Complete Tracker

Book excerpt: Few experiences are more thrilling than watching unsuspecting wild animals go about their business in a natural environment. The ultimate triumph comes when you've tracked down an animal on its own terms, on its own turf. The Complete Tracker is a concise, thorough guide to the tracks, signs, and habits of North America’s most popular species of wildlife. Readers learn the secrets of a master tracker, assembling a clear picture from tracks, scat, and other signs, that enable them to answer questions such as, Was it a dog or a wolf? Fox or coyote? Did it pass by yesterday or an hour ago? The Complete Tracker also provides information about how to get close to animals—everything from bobcats to beavers, marmots to moose—by knowing the details of their habits and a master-tracker’s tips on avoiding detection. More than 150 line drawings show tracks of sixty different species of wildlife under a great variety of terrain conditions. The book also includes maps, charts, and diagrams. This new edition is expanded with new chapters on peccaries, dogs, cats, armadillos, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, and enhanced with full color photos throughout making it an invaluable resource for hikers, nature lovers, and outsdoorsmen everywhere.