by Vicky Ann Smith

Created on: April 19, 2009

When we track animals, follow their prints across the land we must mould ourselves to the animal. We become aware of how the animal is behaving, moving through and using the landscape; we sense the animals state of health by linking together the clues on the ground and plant life. We can tell how fast it is moving, if it is injured by any limb dominance in the tracks and if it is alone. We learn to understand if anything is hampering the animal's progress and where it may be heading, to identify the spots where it has stopped to eat or rest, if the animal is old or young, tired or full of vitality.

Silence is the number one key rule in tracking; without silence you will gain no awareness with your surroundings or yourself. It allows you to notice how you move and pick up on the signs you will miss if you make noise. Our senses are not as heightened as the animal being tracked, the slightest sound will alert it to your presence.

Turn invisible, camouflage yourself to the environment. Standing out on a trail will scare wildlife into hiding; fashion plays no role in the forest. Other factors like the weather should not be overlooked, awareness of what is ahead is as important as the particular moment, place where you are. Know everything about the equipment you carry with you, tracking uses the basic of tools, do you need the latest technology or simply what is inside you?

Tracking takes us back to the most primitive skills, a way of survival. The philosophy of tracking is learning to track an animal without only following a set of paw prints. Successful tracking means focusing your whole body on the hunt while keeping a flexibility to adapt with the animal. Awareness of ecology and history both recent and ancient aids your tracking sense to the behaviour of the environment and plant life.

Your motivation must be solid, learning to track requires patience, dedication and practice; it is a journey on physical and spiritual level. Understand why you are tracking, for food? Learn a skill? To catch a glimpse or photograph of the animal? The different reasons behind the track can mean a different technique involved. Clues lie everywhere even where you may not see them; paw prints are impressions at ground level and while your eyes are looking down let your other senses look around and be aware.

The ultimate goal of tracking is to see the animal but the journey there is far more than one of finding the animal, it is about learning and understanding what you are following and tapping into your natural instincts.

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