Everyone who has subscribed to these posts, I'm sorry for the delay I've been quite busy with things and I'll be sure to keep these going, but "weekly" is hard for me to keep up as of right now.

Ok, without further delay let's get right into today's topic: Endangered, Endemic, or Otherwise Rare Animals.

On the last post we talked about some rare animals such as the gopher tortoise, but I also tried to stress that you can do a big part with the common species around you and while that is true, that isn't to say the helping with the rarer animals isn't helpful because, of course, it is! I encourage everyone to go and do some research on the endemic and rare animals of their area. More always exists to learn! For example, I just found out that the Anastasia Beach Mouse is present in my area and I am already planning an expedition to gather track data on it.

People are reading this from their own neck of the woods so I won't get to specific on animals exactly, but once you have a built up knowledge about the endemic, endangered, or otherwise rare animals in your area, go out and find them. Sometimes they are just local, but not rare. You can be certain you are hugely helping out the scientific community by giving track data and gathering data on all species. To an even higher extent any data you gather on the species of your area give to your local park rangers and state park system. If you know of any rare animals in your area and have gathered track data on them don't forget to check to see if any local organizations are tracking the population of them, etc. If so they will usually gladly except anything you have to offer!

Remember, everytime you see an animal that has the potential to leave tracks, record them! You could discovering something new every time you do so.

The easiest way to help the scientific community isn't often the easiest and what first comes to mind is probably going out into the remote jungles of far-away countries, but know you can exponentially help the scientific community and even give brand new un-researched data through the tracks and signs of animals!

Before we begin mentioning species to look out for here is a short explanation of how exactly to go about conducting your research:

Firstly, capturing and measuring the feet of all animals you capture is amazingly helpful. Next, capturing the animals measuring their feet and releasing them on track plates or wet sand (any other substrate that holds tracks is also expectable) then photographing, measuring, and sketching the tracks left behind is the most beneficial way.

Depending on where you live different animals may be present, but most turtle, lizard, and frog species have little to no data researched on their tracks. Next, all invasive species to your area help especially the ones thought to be exterminated. (such as Nutria in the USA)

Next week I'll cover animals to especially look out for that are currently being closely monitored population wise in the USA and are extremely important to researchers. Remember, to add all of your observations to the Tracks & Signs: New Data Collection project and follow me and or join the project so you don't miss the next ones and show support to our team to give us the motivation to keep going!

Quick FAQ:

Question 3: I have an observation of a species with at least limited data, but I'm not sure if nothing has been research about it?

That's ok! As long as the species has little to no data it is fine. A good scale for a species can only be created with a large data pool!

Question 2: How do I know what species to add?

After checking various guides, websites, and discussing with other trackers about the species and you still can't find any data/measurements on it then you can probably assume that's the case. If not it almost surely at least has a small data pool of measurements.

Question 3: I don't know how to find animals to add to the projects. What ones should I look out for?

As mentioned in the answer of question two you can get a good idea of what animals don't have much research on their tracks. Check some of the common species in your area! Especially reptiles and amphibians. It very unlikely that you won't find anything, but if it so happens that you do take a look through the other observations in the project. In the near future I hope to keep the project updated w/ species specifically to look out for!