On this month of Adventures with Nature Norm, he talks wildlife tracking. 

Norm Gregoire from Shared Legacy is working to connect nature and neighbours and this weekend, he invites the community to learn about one of his passions and hobbies. 

“Animal tracking, looking for animal signs, that sort of thing. Just generally looking for wild signs when the wildlife isn’t exactly there and the wintertime is actually, I would say probably the best or easiest at least time to do that.” 

He shares that while spotting wildlife is a highlight for nature enthusiasts, it’s rare to see much during outings. 

“We’re usually, as humans, pretty loud and noisy and even smelly. Different animals can smell us miles away, so we scare them off. But what is left for long periods of time, sometimes days at a time, is the sign that they left behind.” 

During the adventure, he will demonstrate how to interpret the signs animals leave behind. Gregoire mentions that tracks can reveal fascinating stories about an animal’s activities in the area. 

“Have they been just passing through? Have they been eating in the area? Have they been marking their territory? Have they been hunting each other because we’ve seen evidence of that. I’ve seen it many many times while tracking wildlife, every track tells the story. And it’s all just very interesting to learn the details of the story.” 

The trip will start at the Agassiz Interpretive Trail and Gregoire will be providing snowshoes, free of charge. 

“That might be a new event for some folks. Just with the amount of snow that we have right now, it might be easier to travel.” 

He requests that any youth planning to attend contact him beforehand as he has limited pairs of youth sizes. 

He adds, “If there are folks that aren’t interested in snowshoeing, then I would just have them towards the end of the group to make the walking a little bit easier. We’re going to be taking our time, going through the snow, and I can’t guarantee what we’re going to actually see because we could have a bunch of snow.” 

The snow may cover up tracks or any noticeable signs of wildlife, but Gregoire finds it more enjoyable because it encourages a closer and more detailed search for clues.  

“You have to look more so into trees and everywhere else.” 

He notes that participants will likely recognize tracks from common animals like deer. On the walk, he will go into further detail about what the tracks mean. 

“Spend some time with me and we’ll learn a little bit about potentially, is it a female? Is it a male? What size is it? These sorts of things. So, I’m eager to share all this knowledge that I’ve built up over the years.” 

He will also delve into the different sign’s wildlife leaves behind, other than tracks. 

“One of my personal favourites is the scat, the droppings that animal leaves behind and I know a lot of people love it when we get down and close to see scat and we get to look through and see what animal potentially left it behind and maybe what animal was eating what animals. Was it a carnivore or a meat eater? It’s all really interesting stuff.” 

Join Nature Norm at the Agassiz Interpretive Trail, 7 kilometers west of Vita on highway 201 from 10 am to 12 pm. 

To register or for more information, contact Gregoire at 204-408-6166 or info@sharedlegacymb.ca.  

Spending time outdoors has always been where I am happiest. Whatever I am doing outdoors, it is always made more memorable when wildlife is encountered. Whether that is welcoming back golden-winged warblers while birdwatching in the spring, sharing a blueberry patch with a black bear, or having a beaver slap its tail down in alarm while paddling a canoe, these small encounters make the outdoor experience more special. If I were to guess the percent of outdoor activities in which you get to experience these awesome encounters with wildlife, it would be very low. That’s the thing with wildlife; you know it is around, but unless you are lucky, you may not actually see it. I suppose the idea of wildlife being around and not seeing it was the main reason I became a self-taught wildlife tracker. Becoming familiar with animal tracks and sign has opened a whole new perspective on what is happening in these wild spaces we visit before we get there.

There are some fundamentals for learning how to track wildlife, but for me, a key skill to learn is to know the habits of what species are in your area. This includes what they eat, where they drink, and where they take shelter. Knowing this before you head into an area will already narrow down the options of what animal it is when you find sign.

Now when you find a track, how much detail you would like to get from it is up to you. Most Manitobans will recognize a white-tailed deer track immediately. Spend a few seconds looking at it, and you can determine the direction of travel. With more time spent and maybe with some quick measurements of the track and observing the gait (manner of walking), you may be able to determine an approximate age or size of the deer. Now follow the trail for a while. If you follow the trail to a tree that has been rubbed on so the bark is torn off, you can determine that this deer is most likely a buck and is in the rut, which is the period of breeding in deer. This leads to the next step of tracking, which is referred to as reading animal sign.

Animal sign is something that tells you the animal was there that is not a track. This could be a buck scrape, scat, nest, or day bed; a browse area where something was eaten; or even the remnants of an animal, like a shed antler or feather. I sometimes find a sign more interesting than a track, as it can be where real action has taken place.

The stories that we read while tracking wildlife allow you to be more in touch with the outdoors, and deeper connections can be formed when you understand what is happening around you. We are fortunate in southeastern Manitoba to have wild areas to explore, like the tall-grass prairie, and I would say that the most important part about learning to track is to get outside.

Adventures with Nature Norm

Winter is the best time of year to track wildlife. If you are interested in learning more about this skill, please join me for an introduction to wildlife tracking and how to read animal signs on January 18^th at the Agassiz Interpretive Trail in the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve. Snowshoes will be provided if needed, adult sizes only. If you require youth sizes, please contact me beforehand. For more information on this free event, email info@sharedlegacymb.ca. Hope to see you there!