Snow Hoppers

Who made these tracks? Was it a Leporid, a Sciurid, or a Cricetid?

No, these aren't some mythical creatures. They're the scientific family names for three common hoppers in the Maine woods: snowshoe hares, red and gray squirrels, and various mousy sorts of things.

All three of these groups are hoppers, at least when they're moving rapidly. Since they all hop, they all produce similar sorts of tracks in the snow: two small marks from the front feet, and two larger marks from the back feet. The back feet strike the ground in front of the front feet. So, for example, the direction of movement for all of the critters in the image above was toward the top of the picture.

How can you tell these three types of hoppers apart? The simplest way is size. One set of hare tracks (two front feet plus two back feet) is about a foot long, while squirrels are about half of that. And mouse tracks are about half the size of squirrel tracks.

If you can largely cover a set of tracks with your foot, they were probably made by a hare. If you can largely cover a set of tracks with one hand, they were probably made by a red or gray squirrel. And if you can largely cover a set of tracks with a few fingers, it was probably made by a mousey critter of some sort.

There are other signs to look for. Squirrel tracks generally start and end at trees.

You may also find locations where a squirrel has unearthed a buried cache of nuts, and a favorite feeding spot may be covered in fragments of previous meals.

Hare tracks often run for long distances, with side tracks entering and exiting a main route like roads to a highway.

Mouse trails often begin or end at a hole, and the tracks commonly show the tell-tale (so to speak) drag mark of a tail.

Location can also be useful. Squirrels and mice tend to congregate near houses and bird feeders, although red squirrels are also common in deeper woods, especially around conifer thickets.

Hares tend to prefer brushy wooded areas with lots of cover near the ground, especially if these places are further away from people. Logged areas that have grown up into a tangle of bushes and saplings are especially favored.

In the preserve, squirrel and mouse tracks are common along The Cakewalk, and you may find red squirrel tracks near the summit on Winding Way. You may also find hare tracks near the summit. The back edge of the preserve borders an area that was logged decades ago, and this provides thick, brushy areas that the hares love.

Note: in a very few scattered places in southern Maine, you may also find tracks of New England cottontails. Their tracks are similar to squirrel tracks in size.

Also note: the first image, from left to right, shows tracks from a hare, squirrel, and mouse.