Methow Naturalist
The
A Quarterly Journal of Natural History
Winter 2007 V12 N4 $2.50
Pacific salmon have faced difficult circumstances throughout their evolutionary history;
obviously this still holds true today.
obviously this still holds true today.
An artistic rendition of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Note that the luminosity or
brightness of stars is shown on the vertical axis at the left edge--luminosity as com-
pared to our sun, which is rated as 1 (and is marked with an X). The horizontal axis
is surface temperature, with hotter stars at the left end burning with a bluish color,
cooler star burning reddish. Almost all stars follow one of the several the predictable
pathways shown.
is surface temperature, with hotter stars at the left end burning with a bluish color,
cooler star burning reddish. Almost all stars follow one of the several the predictable
pathways shown.
X
X
°
°
°
The constellation Orion, visible in winter in the southeastern sky
in the evening. In case you can’t tell, Orion is an archer, with
in the evening. In case you can’t tell, Orion is an archer, with
Betelgeuse forming his cocked right elbow, and Rigel his left foot.
There is more to tracking than meets the eye. Simply following a creature on some portion of its daily rounds is a means of participating in the life of a wild animal, a way of getting out of our self-centered universe, a way to be attentive to the infinitely interesting but often largely unnoticed natural world around us. Tracking also resonates with the evolutionary history genetically encoded in our cells; Homo sapiens were wandering hunter-gatherers for 300,000 years before becoming agriculturists (for 8000 years) and urbanites (just now reaching a total of 50% of the total world population).
It is worth reflecting on the fact that the animal we are tracking is immersed in a context, the context of it’s own life and the ecosystem in which it lives. It is not alone, but rather is constantly interacting with its environment. As trackers we get o share the interrelationship with other wildlife species and with the plants that inhabit the area. Tracking also takes us into the microcosm, to the level of the personality of individual creatures.
Just as it is critical to be being ready to got out on sunny spring days for wildflowers and birds, be prepared in advance for the best tracking days. The
first snowfall of the winter will often deliver striking tracks, as the prints are pressed down to a dark, earthy background. We regularly get light dustings of snow throughout the winter and into early spring. Each snowfall is is analogous to taking a giant eraser to an enormous chalkboard—old tracks are obliterated and fresh ones set in place. If you are out within a few hours of the snowfall you will know that your tracking partner—the one that left the tracks—is nearby; perhaps the creature is watching you, or tracking your movements. Then you are dancing with wildlife!
There is more to observing wildlife than tracks. Animals leave many signposts as they move through their world; from dirty dinner dishes and unflushed toiletries to territorial scent markers and hand-drawn pictographs on trees (claw marks on aspen trees from both cougars and black bear are common in the Methow, but easy to miss if one is not looking up occasionally). In Mammal Tracks and Sign by
4
Eddie Torr is 50% Cherokee; he grew up tracking on
the reservation.
the reservation.
