It is impossible to compile an accurate guideline for examining and recognizing the freshness of an animal footprint. Much depends on external factors, such as weather conditions, composition and condition of the soil, this or that time of the year, as well as many other circumstances. The freshness of the trail is best determined by experienced hunters and tourists. It takes experience to learn, and theory is just a small addition to your practical knowledge.
Instructions
Step 1
In winter, take a look at the print. The trail that the animal left in the cold (exposed to the thaw) is icy and has less legibility than the trail in the thaw, when it is dull and has a bluish tint. The thaw trail, which was subsequently iced by frost, loses many of its former outlines. Compare when there was a thaw and when frost hit, so you will be able to determine the time interval for the passage of the beast.
Step 2
The footprint freezes in the cold, so touch the footprint. The time it takes for it to freeze depends on the strength of the frost and the condition of the cover. This is what the tracker must determine by touch. After 3-4 hours of any frost, the trail begins to harden noticeably and, the harder it is, the older it is. At the same time, it is necessary to be able to distinguish the frozen track from the one that was made as a result of the failure of the beast on the hardened layer in the snowdrift. Compare the snow around you with the hardness of all the constituent parts of the animal's footprint (sole, walls, snow squeezed out between the fingers of the animal). Remember that in frost, the sole of the track first freezes, and only after that the snow squeezed out between animal fingers. And only then its walls freeze.
Step 3
In late autumn, the frost on the grass and leaves helps to determine the freshness of the snow. Take a closer look, frost differs from snow in its crystal-like structure. When you determine the freshness of a trail with frost, keep in mind that a fresh animal trail will slightly crush the crystals of frozen water. If new crystals have grown over the broken crystals, it means that the trail is more than 8 hours.
Step 4
In summer, in dry weather, it is practically impossible to determine the freshness of the trail, except that foliage helps. If it has withered and dried at the place of the print, then the trace is about 6-8 hours, maybe more, it all depends on the air temperature.
Step 5
Take notes Scatter the plucked leaves and grass in different places on the path of the animal. By comparing the dryness of your grass and the grass in a footprint, you can roughly determine its freshness.
Step 6
In rainy weather, be guided by your own prints. If your footprint is quickly filling with moisture, then see how much moisture has already accumulated in the footprint of the animal.
