular hunts.
Scrub Jay print Scrub Jay
Aphelocoma californica
Print: 1” long
H: 10” long W: 2.8 ounces
A: 10 yrs Diet: O
These loud birds have a mixture of grey and blue feathers. They mainly eat nuts, seeds, and insects, but will also eat eggs of birds and reptiles.
Ring-necked Pheasant Ring-necked Pheasant
Phasianus colchicus
Print: 1½” long
H: 27” long W: 2 to 3 lbs Diet: O
Chunky, long-tailed, round-winged, ground-dwelling bird, Small head and thin neck Primarily eats plants, but also consumes insects, worms and snails.
Northern Flicker Northern Flicker
Colaptes auratus
Print: 1” long
H: 10 ½” long W: 6 ounces Diet: O
This woodpecker has red below the tail and under the wings. The bird’s face is gray and males have red whiskers. They eat insects and fruit primarily.
Three Toes & Webbing Prints
Canada Goose Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
Print: 4” long
H: 22” long W: 9 lbs 
A:10 years Diet: H
The geese forage in groups on grasses, aquatic plants, seeds and berries. Migration occurs yearly, but to their detriment, some gees attempt to live urban areas year-round.
Pied-billed Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe
Podilymbus podiceps
Print: 1 ½” long
H: 15” long W: 10 ounces
A: 11 yrs Diet: C
The black and white bird has red eyes and slender spear-like beak. Grebes are believed to eat feathers to help them safely digest fish bones.
Canvasback Duck print Canvasback Duck
Aythya valisineria
Print: 2” long 
H: 21” long W: 3 ½ lbs Diet: O
These common ducks nest along lakes and marshes. Their red brown head color, black tail and beige white body easily identify them. Often they are seen diving in water to capture plants and small aquatic animals.