This winter’s frequent bouts of fresh snowfall have made for some ideal tracking conditions. While Red Squirrels are very common, it’s rare to find textbook-perfect examples of their tracks, and so I was very happy to find these on my own property in Central PEI (Photo 1).
Squirrel tracks can be surprisingly deceptive. Many people are amazed when I identify the odd-looking imprints in their yard as being made by Squirrels, and some don’t believe me at all. But before we get to the many variations, let’s look at the basic features and pattern.
Red Squirrel’s hind feet have five toes, but the three middle toes are very close together and you need excellent tracking conditions to see them all. Front feet have four toes, with the outer ones pointing to the sides and the middle ones pointing forward (Photo 1).
Many of our mammals have a large single palm pad on each foot (that big central pad on a dog or cat paw), but Squirrels are different. They have multiple round palm pads – four on the hind foot and three on the front – as well as two heel pads on each front foot (Photo 1). Those paired heel pads are characteristic of rodents; although they show only in the clearest tracks, when you see them you know you are dealing with a Mouse, Vole, Rat, Chipmunk, or Squirrel.
Tracking conditions are rarely perfect, and so identifying Squirrel tracks usually means recognizing their typical pattern and some of their common gaits. Squirrels often move leapfrog-style, with their larger hind feet landing ahead of smaller front feet, just like Snowshoe Hare. Because of this, Squirrel tracks are sometimes mistaken for Snowshoe Hare, but there is a considerable size difference between the two (Photo 2).
The Squirrel’s bounding gait can leave very different patterns depending on the speed of the animal and the snow conditions. Photo 3(a) shows a typical track with the animal moving towards the top of the image. Photo 3(b) shows a variation with the animal’s two front feet landing very close together making it look like three imprints rather than four. This animal was moving towards the bottom of the photo, and I’ve seen people mistake this variation for hoof prints. In Photo 3(c), the Squirrel’s front and hind feet landed very close together giving the impression of something hopping on two feet rather than bounding on four.
Photo 3(d) shows a Squirrel bound in deeper snow, which is commonly mistaken for a single large foot or hoofprint rather than four small feet. Complicating things further is the fact that Squirrels can bound quite a distance (Photo 4), giving the impression that a larger animal left the tracks. Fortunately, with a little practice you’ll be able to easily identify all these variations as Squirrel.
Red Squirrel tracks are easy to find and to learn, which is a great way to get to know PEI untamed!
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