Trip Report – Animal Winter Ecology and Tracks in the Snow

For the 22^nd year Dr. Gary Beauvais, University of Wyoming Director of the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database has lead an outing, taking people associated with Laramie Audubon into the forest to search for animal tracks on the snow.  This year’s outing began at the intersection of State Highway 130 and Sand Lake road where Gary was joined by eleven. 

When finding individual prints and track lines Dr. Beauvais described how a person can identify numerous attributes of the species creating the impression(s). One can tell how the animal moves across the environment whether it walks or hops, does it drag its tail, and does it spend most of its time above the snow or does it spend only a short duration above ground while spending much of the winter in the subniviean zone between the bottom of the snow and ground surface.  The tracks can also detail the length and width of the animal making the track. Viewing individual prints can show the direction of travel and its type of foot, did the an
imal have hooves, toes, claws.  The winter landscape can also show feeding habits of some animals. Without leaves one can see the snipped off tips of willow branches by feeding moose or the discarded remains of pine/fir cones from a snow buried cone midden (pine squirrel). 

In each year’s outing Gary discusses a variety ways animals and plants exist in this winter environment.  Whether it is your first time traveling with Gary or after accompanying him numerous times one can always learn new and interesting things of this winter environment.