TRACKING : Making casts of animal tracks.

[JonathanD]

Books are great aids in learning the different tracks that birds and animals make. But because they have to cover such a large amount of information, they fail to show tracks as you find them in the wild. The pictures and drawings you find in these books are often of perfect prints, examples of which you rarely, if ever, find in reality.

Over the years I've found the best way of referencing wild animal tracks, is to build up a collection of casts which can help you far much more in learning about how animals behave naturally, than any book that can only ever be two dimensional.

I used to have an amazing collection of bird and mammal track casts that I started when I was about eight years old. The whole collection covered exotic as well as native animals. Unfortunately, I lent these out a few years ago, and never got them back. So I am back to square one.

Hopefully this small tutorial in casing tracks will help some people start a new aspect of bushcrafting. It's great fun for the kids too and keeps them quiet for a good half hour, sometimes.

What you need is simple and costs next to nothing:

A mixing container
A mixing stick
Some cardbord or plastic strips about 30cm long and 3cm high
Couple of paperclips or masking tape
Plaster of Paris

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/darkcrown_1969/DSC09603.jpg

Before I go out I like to pre measure out and bag the plaster of paris as it makes things easier in the field. Four heaped tablespoons per bag is enough for one cast...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/darkcrown_1969/DSC09604.jpg

It'll be interesting the day I'm stopped by the police and they ask to look inside my rucksack and find my knife and those bags.

Anyway, next thing to do is to find your track. I was after the local otters today and I found some older tracks. Not as fresh or as ideal as I would have liked, but as rare as they are, I'm lucky to find these this time of year.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/darkcrown_1969/29Jan201118.jpg

The best substrate to get a cast is fine silt or mud, still damp but not saturated. Sand is possibly the worst as detail is lost. But if you find a nice cast in fine substrate, it is possible to see details like segmentation, claw shape and tubercules on toes, which isn't possible to see in the tracks themselves until you make a cast.

Next thing you need to do is grab one of those lengths of plastic or cardboard and make a hoop that is at least 2cm bigger than the track around its edge. Tape or clip that and sink it slowly around the cast, leaving plenty of height to make a nice base when you pull the cast out again...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/darkcrown_1969/29Jan201121.jpg

Next thing to do is mix your plaster of paris. I use roughly an equal amount of each in volume. Put the water in the mixing container first and then add the plaster. It will seem quite watery at first, but mix for a good five minutes and you should get the consistency of thin single cream. Pour this into your cast...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/darkcrown_1969/29Jan201119.jpg

I like to tap the sides slightly to encourage air bubbles to rise. You then need to occupy yourself for about half an hour. When you come back, it should be hard and ready to pull out...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/darkcrown_1969/29Jan201120.jpg

I usually scrape the excess mud off and then wrap it in newspaper to keep it safe in my pack. It also absorbs the moisture too.

After a couple of hours, you can pop it under a running tap and gently clean off the rest of the mud. Be careful as it is still wet and if you scrub, you can lose valuable detail. Ideally you should wait a couple of days for the plaster to dry, but I'm too impatient. Plus if you have the kids with you, waiting is not possible if you want some peace.

Taking pictures doesn't show the cast detail at all well, but it gives you some idea. This is the otter I pulled today (never thought I'd be typing those words)...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/darkcrown_1969/DSC09597.jpg

And here are some badgers I pulled yesterday...

Rear feet...
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/darkcrown_1969/DSC09598.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/darkcrown_1969/DSC09599.jpg

and forefoot showing the long claws...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/darkcrown_1969/DSC09600.jpg

When fully dry I'll highlight the track itself with some ink.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a77/darkcrown_1969/DSC09601.jpg

Doing this gives you a much better working knowledge of animal tracks, and will allow you to identify partial prints much easier than any book or manual.

[BOD]

Thanks for that tutorial.

Tony can this be a sticky?

[Toddy]

Nice tutorial :D and a great way of becoming familiar with tracks :approve:


JD have you tried fast set plaster ? It dries to a liftable hard in a couple of minutes. It's used to repair ornate cornicings in situ.
Really needs to be kept very dry until used though.

cheers,
M

[Shewie]

Thanks for taking the time Jon

We used to do this at school but I've never though to try it again.

Will plaster of Yorkshire work okay ? :)

[JonathanD]

Nice tutorial :D and a great way of becoming familiar with tracks :approve:


JD have you tried fast set plaster ? It dries to a liftable hard in a couple of minutes. It's used to repair ornate cornicings in situ.
Really needs to be kept very dry until used though.

cheers,
M

I have tried it, but it sets too fast for me and gets thick quite quickly too so you lose the finer detail. It would be good on accesible tracks, but most of the ones I find require acrobatics to get too and the extra time I get with PofP is a bonus.




Will plaster of Yorkshire work okay ? :)

Definately not, has a mind of it's own and is dead stubborn.

[FGYT]

havent done this for many years

we used to make a second cast of the original so you get what the actual track looked like ie a hole not a lump ;) have to Vaseline the original so the new one dosnt stick

ATB

Duncan

[JonathanD]

we used to make a second cast of the original so you get what the actual track looked like ie a hole not a lump ;) have to Vaseline the original so the new one dosnt stick


Thats coming up in part two.

[TeeDee]

With sandy/grainy soils where pouring in Plaster may crumble the finer details , have you tried or do you use hairspray to 'mist' it 1st before chucking in the plaster??

I'm told this can work well , never tried it myself.

[JonathanD]

With sandy/grainy soils where pouring in Plaster may crumble the finer details , have you tried or do you use hairspray to 'mist' it 1st before chucking in the plaster??

I'm told this can work well , never tried it myself.

Spray mount (3M repositionable) is the best stuff to use for this, and it peels off when cleaning the cast. I find the best solution is a thin plaster solution poured to one side of the print rather than directly on to it. Adding salt is supposed to dramitically reduce setting time too. Some of Toddys fast set stuff would be ideal for loose sand or soil.

[Shewie]

Definately not, has a mind of it's own and is dead stubborn.

Lol, sounds about right :)

[Hugo]

This takes me back to my childhood, great fun when you are just starting out.
I did this on Epsom common in the late fifties, it kept me quiet for ages.

[21st century pict]

Exellent stuff sir just what the doctor ordered.I was out all day today and first time with the plaster of paris but did not a decent track to dry for to long so no fresh sign, but this tutorial will really help next though.I need 4 tracks for an age stand a Dog or Fox , Roe deer , Badger and a large bird,other suggestions more than welcome Bro. Bob Carss book mensons using salt?
Any comment.

[wattsy]

i'm definitley ordering some plaster of paris now this looks like just the thing to try with scouts

[HHazeldean]

Great thread, where did you get the Plaster of paris?

[Mafro]

i'm definitley ordering some plaster of paris now this looks like just the thing to try with scouts

I used to do this in scouts, and it always went down really well.

[JonathanD]

Great thread, where did you get the Plaster of paris?

Most chemists will stock it, or hobby shops.

[WeThePeoplexfbm]

ooo nice ^^ good idea ,,, and to think i was plaster few months ago-_- no free plaster now XD


---
Skipp

[Scots_Charles_River]

What about fast acting cement/mortar ?

[JonathanD]

What about fast acting cement/mortar ?

It's too coarse to capture the fine detail. It weighs too much as well and will distort the print.

[munkiboi182]

i do enjoy getting plastered, great thread, thanks

[Scots_Charles_River]

Jonathan D,

Ta, just thinking aloud.