Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked (the "quarry"). A further goal of tracking is the deeper understanding of the systems and patterns that make up the environment surrounding and incorporating the tracker.
40-494: (Redirected from Trackers ) [REDACTED] Look up tracker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Tracker or The Tracker may refer to: Arts and entertainment [ edit ] Fictional characters [ edit ] Tracker ( G.I. Joe ) , in the G.I. Joe universe Tracker ( PAW Patrol ) , in the animated television series PAW Patrol Tracker Cameron , in
80-428: A sound chip Other [ edit ] Tracker (mobile phone) , a system for tracking the location of a mobile phone Tracker (vehicle) , a device for tracking the location of a vehicle Activity tracker , a device for tracking fitness-related activities and associated measures Radar tracker , part of a radar system S-2 Tracker , a carrier-based ASW aircraft manufactured by Grumman Solar tracker ,
120-412: A 2001–2002 science fiction series Tracker (American TV series) , a 2024 action drama series Trackers (TV series) , a 2019 South African crime thriller series "Tracker" ( Stargate Atlantis ) , a 2008 episode Businesses and products [ edit ] Tracker (granola bar) , manufactured by Mars, Incorporated Chevrolet Tracker or Geo Tracker, a compact SUV produced from 1989 until
160-630: A constant refocusing between minute details of the track and the whole pattern of the environment. Although in principle it is possible to follow a trail by simply looking for one sign after the other, this may prove so time-consuming that the tracker will never catch up with the quarry. Instead, trackers place themselves in the position of their quarry in order to anticipate the route it may have taken. They will thereby be able to decide in advance where they can expect to find signs and thus not waste time looking for them. Trackers will often look for spoor in obvious places such as openings between bushes, where
200-418: A continuous process of problem-solving, creating new hypotheses and discovering new information. In order to come close to an animal, trackers must remain undetected not only by the animal, but also by other animals that may alert it. Moving as quietly as possible, trackers will avoid stepping on dry leaves and twigs, and take great care when moving through dry grass. If the trackers are in close proximity to
240-402: A detailed understanding of animal behavior through the interpretation of tracks and signs. In this way much information can be obtained that would otherwise remain unknown, especially on the behavior of rare or nocturnal animals that are not often seen. Tracks and signs offer information on undisturbed, natural behavior, while direct observations often influence the animal by the mere presence of
280-463: A device used in some solar energy applications for orienting a photovoltaic panel or reflector toward the sun See also [ edit ] Tracer (disambiguation) Track (disambiguation) TrackR , a type of key finder Tracking (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Tracker . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
320-524: A five-book miniseries Tracker (novel) , a 2015 novel set in C. J. Cherryh's Foreigner science fiction universe Trackers Series , a book series by Patrick Carman Music [ edit ] Tracker (band) , an American indie rock band Tracker (album) , by Mark Knopfler, 2015 The Tracker , the journal of the Organ Historical Society Television [ edit ] Tracker (Canadian TV series) ,
360-485: A specific animal's spoor in mind, trackers will tend to 'recognize' spoor in markings made by another animal, or even in random markings. Their mind will be prejudiced to see what they want to see, and in order to avoid making such errors they must be careful not to reach decisions too soon. Decisions made at a glance can often be erroneous, so when encountering new signs, trackers take their time to study signs in detail. While preconceived images may help in recognizing signs,
400-421: A tracker to follow the path even though no further tracks are seen. By looking to either side of the path, the tracker can establish if the animal has moved away from the path, and then follow the new trail. In difficult terrain, where signs are sparse, trackers may have to rely extensively on anticipating the animal's movements. In order to move fast enough to overtake the animal, one may not be able to detect all
440-434: Is kept between the tracker and the sun. With the sun shining from behind the spoor, the shadows cast by small ridges and indentations in the spoor will be clearly visible. With the sun behind the tracker, however, these shadows will be hidden by the ridges that cast them. Tracking is easiest in the morning and late afternoon, as the shadows cast by the ridges in the spoor are longer and stand out better than at or near midday. As
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#1732780936483480-452: Is often a reconstruction of what the animal was doing, how fast it was moving, when it was there, where it was going to and where it might be at that time. Such a working hypothesis enables the trackers to predict the animal's movements. As new information is gathered, they may have to revise their working hypothesis, creating a better reconstruction of the animal's activities. Anticipating and predicting an animal's movements, therefore, involves
520-461: Is widely practiced in the fields of wildlife biology, zoology, mammalogy, conservation, and wildlife management. Tracking enables the detection of rare, endangered, and elusive species. The science of tracking is utilized in the study of forest carnivores like the Canada lynx (Felis lynx) and the wolverine (Gulo gulo). Various measurements of tracks, and/or an animal's paws, and subsequent analyses of
560-736: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.236 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 945393091 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:02:16 GMT Tracking (hunting) The practice of tracking may focus on, but is not limited to, the patterns and systems of the local animal life and ecology. Trackers must be able to recognize and follow animals through their tracks, signs, and trails, also known as spoor . Spoor may include tracks, scat , feathers, kills, scratching posts, trails, drag marks, sounds, scents, marking posts , feeding signs,
600-447: The alert for danger coming from behind. When the spoor is very fresh, trackers may have to leave the spoor so that the animal does not see them first. Animals usually rest facing downwind, so that they can see danger approaching from the downwind side, while they can smell danger coming from behind them. An animal may also double back on its spoor and circle downwind before settling down to rest. A predator following its trail will move past
640-406: The animal is walking it may leave a characteristic scuff mark. Experienced trackers will memorise a spoor and be able to distinguish that individual animal's spoor from others. When following a spoor, trackers will walk next to it, not on it, taking care not to spoil the trail so that it can easily be found again if the spoor is lost. The shadows cast by ridges in the spoor show up best if the spoor
680-443: The animal was going, and will not waste time in one spot looking for signs, but rather look for it further ahead. Knowledge of the terrain and animal behavior allows trackers to save valuable time by predicting the animal's movements. Once the general direction of movement is established and it is known that an animal path, river or any other natural boundary lies ahead, they can leave the spoor and move to these places, cutting across
720-434: The animal was moving in a straight line at a steady pace, and it is known that there is a waterhole or a pan further ahead, trackers should leave the spoor to look for signs of it at the waterhole or pan. While feeding, an animal will usually move into the wind, going from one bush to another. If the trackers know the animal's favored food, and know moreover how they generally move, they need not follow its zigzag path, but leave
760-421: The animal would most likely have moved. In thick bushes they will look for the most accessible thruways. Where the spoor crosses an open clearing, they will look in the general direction for access ways on the other side of the clearing. If the animal was moving from shade to shade, they will look for spoor in the shade ahead. If their quarry has consistently moved in a general direction, it may be possible to follow
800-449: The animal, it is important that they remain downwind of it, that is, in a position where the wind is blowing away from the animal in the direction of the tracker. They must never be in a position where their scent could be carried in the wind towards the animal and thereby alert it. It is also important that the animal does not have the opportunity to cross their tracks, since the lingering human scent will alert it. Most animals prefer to keep
840-537: The behavior of other animals, habitat cues, and any other clues about the identity and whereabouts of the quarry. The skilled tracker is able to discern these clues, recreate what transpired on the landscape, and make predictions about the quarry. The tracker may attempt to predict the current location of the quarry and follow the quarry's spoor to that location, in an activity known as trailing. Prehistoric hunters used tracking principally to gather food. Even in historic times, tracking has been traditionally practiced by
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#1732780936483880-421: The datum, can also reveal important information about animals' physiology and their behavior. For example, measurements of lynx paws demonstrate their support capacity (on snow) to be double that of bobcat. In order to recognize a specific sign, a tracker often has a preconceived image of what a typical sign looks like. Without preconceived images many signs may be overlooked. However, with a preconceived image of
920-592: The end of the 2004 model year, and 2013 onwards Tracker Marine Group , a boat manufacturer Finance [ edit ] Index tracker, or Index fund , a type of passively managed mutual fund that mimics a benchmark market index Tracker mortgage , a type of variable-rate mortgage People (occupation) [ edit ] Aboriginal tracker , enlisted by early European settlers and police until recently in Australia to assist in finding food and water, locating missing persons and criminals, etc. Tracker in
960-604: The file manager and desktop in the Haiku operating system Tracker (search software) , a file indexing and file search framework Tracker (video analysis software) , an open source video analysis and modeling tool BitTorrent tracker , a server that directs the BitTorrent downloads and uploads A piece of software used in Internet tracking Music tracker , a program used to sequence music using synthesized sounds from
1000-403: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tracker&oldid=1254271088 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages tracker Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1040-431: The majority of tribal people all across the world. The military and intelligence agencies also use tracking to find enemy combatants in the bush, land, sea, and desert. It has been suggested that the art of tracking may have been the first implementation of science , practiced by hunter-gatherers since the evolution of modern humans. Apart from knowledge based on direct observations of animals, trackers gain
1080-612: The military, beyond Australia: see reconnaissance (article so far closest related to topic) Tracker (politics) , a person who surveils and records a candidate of a rival campaign Tracker, a person specializing in tracking , which involves finding and following a trail In Chinese history, a tracker was a labourer hired to haul large junks up the Yangtze River Technology [ edit ] Computing [ edit ] Tracker (business software) , developed by Automation Centre Tracker (file manager) ,
1120-408: The most likely route by focusing on the terrain, and to look for signs of spoor only occasionally. They must, however, always be alert for an abrupt change in direction. Animals usually make use of a network of paths to move from one locality to another. If it is clear that an animal was using a particular path, this can simply be followed up to the point where it forks, or to where the animal has left
1160-407: The observer. Tracking is therefore a non-invasive method of information gathering, in which potential stress caused to animals can be minimized. Some of the most important applications of tracking are in hunting and trapping, as well as controlling poaching, ecotourism, environmental education, police investigation, search and rescue, and in scientific research. The modern science of animal tracking
1200-417: The patch of hard ground in order to find the spoor in softer ground. When the trackers lose the spoor, they first search obvious places for signs, choosing several likely access ways through the bush in the general direction of movement. When several trackers work together, they can simply fan out and quarter the ground until one of them finds it. An experienced tracker may be able to predict more or less where
1240-412: The path. Where one of several paths may have been used, trackers must of course determine which path that specific animal used. This may not always be easy, since many animals often use the same paths. In areas of high animal densities that have much-used animal paths which interlink, it may seem impossible to follow tracks. However, once tracks have been located on an animal path, it is often possible for
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1280-487: The resting animal on the upwind side before realizing that the animal had doubled back, and the resting animal will smell the predator in time to make its escape. When stalking an animal, trackers use the cover of bushes, going down on their hands and knees where necessary. In long grass they go down on their stomachs pulling themselves forward with their elbows. The most important thing is not to attract attention by sudden movements. Trackers take their time, moving slowly when
1320-409: The signs. Trackers sometimes identify themselves with the animal to such an extent that they follow an imaginary route which they think the animal would most likely have taken, only confirming their expectations with occasional signs. When trackers come to hard, stony ground, where tracks are virtually impossible to discern, apart from the odd small pebble that has been overturned, they may move around
1360-588: The spoor at places, moving in a straight course to save time, and pick up the spoor further on. Since signs may be fractional or partly obliterated, it may not always be possible to make a complete reconstruction of the animal's movements and activities on the basis of spoor evidence alone. Trackers may therefore have to create a working hypothesis in which spoor evidence is supplemented with hypothetical assumptions based not only on their knowledge of animal behavior, but also on their creative ability to solve new problems and discover new information. The working hypothesis
1400-481: The spoor more closely, it is not necessary to examine every sign. If they see a sign ten meters ahead, those in between can be ignored while they look for spoor further on. Over difficult terrain it may not be possible to see signs well ahead, so trackers will have to look at the ground in front of them and move more slowly. Trackers must also avoid concentrating all their attention on the tracks, thereby ignoring everything around them. Tracking requires varying attention,
1440-459: The sun moves higher in the sky, the shadows grow shorter. At midday the spoor may cast no shadows at all, making them difficult to see in the glare of the sunlight. Trackers will never look down at their feet if they can help it, since this will slow them down. By looking up, well ahead of themselves, approximately five to ten meters (15–30 feet) depending on the terrain, they are able to track much faster and with more ease. Unless they need to study
1480-498: The television series Degrassi: The Next Generation Films [ edit ] Tracker (1987 film) , a Soviet film directed by Roman Balayan The Tracker (1988 film) , a Western directed by John Guillermin The Tracker (2002 film) , an Australian film Tracker (2011 film) , a film from New Zealand The Tracker (2019 film), a film with Dolph Lundgren Literature [ edit ] Tracker (comics) ,
1520-455: The tracker must, however, avoid the preconditioned tendency to look for one set of things in the environment to the exclusion of all others. Trackers will always try to identify the trail positively by some distinguishing mark or mannerism in order not to lose it in any similar spoor. They will look for such features in the footprints as well as for an individual manner of walking. Often hoofs of antelope are broken or have chipped edges, or when
1560-409: The trail by sweeping back and forth across the predicted direction in order to pick up tracks a considerable distance ahead. To be able to anticipate and predict the movements of an animal, trackers must know the animal and its environment so well that they can identify themselves with that animal. They must be able to visualize how the animal was moving around, and place themselves in its position. If
1600-546: The wind in their faces when traveling so that they can scent danger ahead of them. Trackers will therefore usually be downwind from them as they approach the animals from behind. The wind direction may, however, have changed. If the wind direction is unfavorable, the trackers may have to leave the spoor to search for their quarry from the downwind side. As the trackers get closer to the animal, they must make sure that they see it before it sees them. Some trackers maintain that an animal keeps looking back down its own trail, always on
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