Hiking up a side canyon of the Colorado River, I found these tracks and eventually encountered the little fellow that made them.
Photo by Dennis Deck
Who made this pattern? [ View Answer ]
Even though the indidividual tracks are not clear in the dry sand, the pattern can be readily seen. This is the bounding gait of a small mammal, such as a small squirrel. It was moving left to right, with the front feet on the left touching first. The diagonal placement of the front feet should suggest a ground dweller.
The white tailed antelope ground squirrel is a common resident of the southwestern desert. This small ground squirrel lays its tail up over its back when it runs, revealing the white underside of the tail.
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