How to Track Beavers

The beaver is the largest of all US rodents, weighing in at up to 60 pounds. Beaver are nocturnal, although they can be active into the early morning hours. Fall is one of the best times of the year to track beaver, as they are extra busy preparing for winter.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Look for felled trees close to a body of water. Trees felled by beaver have an hourglass-shaped cut, instead of the straight cut left by a saw, or the ragged rip-shape of trees knocked down by wind or damage.

2. Scan the edges of any body of water near felled trees for beaver tracks. Beaver have small front feet with 5 toes, and comparatively huge back feet, also with 5 toes. Generally only 2 or 3 claws, if any, show in the track. Webbing on the feet often mires the track, wiping out specific features.

3. Follow a beaver trail to or from the water's edge: the tracks show that a beaver has a short stride, but several different step patterns. You may see the hind foot falling short of the front foot, or where the hind foot lands directly on top of the front foot. The third pattern, also the most common, is where the hind foot lands just ahead of the front foot for a step, then lands beside the front.

4. Measure the track. The front foot of the beaver is usually 3 inches long and 2 to 2.9 inches wide, and the hind is 5 inches long and 4.8 to 5 inches wide. The step is usually 6 to 10 inches between prints, and equally wide, making a box type pattern in the soil.