Rat tracks in the snow - how to determine the beginning of the seizure of territory by rodents. Rat tracks in the snow

How are rodents harmful?

Rats are pests. The very rapid reproduction of rats causes serious damage to both farmers and villagers, and residents of the metropolis. Here's why rats are dangerous in the country:

carry severe infectious diseases: plague, tuberculosis, brucellosis, leprosy, rabies, typhus, hepatitis, etc.;
these animals destroy food products in warehouses and factories;
eat feed from farm animals and birds;
chew floors and walls of premises;
damage electrical cables and various devices;
contaminate food products with helminths and salmonella.

Rats adapt well to any conditions, and they are very tenacious. These animals cause a lot of inconvenience to people and carry dangerous diseases, so it is necessary to get rid of them without pity in all possible ways.

Characteristic signs

In order not to accidentally run into the angry owner of the taiga, you should recognize his prints in time. The animal may be out of sorts or injured - in this case, it is necessary to urgently change the route to avoid an unwanted encounter. Fortunately, bear tracks in the forest are easier to recognize than others. The most characteristic sign is clubfoot - the toe is turned inward, and the heel points outward. The front paws have features:

The fingerprint is always clear, the trace of each finger is visible.
In front of the pads, grooves left by five claws are noticeable on the ground or in the snow (a bear does not know how to retract them, unlike cats).
Behind the pads there is a clear imprint of the metacarpal crumb - its inner side is narrower, its outer side is wider.

Experienced hunters determine the age of an individual by the width of the corn mark. The larger the print, the older the animal. For example, the width of a bear cub’s crumb is about 5 cm, and in an adult male it reaches 30 cm. The bear will leave a dent from the transverse callus measuring 11-18 cm. Prints in the snow may reflect an inaccurate picture, because in winter they are much larger than the actual size.

As usual the pasyuks walk

The anatomical structure of a rat's paws is such that when the animal takes a normal step, its markings are impossible not to recognize. The characteristic distinctive features of the Pasyuk's paws include the following:

all four limbs are five-fingered;
the fifth toe on each paw is set aside;
on the front paws there is a kind of palm, the fingers are noticeably different from each other - four are elongated, and the fifth (large) is short, reduced, reminiscent of a stump;
the plantar tubercles are clearly defined, distinct, and are noticeably shorter in length than rat feet;
the length of the soles of the hind limbs is 4 cm, but only its front half is imprinted on the snow;
The size of a Pasyuk's paw print is 2 cm2.

General information

For many, animal tracks are just paw prints or paths trodden by forest inhabitants, but for professional hunters, this is everything that the animal left on a certain section of its route. It could be a broken or eaten branch, nut shells, or the remains of prey. Here you can see droppings, which is also a kind of trace.

To detect burrows and nests of animals, bird nests, the hunter tries to obtain as much information as possible. Therefore, even a feather lost by a wild duck or hazel grouse or a piece of fur caught in a bush can tell an experienced tracker a lot.

Wild animals have excellent sense of smell, hearing and vision and also behave very carefully. Having noticed a person, they may not run away or fly away, but simply hide and wait

Therefore, the main key to unraveling the mysteries of the life of animals is, first of all, their traces.

Knowing and studying the tracks of wild animals, birds, insects and reptiles will make it possible not only to find out who you are dealing with, but also how old the track is and the direction of movement of the animal. All this together allows you to hunt effectively without being distracted by the animal’s old footprints, and also to eliminate unnecessary encounters with a predator. Skillful reading of animal prints significantly reduces hunting time. It’s good to have an experienced tracker when studying them, but even without one, with perseverance, you can achieve positive results.

Precise prints are clearly visible on wet, freshly fallen snow no more than 5 cm thick. At this time, you can familiarize yourself with the tracks using the example of domestic animals - cats, dogs, pigs, goats, cows, ducks, etc. There are features that need to be kept in mind:

The tracks of a large dog are very similar to those of a wolf.
Felines are similar to larger prints of their wild counterparts: jungle cat, lynx, leopard, tiger.
The markings of a pigeon's paws are similar to those of a partridge.
The tracks of a cow are similar to the outlines of the hooves of an elk, a large wild boar, etc.

Based on comparisons and comparisons, features of fingerprints are learned that simply could have gone unnoticed. By analyzing them, you can find out about the number of individuals, but not in the case of wolves. They have a specific ability to follow a trail.

Features of Ultraviolet Vision

Vision in rats
The eyes of rats are under study. In the course of numerous studies, some features of how different types of rats look at the world around them have become known.

They see urine marks. Animals detect traces of urine left by smell and color. In the dark, the discharge is visible under ultraviolet light. Predators mark their territory in this way.
They see the body in ultraviolet light. Different parts of the animal and human body emit ultraviolet light of different wavelengths.
Twilight ultraviolet vision. During the daytime, ultraviolet rays are in abundance. At night, only creatures with a certain eye structure can notice them. Rats are nocturnal and see in the dark.

Paw structure

Rat in winter To learn how to recognize rodent tracks in the snow, it’s worth remembering a little zoology. The pelvic and thoracic limbs of the rat are five-fingered. But on the hand of the pectoral forepaws the thumb is reduced and looks like a short stump. Therefore, it is usually believed that a tailed animal does not have a thumb.

When examining rat tracks, one should take into account the fact of missing fingers

The phalanges are separated by leathery membranes. There is no fur on the soles and palms. Occasionally they may be covered with sparse fluff. The limbs are strong and muscular, well developed, which allows them to gain decent speed while running and jump well.

Forest species

The trail of a wood mouse consists of long jumps. The distance between them reaches 25 cm. It is typical for a forest animal to leave a thin line from its tail in the snow.

The yellow-throated forest dweller is very similar to its forest relative, but differs in larger size. The animal grows up to 14 cm and weighs 50 grams. The hind limbs are more developed than the forelimbs, and the tail is significantly longer than the length of the body. The animal makes long jumps. The markings from the hind limbs extend in front of the forelimbs.

Behavior and intelligence

The house mouse is the most common rodent living in human housing. Over many years of coexistence, its diet has changed significantly; the animal switched from cereals and nuts to plant and animal products that people eat. In the summer, mice can live in the fields, picking up grains, but by mid-autumn they will certainly move closer to humans and a warm home.

The intelligence of house mice is quite low, they are also not very careful, so they easily fall into even the simplest mousetraps. The population of these rodents is maintained only due to their rapid reproduction - females give birth to offspring every month, up to 100 mice per year

Their body length is 7-8 cm, in rare cases with good nutrition - up to 10 cm, weight - 25-40 grams. Thanks to such miniature dimensions, the mouse is able to squeeze through even a centimeter gap.

Interestingly, the colors of mice depend on the geographic location of their residence. In southern and central Russia, rodents with light silvery skin are common; in Siberia, their fur is more brown than gray. The line between colors is becoming increasingly blurred over time - animals travel on all types of transport, so sometimes you can see an animal of an unusual color.

If this rodent is caught at the scene of a crime, it will freeze, assess the situation and run away only if it sees danger. Catching a rat with your hands or throwing a blanket over it is not a good idea. They are aggressive and will fiercely defend themselves if they find themselves in a hopeless situation.

The mental abilities of large and small rodents also differ significantly. The Rat is much smarter and smarter. When kept as a pet, it becomes attached to its owner and is even able to respond to a nickname. Getting rid of these rodents is more difficult; they will never eat suspicious food or climb into a trap.

Mice live in houses much more often; thanks to their small size, it is easier for them to enter a room, hide and get the right amount of food. Rats prefer to settle in places where people visit less often: in basements, granaries, barns, chicken coops.

Mice and rats cannot coexist in the same area. When the pasyuks arrive, one part of the small rodents immediately changes their place of residence, and the other turns out to be food for their older brothers.

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Rat Family Lifestyle

To understand why rats are dangerous, it is worth understanding how they live and reproduce. It is quite possible to call gray predator mammals long-lived. Let's add to this intelligence, a sense of responsibility and a family lifestyle. Rodents of this breed are divided into 64 species. But only two are capable of living next to a person and harming him - synanthropic ones: the black and white rat. They can be identified not only by color. As they say, in the dark and in a frightened state you won’t look too closely at the color. But still, the gray individual is larger than the black one, and the shape of the tail and front parts are sharply different. There are no more differences. If you buy a rat in stores yourself, you don’t have to be afraid - these two species cannot be tamed. Habitat:

dump;
trash cans and garbage chutes;
abandoned houses and drainpipes;
collectors and warehouses;
sewerage system and breeding area for poultry and animals.

Rats are the largest rodents from the mouse family, which are one of man's long-time neighbors.

If a sexually mature individual has appeared under the floor, then we can confidently say that babies will appear within six months. Moreover, the female breeds at least 7-8 babies at a time. In addition to excellent fertility, rat droppings have a 100% survival rate. On average, the lifespan of rodents reaches 10 years or more. The whole family obeys only one main rat. In their kubla (as the family’s place of residence is called), one can distinguish the main gathering place and overnight stay, a warehouse. The “pantry” contains non-perishable products. This is how rodents provide themselves with wintering.

They are distinguished by increased survival, as they perfectly sense poisons and danger. Despite their rather large size, they sneak into cracks and holes, connections between wall slabs in multi-storey apartments.

Color difference

The human eye contains 2 types of light receptors - cones and rods. The first perceive bright light and different colors. The latter capture dim light and allow you to see in the dark.

The rat's eye also contains rods and cones, but their density relative to each other differs. This affects the perception of colors. The retina of a rodent eye detects short- and medium-wave spectra. The rat sees blue, ultraviolet spectrum colors and green.

The retina of a rodent's eyes consists of 99% rods. Cones occupy only 1%. A person has 5% of them. An interesting fact about the rat is that it does not see the colorful tone, does not distinguish colors. Much more important for her is the brightness and dimness of light radiation.

Reproduction

Animals can breed all year round. Pasyuki are particularly fertile; black rats are slightly inferior to them in this regard. The female bears the offspring for about three weeks; for lactating individuals, this period takes about a month. Little rat pups are born completely helpless and blind, their naked body has no fur at all. Below you can see what the baby rat looks like in the photo.

Baby rats

Cannibalism is inherent in mammals, and therefore quite often the mother devours weak and unsurviving cubs. Even a carefree male can eat rat offspring. Those cubs that managed to survive receive full care and attention.

After 2-2.5 weeks, the little rats become sighted; they will become independent after another similar period. Rodents are ready for mating when they reach six months of age.

Footprints of other members of the genus

Traces of small rodents can be confused with those of rats by inexperienced trackers, but with large animals you will have to really rack your brains. They are somewhat similar, but have characteristic differences.

Mouse

Maneuverability is not typical for a small animal. They always move through the snowdrifts by jumping. Mouse tracks in the snow are clearly visible. Leaves clear marks on the front and hind legs, and a long, thin tail.

Jumping is similar to a squirrel, if not for the tail. A body imprint remains in the snowdrifts, which does not exceed 5 cm. The distance between jumps is from 5 cm to 50 cm. The mouse pushes off with its hind legs, jumps, and places them in front.

Mouse tracks in the snow

The locomotion mechanism of many species of mice resembles the gait of a rat, but the imprint of the limb is different. In a large rodent it is larger. There are no small rats in winter; baby rats appear only in spring.

Weasel

Always found where mice hunt. The weight of the animal is about 100 g. It practically does not fall into the snow and leaves superficial, light prints. The size of one paw is 1.5*1 cm. The distance between jumps is up to 35 cm. Often the front and hind limbs step into the same hole, creating deeper marks in a checkerboard pattern.

Squirrel

A large rodent moves through the soil and snow of any depth by jumping. The prints of the hind paws are larger than the front ones, amounting to 5 cm. The forelimbs with soles are up to 3 cm. The footprints have the shape of a trapezoid, sometimes merging into one large incomprehensible figure. The distance between jumps is about 50 cm.

Squirrel tracks in the snow

Traces of rodents in the snow are found on the forest edge, fields, forests, near haystacks, near straw. Black and ground rats prefer such habitats. The gray pasyuk can live in basements, garages, abandoned buildings, and sewers. This species loves to hunt near garbage cans and sneaks into barns, houses, and apartments.

The rat is the most interesting representative of the genus. Her cunning, agility, and resourcefulness are amazing. Many interesting facts about rats prove the presence of these abilities. No less amazing footprints in the snow. Even with its gait, the animal tries to confuse a person. But by carefully studying all the habits of the rodent, you can accurately determine who has invaded the property.

Interesting facts about rats and mice

Rat in winter Rat tracks in the snow

Rats are dangerous mammals. Neighborhood with them is fraught with damage to food, electrical wiring and even building materials. Rodents easily chew through foam plastic and wooden structures, and rats encroach on insulation and concrete. It is not always possible to identify the location of their settlements

It is not difficult to recognize rats by their appearance, but these animals are distinguished by their caution, intelligence and lead a secretive lifestyle. Rat tracks in the snow have obvious differences from other small animals and from them you can determine the culprit of the prints. Tracking can be a real help in finding nests, and is also useful for rat hunters

Tracking can be a real help in finding nests, and is also useful for rat hunters.

Shrew

The shrew is a representative of insectivores. Outwardly it resembles an ordinary mouse, but has an elongated nose in the form of a proboscis for catching insects underground. The body size is much smaller than that of a mouse. A rare individual can boast a length of 10 cm including a tail, which can be very short and, conversely, too long compared to the size of the body. Shrews' markings on snowy surfaces are characterized by short, round imprints. Even in loose snow, animals do not sink deeply, and the depression remains ungreased.

PART 1 TRACES ON THE SNOW TRAIL

TRACES OF SMALL ANIMALS (mole, mice, voles, water rat, muskrat, shrews)

When the first snow covers the yellowed sedge and blackberry bushes, and the stream, which has not yet frozen, appears even deeper, even bluer among the brightened banks, then, like lace, patterned traces of animal “small animals” will stretch across the young snow.

Those that were hiding among the hummocks of the sedge bog, in willows and weeds, in sheaves, under haystacks, in dungeons, will make their existence known, showing how they run, jump and eat food.

But a week or two will pass, the cold will come - and life will freeze for the whole winter, disappearing under the snow. And you will no longer see the subtle pattern of footprints on the clean sparkling surface of the snowdrifts. Only closer to spring, when the sun “turns to summer” and begins to warm up, will small tracks of shrews, voles and mice appear in the snow again.

Mole

From a distance a long row of small piles of earth appears black in the snow. This is a mole, before the soil freezes, in a hurry to carry out another gallery. Here he stepped out into the snow and left a small straight path. A deep furrow stretches from burrow to burrow, and in it, at intervals of 1 cm, prints of the hind legs are visible. The front, digging paws provide little assistance in walking and leave only faint markings.

Rice. 98. Mole tracks on loose shallow snow (e.v.) Outskirts of Moscow, October

Please note that the length of the step only sometimes exceeds the distance between the prints of the left and right paws. These are the traces of a heavy, short-legged slow-moving vehicle falling deep into the snow.

It is not for nothing that the mole is afraid of long walks: he dragged himself 5 m and again disappeared into the dungeon for a long time. Unless, during a strong thaw, he decides to appear in the snow again to make another similar furrow.

But how free is he to dig under the snow in the fallen carpet of leaves and thick grass, where earthworms, slugs and insects have gathered for the winter! Neither owls, nor buzzards, nor foxes are now afraid of the mole; under the protection of snowdrifts, all winter long it expands and lengthens the complex network of hunting passages, “mining” the thickness of the snow in all directions.

Mice

And here are the traces of a light-footed horse. Its jumps are up to half a meter long, and its paw prints are collected in trapezoids, just like a squirrel’s; behind each group there is a thin line of a rather long tail. Back and forth, back and forth, a web of trails stretched across the clearing countless times. Here is the burrow of a field mouse - a granary, and there, beyond the clearing, are thickets of burdock, bent low under the weight of damp snow. Oily burdock seeds are good, but gnawing them out there in the open is too dangerous - there are a lot of mouse enemies wandering and flying around. The animal had to work hard and drag all the supplies closer to the “home”.

Rice. 99. Traces of jumping of a field mouse, falling heavily into the snow (e.v.) Neighborhood of Kislovodsk

A little further on, even smaller footprints were left by a tiny mouse. Later, in winter, you won’t see a trace of her anywhere. The tiny animal will climb somewhere into dense thickets, tightly buried by snowdrifts, or into the fragrant thickness of grain stacks.

How are rats different from mice?

Mice and rats belong to the same family. They are similar to each other, but still there are significant differences between them. So, what is the difference between a mouse and a rat:

the size and length of the body (the length of the mouse without a tail does not exceed 10 cm, but the pasyuk grows up to 30 cm, its body is noticeably more muscular);
tail (its length in mice and rats is approximately equal to the length of their body, but in the former it is covered with hair, and in the latter it is bald, very powerful and thick at the base);
the shape of the head (in mice the muzzle has the shape of a triangle, while in pasyuks it is elongated, the nose is noticeably elongated);
eyes and ears (pasyuk's eyes are small, ears are small, pressed to the head; mice have well-defined eyes, ears are large, stick out to the sides, and have a rounded shape);
weight (the body weight of a mouse does not exceed 50g, and an adult rat can reach 900g);
the structure of the fur (in mice it is soft, in pasyuks it is harder and coarser).

Rats, unlike mice, are able to jump high - up to 2 meters in extreme situations. They are distinguished by high intelligence: these animals are at the same level of development as cats and dogs.

Dental system

Rat teeth have their own characteristics.
These animals have only two types of teeth: molars (3 teeth on each side of the jaw, 12 in total) and incisors (4 in total, a pair at the bottom and at the top). Molars are located far away, their purpose is to grind food by chewing, so they are flat and wide. In rat pups, these teeth erupt from the 19th day of life, first molars of the first type appear, then the second. Third molars emerge at 40 days of age.

The incisors of these animals grow throughout their lives; with them, the animals are excellent at chewing even very hard objects. These teeth take 50 days to fully grow. The incisors are yellow in color, the enamel on them is very strong (5.5 Mohs units, it is equal to the hardness of steel). During chewing, the incisors can move apart; this process is regulated by the animal itself.

Traces on the courtyard

Owners of summer cottages have a great opportunity to show their tracker abilities, especially if the plot of land is located not far from the forest. The prints of birds and animals are clearly visible on fresh snow, so you can try to find out who is walking around the yard without permission.

Most of the traces found are usually left by pets, but some quite unusual specimens may also be found among them. So, having recognized the outlines of a hare’s paws, it is necessary to take measures to protect fruit trees, since the animals gnaw the bark on the trunks and thereby cause serious harm.

The domestic dog's wild cousins, wolves, can also sneak in secretly. But foxes are not averse to profiting from the chicken coop.

If the farmstead contains chickens, ducks, and rabbits, ferrets, which usually hunt at night, or marten, weasel, and ermine can visit the farm. Outwardly, these nimble animals are very similar to each other. There are features by which “guests” can be recognized:

The paw prints of a cat and a dog are similar in many ways, but there are also differences. In dogs they are larger and, in addition to the pads, claws are also visible, unlike in cats.
After the hares' raids, two long prints of the hind paws remain and a little lower, two from the short front paws. It turns out that when jumping, the hind legs are ahead of the front legs. Hiding from persecution, the scythe jumps at a distance of up to 2 m, in a calm environment up to 1-1.5 m.
The wolf, like a dog and a cat, is a digitigrade animal. The predator's print is similar to that of a dog. However, the wolf is slimmer, more elongated due to the protruding middle two fingers, and the claws and pads are more pronounced.
The fox track differs from the dog track in being more compact and elegant. Like a wolf, the middle fingers are significantly extended forward. The chain of tracks with a calm step is straight. The fox carefully follows its previous tracks (step length is about 30 cm). However, when hunting for prey, it makes jumps of up to three meters, as well as sharp throws in different directions.

The ermine is a small predatory animal, which is why its footprints are miniature - 1.5 by 2 cm. The outlines are unclear, since the soles of the limbs are heavily pubescent. The animal moves in jumps, alternating small ones with large ones - 30-40 cm and 50-90 cm, paw prints are parallel to one another.

On known terrain

The animal's style of movement across familiar territory is similar to ricochet - movements are fast, with frequent jumps. When entering a known territory, the pasyuk has excellent orientation; it does not need to look closely and study every centimeter of the area before taking a step.

In the developed territory, the rat does not walk, but jumps. Pushing off with her hind legs, she shifts her body weight forward and then lands on her forelimbs. When landing, the pasyuk not only groups itself, but also extends its hind legs, bringing them closer to the forelimbs. Therefore, there remains only one footprint in the snow, but from all four paws, practically pressed against each other. The distance from one such mark to another is 35 cm.

Movement in an unfamiliar area and a familiar one - how to distinguish?

By the peculiarities of the rodent's movement, you can get ahead of who he is here: a guest or the owner. No matter how sad it may sound, but with the appearance of a rat in the house, it will begin to consider itself the master and diligently begin to survive all unwanted ones.

Thanks to different gaits, it is possible to calculate the following actions for a person:

intimidate;
destroy;
catch.

So, when closely spaced tracks are discovered, in which it is noticeable that the individual moved slowly, cautiously, and sometimes sat down, it is clear that it is a guest. I came to investigate the situation and the possible risks of my stay in this place. The tracks are arranged in pairs, evenly. As if in turns. In this case, the front paw is always one in front.

The tracks are arranged in pairs and evenly

To be convincing, we look at the second pair of legs that remain. The interval is approximately 5-8 cm. The front leg is also extended forward, possibly a mark from the seat, and the back pair also has an unevenness (one leg is extended back). Based on the width of the path left by the animal, we are completely convinced: it is similar to a thread, no deviations to the left or right, the maximum indentation in width is 2, 2.5 cm. This will depend on the size of the scout individual.

If there are jumps, the traces look like a ricochet. But the animal makes such leaps only in familiar areas. He knows that there are no special threats here. This means you can increase your movement speed.

Animal prints in the snow

To determine the type of animal, it is important to compare the size and shape of the print of the hind and fore limbs, which can be identical or different, as in hares and squirrels. There are many differences by which the track of a particular animal is determined:

number of fingers;
size and shape of the pads;
presence of claws, their length;
hoof size;
relative position of paw prints, step or jump length.

In deep and loose snow, tracks are difficult to distinguish; they are blurry and indistinct. A heavy animal or large bird sinks completely in the snow, so you have to wade. They leave behind long furrows with crumbling edges and, in some places, unclear holes where feet have stepped. In this case, the signs of prints will not help determine the type of animal

You need to pay attention to the location of the holes, the distance between them, the depth, the length of the jumps and the overall width of the path, which also indicates the direction of the moving animal.

The tracks of large animals (elk, deer) have another sign by which the route of the animal is recognized. When walking, the leg bends forward, compacting the snow with its pressure. In this case, a frozen plate is formed on the central part of the print. It is used to determine the direction even by touch, if the traces are covered with powder.

Small inhabitants of the forest zone: squirrel, wolverine, hare, moving through deep snow, do not leave large furrows, but the imprints of their limbs are still grouped in a common depression. On densely packed snow, traces and even marks of the claws of an arctic fox, hare, or fox may not be visible at all. And larger animals simply break the crust with their weight.

On freshly fallen snow, animal tracks are much easier to recognize. Thus, you can see that in some animals, when walking, the emphasis is on the entire foot (plantigrade). These include the bear, badger, otter, etc. Others have fingertips (digital ones) - these are the cat family, wolves, all ungulates.

In animals that have to get food from underground, the claws on the front paws are much longer and straighter than on the hind paws. In cats that grab prey, the claws are sharply curved, and they are also retractable, so they are not visible on the print.

Traces of martens, ferrets, and weasels are marked in close pairs, with the prints of the right and left paws adjacent to one another. When jumping, the hind limbs fall into the tracks of the front limbs or move slightly forward. The pattern of the path laid by the animal shows many sharp turns in different directions.

Determining the direction of movement

To understand in which direction the animal is moving, it is necessary to pay attention to a number of features - the positioning of the predator’s limbs, dragging, dragging, the front and rear walls of the track depression. A distinct foot print will not make it difficult to determine the direction of movement. A distinct footprint will make it easy to determine the direction of movement.

A distinct foot print will not make it difficult to determine the direction of movement.

If the impression is illegible, the embossing is examined - the groove that appears when the limbs are removed from the trace fossa, and the front steep wall of the recess itself. Trails along lynx tracks are formed when the animal moves through deep, loose snow and when descending from slopes and mountains.

If the snow cover is shallow or the animal’s movements are wary, it is worth inspecting the top of the front wall of the hole. When the paw is removed, it becomes compacted and deformed, while the back one remains undistorted and flatter.

At the stage of lowering the limb into the snowdrift, a furrow is formed, which widens at the moment the step is completed. This furrow is called a drag. The drag is longer than the drag, the descent of the back wall of the trail hole is sloping, the snow along the edges of the line is squeezed out. The drag indicates the opposite direction of the wild cat's movement.

To detect a lynx, experienced trackers, along with the paw prints of the animal, simultaneously study other signs of its vital activity - beds, excrement, the remains of a meal thrown or sprinkled with leaves or earth, claw marks on tree trunks and branches.

Lifestyle

Mice and rats prefer to be nocturnal. The owner of an apartment or house quickly discovers the animals after dark. They scratch loudly, make unpleasant sounds, and gnaw on surrounding objects.

Pasyuk is a natural mouse enemy. She destroys the norushkas and expels them from the inhabited territory. If a mouse smells the scent of a bee, it will prefer to move to a safer place.

If you don’t know how to distinguish rats from mice by appearance, take a closer look at what food predominates in their diet:

Pasyuki love to live in landfills. They are omnivores and do not hesitate to feast on leftovers from the human table. In the absence of food, rats begin hunting for their fellows.
The mouse loves to chew seeds and cereals. Its teeth are not capable of damaging concrete or brick, but they can wear down paper, soft wood, and leather goods.

The behavior of rats is aggressive. If there is danger, rats will even attack humans. The animals are capable of attacking in a pack. Mice are shy. They try not to be seen by people and flee.

What other sounds can rats make?

Laughter is far from the only sound that animals can make. They have a whole system of expressing emotions and feelings through various sound signals that differ in character and tone. Knowledge of this system will help the owner better understand his pet - as if a rodent can speak. So, if the animal:

squeaks, squeals or chirps for a long time - he is either in pain (or simply uncomfortable) or scared (these sounds for a rodent are equivalent to screaming, so it would be useful to carefully examine the pet - perhaps he was injured, even if there are no visible injuries, and there are no frightening factors, it’s worth showing the animal to the veterinarian);
hisses, wheezes or chatters his teeth - he is out of sorts, aggressive and hostile, after such a signal it is better not to touch the pet, so as not to get a bite from a toothy pet and not to aggravate his moral state;
Grits his teeth - he is happy, in a good mood.

It is important to evaluate not only the sound itself, but also its tonality, since, for example, the wheezing emitted by a rat may indicate not a hostile mood, but health problems (the animal has a cold, choked on food and is suffocating, etc.). Of course, the animal can sneeze and cough, but these are only signs of a cold.

Other methods of rodent detection

The fight against mice can be carried out with the help of poisonous baits, using a special poison that has a cumulative effect and kills the rodent after a few days. Ultrasonic repellers produce sound waves that are inaudible to the human ear, causing pests to panic and run away a considerable distance.

Modern electronic traps are also popular - analogous to wooden or plastic ones. When a mouse runs inside the trap, it inevitably touches the live metal plate, gets shocked, and dies. Most often, a rodent will not enter an electronic trap voluntarily, so the use of food bait is mandatory.

If it is impossible to apply serious methods of getting rid of pests, you should turn to folk remedies. For example, plants with a strong aroma that mice cannot tolerate will help:

wild rosemary;
peppermint;
cilantro (coriander);
black root;
sagebrush.

They are planted on the site or in indoor pots, the essential oils of these plants are used in aroma lamps, and dry grass is laid out near rodent burrows.

To repel pests, you can prepare a mixture of equal volumes of vinegar and ammonia, soak bay leaves in it, and then spread them around the perimeter of the area. Placing small containers of ammonia on the premises will also be effective.

I was lucky that in all my time on the property I never noticed the appearance of mouse holes, but my neighbor across the road suffered from rodents. She tried to remove mice with poison, but it did not help, because new mice simply came. Various traps also had a small effect. In the neighbor’s case, the best remedy turned out to be repelling rodents with a specialized ultrasonic device.

Difficulty getting rid of

Rats are quite tenacious, and it is not possible to destroy them using just one method. Their keen sense of smell gives them advantages over all types of pests. You can’t fool them with bait, and even more so using standard poisons. Folk "therapy" of housing has an extensive knowledge of recipes for controlling rodents. Therefore, experts recommend using two or three options on your own at the same time.

Ash and glass

Both ingredients are excellent ways to kill adults and small creatures. The rats will fly off for their fur. Therefore, ash or broken glass that gets into the crumbs, almost into dust, settles on it and, when licked, ends up in the animal’s stomach. They will not be able to withdraw in the usual way. The gravity prevents the rats from moving and they die. But after the death of relatives because of this, rodents will no longer enter a room with such mounds on the floor.

Milk with poison

Agricultural experts propose a deceptive maneuver using sweet milk. A bowl of milk is placed in the same place regularly for three to four days. But without the presence of toxic substances. As soon as the rat gets used to the fact that there is sweetness here and can be consumed without problems, it will come with its full flood. Now you can add poison. The honey kills the smell, and the creature drinks the liquid death on its own.

Traces of life activity

Often, even without seeing a rodent, you can determine its species by carefully examining the room in which the animal lived:

Mice move in small mincing steps, leaving small tracks up to 1 cm long. The fingers in the footprint are located close to each other. Rat tracks are larger, the toes are widely spaced, the angle between the outer phalanges is about 180°. Rats move over long distances by jumping, so there can be a significant gap between tracks.
The damage left by rodents also varies. Mice can chew through plastic bags, cardboard and foam boxes in search of food. The rat needs regular grinding of its rather large incisors, so it chews on tougher things and can cope with hard wood and even concrete.
In rooms where rats visit, you can see traces of fur near the baseboards. This is due to the fact that pasyuks move pressed against the wall. Mice are more reckless and run straight to the goal.
Rat excrement is 1 to 2 cm long, located in a heap. Mouse - small, up to 6 mm, scattered throughout the room.

Gray voles

Mouse tracks in the snow are similar to each other. You need to focus on the place where you were spotted - a forest, a field, your own garden. Gray voles are less mobile than mice. They are reluctant to move through snowy areas. They don't jump, they run. They leave two parallel rows of continuous traces of small paws - a path.

Mouse tracks in the snow are more of a concern if they are in the garden, near a garage, or barns with grain reserves. Since such a neighborhood threatens property damage, destruction of supplies, and damage to trees. In the forest, in the fields, they examine the abandoned paths of animals out of curiosity.

Where is the bed located?

We have already written above that when walking along the small road you need to be extremely careful and look around, but what places should you pay special attention to? First of all, the animal looks for shelter near low bushes, fallen young spruce trees, etc. If there is no vegetation nearby where it can hide, the hare can simply lie down in a field. This will be indicated by a small hill of snow

This will be indicated by a small hill of snow.

If you find an animal, but did not have time to fire a shot or it simply disappeared, there is no need to continue the pursuit, since the “squint” can run several kilometers before lying down again. In this case, it is better to look for traces of another hare. When you fired a shot, but are not sure that you hit it, you need to follow the trail for 10-20 minutes. If drops of blood are found on the trail, it is recommended to continue the pursuit. If no traces of blood were found in the snow, you can safely start searching for another animal. And at the end of the article, we invite you to watch a video of hunting a hare by following its tracks.

The fox is found throughout Russia from the east to the westernmost borders, from the Arctic coast to the south. This red-haired trickster has not settled only on a few islands of the Arctic, on its coastal areas with a harsh climate, as well as on the archipelagos.

No matter what area of the country hunters go hunting, they can meet the common fox and see its tracks everywhere. This article will help, using photos of fox tracks and other animals, to accurately determine who owns the tracks left by the animal in the snow.

Animal tracks in the snow, photos with names

Below you will find several photographs of animal tracks in the snow, which were added by site users to the Pathfinder section of the gallery, and schematic images of tracks of a hare, wolf, fox, bear, wild boar and other animals.

What a rat's tracks look like depends on the time of year, the speed of its movement, and its species. The most common type of rat is the pasyuk, a gray rat that has replaced the black rat throughout the European part. In spring and autumn, it is quite difficult to examine prints on the surface, unless the rodent got into paint, any other soiled material, or exercised on wet soil after rain. The most distinct traces are left by the rat in winter after snow has fallen.

If the pasyuk minces slowly and does not run away from anyone, then you can see that the rat’s front paw prints are four-fingered, the spaces between the toes are quite large, which makes it seem that they are slightly splayed. The size of the footprint is approximately 2x1.5 cm. The rear prints are much larger than 2x2 cm, five-fingered.

Photos of rat tracks in the snow clearly demonstrate what prints are left behind by a mammal. Rat tracks in the snow A slowly moving individual in the snow will leave behind a thin chain. If she runs away, the distance between the prints increases greatly and can be up to half a meter, which is due to the length of the jump. Occasionally one can observe subtle strokes from the rat's long tail.

In order to protect your home from the encroachments of dangerous animals, it is worth studying their behavior, character and even habits. So let's play trackers. You can see many footprints on the snow surface. Due to their special anatomical structure, rat tracks can be identified without any problems among many others. And to do this, let’s look at the structure of the limbs.

The rat's paws are very tenacious, and unlike most other animals, they have five toes.

But the front legs deserve special attention:

4 elongated fingers;
the fifth is short and reduced. You can call it a stump;
there is something like a palm;
the fingers are not very far apart;
membranes can be seen.

The membranes only separate the phalanges. There is no fur on the lower part of the paws, but sometimes there is still a small fluff. The animals themselves are very strong. But their legs are muscular and strong, which allows them to develop great speed and jump long distances.

But if in spring or summer the traces will be noticeable, provided that the rat got into the mud, paint or fuel oil, then in winter the presence of an evil creature can be easily noticed in the snow. Rats usually do not hide their presence. They don't need it at all. After all, they are the owners and consider their movement to be completely natural and normal. You can often hear stories about such animals attacking humans on their own. Therefore, let’s discuss what rat tracks look like in the snow.

Shallow snow

When there is little rainfall, the rodent moves in several ways. First race. The push occurs in pairs: first with the front paws, then only with the hind paws. This is necessary to be able to stretch the body and group. Your ode to make the body a spring. As soon as the animal feels support and confidence in the future landing, it will push off from the ground.

In a calm state, the marks from the jump will be uneven. If the prints of the hind legs are spread apart and not parallel, then these are mice or voles. Which will be easier to destroy yourself.

With light snow, the tracks are clearly visible and the gap between them is no more than 50 cm. In this case, there is absolutely no trace of the tail. But how will a rat behave in snow drifts and snowdrifts?

You can find the rat by looking at the holes left in the snow. She makes the jump as before, but because of the depth of the snowdrifts, her path cannot be called easy. The gap is reduced to 20-40 cm, and the path will already be approximately 7 cm. The tail part is clearly visible, since the tail is very long and will leave a mark when immersed in the snow.

What paw prints does a dog leave?

photo 2

Fox tracks in the snow are very similar to the paw prints of a small dog. The hunter must learn to recognize the “handwriting” of foxes and mongrels. The paw prints left by a fox in the snow are much slimmer and neater than dog tracks. If you look at the marks from the pads of the two front and back fingers, it becomes clear that a visual line can be drawn between them. In many dogs, the side toes wrap around the sides of the hind toes, extending forward. In photo 2 you can see the tracks of a dog and a wolf.

Sometimes the tracks of some dogs are difficult to distinguish from fox tracks. But there will be no doubt left if you carefully examine the straight chain of holes and the surprisingly even distances between them, as well as the regular curves on the front of the tracks. No dog can make such a drawing with very delicate lines. The fox has sharp claws, and the dog has worn ones.

Determining the direction of movement

A distinct foot print will not make it difficult to determine the direction of movement.

Whose tracks are these?

a, b - an ordinary hedgehog, c - a long-eared hedgehog, d, e, f - a water rat, g - a mole vole, h - a gray hamster, i, j - a mole.

Type of tracks of shrews and mice

a, b, c — small shrew, d, e — shrew, f — red forest vole, g — wood mouse.

a, b - field mouse, c, d - gray vole, e, f - common shrew, g - piebald shrew.

Dog type tracks

a, b - dog, c, d - wolf, e, f, g, i - fox, h - karagan fox, k, l, m, n - fox, o - Turkmen corsac, p, p - raccoon dog.

a-f - brown bear, h, i - Himalayan bear, k, l, m - badger, o - porcupine.

Kuni type of tracks

a, b, e, f - weasel, c, d - ermine, g-o - different types of martens.

a-g, h - marten, d, f, g, i - kharza, k, l, m, n - sable.

a, b, f, g, h - polecats, c, i, j - different types of minks, d, e, l, m, n - forest polecat.

a - dressing, b, c - otter.

a - wolverine, b - striped raccoon, c - kulan, d - thin-toed gopher.

Cat type of tracks

a, b - domestic cat, c, d - Caucasian forest cat, e, f - leopard, g, h - European wild cat, i, j - jungle cat (house), l, n - snow leopard, m - lynx.

Deer track type

a, e - camel, b - wapiti, c, d, g, h, i, j - different tracks of a red deer, e - red deer.

a, b, h, i, j - fallow deer, c, d, l, m - roe deer, e, f, g, n, o, p - elk.

a, h - reindeer, b, i - musk deer, c - goat, d - sheep, e, f, m, n - chamois, g - goral, k, l - saiga, o, t - gazelle, p - wild boar , r, s - wild pig.

Hare type of tracks

a - brown hare, b - white hare, c - tolai hare, d - Manchurian hare, e, f - Daurian pika, g, h - midday gerbil, i - squirrel, j, l - flying squirrel, m — large gerbil, n — Amur long-tailed ground squirrel.

Muskrat type of tracks

a, e, f - muskrat, b, c - muskrat, d - beaver, g, h - nutria.

Of course, most of these tracks will not be found in the forests near large cities. Only avid hunters know these tracks and their owners. But you can’t have too much knowledge, right?