Answer Key Find and Track Animals
1. Which of the animals in the quiz might you find in your neighborhood? Have you ever seen any of these tracks? Where?
Answer: Answers will vary; for example, “I live in the northeastern United States where one might expect to find raccoons, squirrels, opossum, deer, badgers, and cottontails. I have only seen tracks of raccoons, squirrels, deer, and rabbits in my backyard and around the lake near our house.”
2. Which mammal track have you seen before outside? Did you know what animals made the track when you found it?
Answer: Students should list at least one mammal track that they have come across.
3. Have you ever seen a bird track outside? What bird do you think made the track?
Answer: Answers will vary. Students should list a bird whose tracks they have observed. Ducks make very obvious tracks. Other birds are harder to tell the difference.
4. What clues did you use to help you identify the different tracks?
Answer: Answers will vary. Students may mention size, toes, heel, depth of track, shape, etc.
5. Did you make any wrong guesses? What other clues would help you in the future to make correct animal track identifications?
Answer: Answers will vary. Students should mention that they can consider the placement, shape and size, position of the toes, etc.
6. Explain why using camera traps are better than human observation when tracking animals.
Answer: Camera traps are valuable because they can be left in a given location for long periods. A person would have a difficult time remaining quietly in one place. Cameras are also not afraid of dangerous predators such as tigers. Finally, camera traps can take pictures of animals at night.
7. What was hard about using a Crittercam?
Answer: It is difficult to attach and then retrieve the Crittercam.
 

Study Questions Find and Track Animals
1. Which of the animals in the quiz might you find in your neighborhood? Have you ever seen any of these tracks? Where?



2. Which mammal track have you seen before outside? Did you know what animals made the track when you found it?



3. Have you ever seen a bird track outside? What bird do you think made the track?



4. What clues did you use to help you identify the different tracks?



5. Did you make any wrong guesses? What other clues would help you in the future to make correct animal track identifications?



6. Explain why using camera traps are better than human observation when tracking animals.



7. What was hard about using a Crittercam?