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How to Make a Plaster Cast of Animal Tracks

December 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Making a plaster cast of an animal track is fairly simple and there’s only a few inexpensive materials you’ll need.

  • Plaster of Paris – you can find this at any hardware or home improvement store. It comes in a 5 pound box shaped like a milk carton.  One box is plenty for most tracks.  I carry my plaster in a ziploc freezer bag.
  • Cardboard or heavy paper strips to make a dam or enclosure around the track to pour the plaster in. You can just use mud, sticks or rocks and skip carrying the paper strips.
  • Spoon or knife for mixing, again you can use a stick and eliminate carrying extra tools and weight.
  • Paper clip or picture hanger to insert in the cast if you wish to hang it on a wall.
  • Water, you can carry water with you but I always carry 1 or 2 extra ziploc bags to gather my own water after I find a track to cast. I may have to hike a ways to gather water but it’s much easier than carrying extra weight around all day.

The video below will show you step by step on how to plaster cast an animal track.   Enjoy and enjoy the Outdoors!!

Plaster Casting Animal Tracks

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Caribou Tracks

December 26, 2011 by 1 Comment

Caribou are one of the most traveled animals on the planet. They may travel  hundreds to thousands of miles each year going from  summer to winter range and back again.  If you were to visit Alaska or parts of Canada you would eventually cross their tracks. Identifying their tracks is fairly easy.

Caribou tracks are very distinctive, being nearly round in shape. Their hoof has two toes like other deer but rather than triangular or tear drop in shape each toe on a Caribou is crescent shaped. The overall shape of their foot  allows them to stay up on top of the snow better.   Caribou tracks measures between 4 to 5 inches long.

 

This track  below shows a good example of a Caribous dew claws which are often present. Their dew claws help them from sinking in the deep snows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caribou scat resembles that of most deer. It can either be in a loose pellet form or clumped pellets resulting from from a succulent diet. The scat measures from 1/2 to 5/8 of an inch in diameter.

A Caribous diet depending on the time of year consists of lichens, moss, leaves, grasses and fungi.

 

One of the few tracks that would overlap the range of Caribou would be that of the Moose. Moose tracks have the more common heart or tear dropped shape to them. There shouldn’t be any confusion in the two just based on their shape.  Moose scat is roughly 3/4 of an inch in diameter and the pellets are around 1 inch long, much larger than the scat of Caribou.

 

Do you think it’s a male or female in this image?

Yes, it’s a trick question, both sexes have antlers but we’ll  never know which one this is. I didn’t get close enough to find out.

Enjoy the Outdoors !!

 

 

 

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