Tracking Animals in an Ecosystem

Hello! I took off some time for Thanksgiving. I hope your holiday was great. It is good to be out exploring again.

We found out last time that scat proves animals live in a certain ecosystem. An ECO-what? An ECOSYSTEM. An ecosystem is an environment or community or special place. Different plants and animals live in this ecosystem. They interact with and rely on each other.

The area that I visited today was a chaparral ecosystem. Some common plants in a chaparral ecosystem are California Sagebrush, California Buckwheat, Toyon, Scrub Oak, and Wild Oats. Some animals that you might see in a chaparral ecosystem are woodrats, coyotes, deer, wrentit birds, and rattlesnakes. (Yup, I've seen rattlesnakes on the trail, but they were in a big hurry to get away from me. They must have heard me coming.)

Scat is one way to prove that certain animals live in an ecosystem. Today we're going to look at some pictures of proof that animals live here in the chaparral ecosystem. We are going to look at pictures of animal tracks. The first picture is the hoof print of a deer. If you put together your hands, sort of like you are praying, and then you cup them a little bit, you will see the shape of a deer hoof print. The next picture is the four little foot prints of a rabbit. Can't you just imagine it hopping along in the dirt? The next print is that of dove feet. Doves are gray birds. They eat seeds off of the ground. Finally, what do you think made those strange prints? These are the prints of a lizard. See the little claw marks that it left behind?

So, even though I did not see these animals, I know that they live here in this chaparral ecosystem. I also saw tracks of other creatures and things that visit this ecosystem, but then leave at night. I saw the prints of horses, people, and dogs.

The next time it rains, look in some mud. Usually, animals get drinks from rain water. You might see bird, kitty, and dog prints in the mud. People like to play in the mud. You might see shoe prints or tracks from bicycle tires. These tracks are evidence that things are alive in your ecosystem!

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