Resources

A few of the best tracking resources I’ve come across

Books

Track & Sign

Cover of a book titled "Mammal Tracks & Sign: A Guide to North American Species" by Mark Elbroch, second edition, with a sticker indicating it is an award winner from the National Outdoor Book Awards. The cover features a black bear resting on a tree trunk with green leaves, paw prints in dirt, a nest, and ground cover with plants.

Mammal Tracks & Sign - Mark Elbroch

Cover of a wildlife guidebook featuring a mountain goat with curved horns grazing on rocky terrain with small flowers, under a clear sky.

Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest -
David Moskowitz

Book cover titled "Bird Tracks & Sign: A Guide to North American Species" featuring a photographed woodpecker perched on a branch and smaller images of bird feathers, a feathered track, and a bird nest with eggs.

Bird Tracks & Sign - Mark Elbroch

Trailing

A black bear standing in a field of tall grass with trees in the background, indicating it is in the wild.

Tracking the American Black Bear - Preston Taylor

If you’re starting your library, these are where I’d begin…

Book cover titled "Tracking Animals: A Guide to Trailing Wildlife" by Lee Gutteridge and Kersey Lawrence. The cover features a series of images of wildlife and tracks, including an elephant, a person walking, a bear, a lion, a rhinoceros, a jaguar, and animal tracks, arranged in a grid.

Tracking Animals - Kersey Lawrence
& Lee Gutteridge

Book cover titled "Practical Tracking" with a close-up image of a mountain lion walking toward the camera on a snowy terrain.

Practical Tracking - Louis Liebenberg, Adriaan Luow, Mark Elbroch

Behavior & Animal Remnants

Book cover titled "Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests" featuring a bird nest with four green eggs surrounded by green leaves.

Peterson Field Guide to N.A. Bird Nests - Casey McFarland, Matthew Monjello, David Moskowitz

Book cover titled "Animal Skulls: A Guide to North American Species" by Mark Elbroch, featuring a large image of an animal skull in the background and smaller images of three different skulls on the right side.

Animal Skulls - Mark Elbroch

Cover of a book titled 'Behavior of North American Mammals' featuring two animated foxes, one standing and biting, the other lying on the grass with flowers, against a rocky background.

Behavior of N.A. Mammals - Mark Elbroch & Kurt Rinehart

And a few others on my bookshelf:

Mountain lion and bobcat tracks

Websites

  • Some deeper dives into track & sign, trailing, and niche natural history

    Nature Tracking - Jonah Evans’ vast repository of tracking images, and lots more

    Tracker's Trail - Nate Harvey’s take on tracking and trailing

    Feather Atlas - Database of North American species to help with ID of found feathers and kill sites

    Animal Watching - Casey McFarland’s Great Course about tracking and animal behavior

    Bear-Tracker - Kim Cabrera’s wealth of animal info and videos

  • A few digital tools for your phone to lighten your pack and enrich your understanding of the world

    Merlin - Identify birds by sound

    iNaturalist - A massive database of animal observations, and a community of dedicated naturalists

    iTrack - The best digital animal tracks field guide

  • Utilize these projects as field guides, and add observations for personal records and to further scientific understanding

    North American Animal Tracks Database

    Scatology

    Skulls and Bones

    Bird Tracks

    Bird Language

    Foot Photos

  • The global gold standard for certifying trackers, and a wealth of information about the culture and the history of tracking wilidlife

    Tracker Certification North America - The non-profit in N.A. that delivers CyberTracker certifications

    TCNA StoryMap - A concise history of Cybertracker, TCNA, and the educational power of certifications

    CyberTracker Conservation - Louis Liebenberg’s brainchild that started the renaissance in wildlife tracking

    The Art of Tracking - Louis Liebenberg’s eBook

  • When in-field classes aren’t available these courses can jump start your learning

    SWOTT - San Diego based, but utilizing an identification process that works everywhere.