Animal Signatures

Patrick Colgan is associate director of programs at the Canadian Museum
of Nature in Ottawa.

For many species of wildlife their signs, such as footprints, browse,
scats, and pellets, are what we most frequently encounter. This field
guide provides concise descriptions of the most common regional species
of hoofed and padded mammals (including the recently arrived coyote) and
large birds, together with information on their habitats and on the
shape and size of their prints (in inches and in centimetres). The text
and composition are clear (but is it not strange to describe a bear
walking “pigeon-toed”?), and the guide’s portable size is
convenient. It would have been interesting to see some discussion of the
various forms of locomotion, which generate the different patterns of
footprints. The book would be an excellent gift for hikers and nature
lovers.