Page 34 - World of Animals - Issue #41

Vole
Voles have an extra toe on their hind feet
Water voles have smaller forefeet than
hind feet, and as they scurry along
riverbanks, they leave little star-shaped
prints behind in the mud.

Coyote
Coyotes travel in straight-lines,
creating equally neat tracks Grey squirrel
The overall appearance of a Grey squirrels can turn their hind
coyote track is oval-shaped, feet backwards to run down trees
and the front paws are larger head-fi rst
than the hind paws. If the
mud is soft you may notice Squirrels rely on their feet for
incredible balance, standing
claw marks, but these won’t precariously on tree branches
show up on harder ground.
while using their forefeet to clutch
onto a meal. Sometimes it’s also
possible to see a drag mark from
Animal the tail in their tracks.
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Animal feet come in a weird
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An otter’s webbed toes are an d w o n d e r f u l a s s o r t m e n t
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It should be easy to see where they didn’t evolve this way
an otter has been walking due
a n o t t e r h a s b e e n w a l k i n g d u e b y c h anc e . F r o m c l l u t c h i i n g
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webbed feet are perfectly f f food to keeping warm, they
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adapted to life in the water,
a d a p t e d t o l i f e i n t h e w a t e r , depend on their feet
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Raccoon
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A raccoon’s hind feet are larger than their
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forefeet, leaving prints of alternating sizes
Raccoons have extremely dexterous hands,
so it’s no wonder that a raccoon print
almost looks like a mini human hand, except

all of the five ‘fingers’ point forwards.

Red fox Snowshoe hare R a ve n
Raven
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Foxes have narrow, diamond-shaped tracks Their feet are designed not to sink in the snow Three toes pointing forward and one pointing
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backward is this bird’s signature mark
These hares are named after their hind
Fox tracks look very similar to cat and dog prints, f feet, which look like snowshoes. Thick fur This toe configuration helps the raven
© Thinkstock; Getty © Thinkstock; Getty walking, while foxes make neat, purposeful tracks. weight and protecting them from frostbite. grip and perch on branches. Known as an

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but they’re easier to spot when you know what to
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lining the feet helps them travel across
look for. Cat prints don’t leave claw marks. Dogs
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anisodactyl arrangement, it is a common
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the cold snow with ease, spreading their
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leave little patterns due to their excitable way of
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feature among all songbirds.
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