#Racoon paw prints full#

It was the size and shape of a small dog's but was much coarser, full of ? undigested seeds and other vegetation. They are the first to check out the fallen seed from the bird feeders and dig for the worms and grubs that seem to be more abundant around the fallen seed. Around my house they seem to come about an hour after sunset. Maybe the opossums have not adapted to bad weather yet. They don't seem to stay out of the rain or colder weather the way raccoons do, sleeping through bad weather. You can see opossum in worse weather than raccoons. Like many other animals, opossum put their back feet in the tracks of their front feet or rather just behind, so it's common to see a front paw print looking like a little star, just a bit covered by the back print which is just a bit longer.

The tail tracks is easier to see in deeper snow when it is harder to keep your tail out of the snow when you only have short stubby legs. This means that some tracks will have tail marks zig-zagging back and forth while others show no tail marks at all. The waddle is more pronounced in the larger older individuals.Īnother distinctive trait is that they can keep their tails up.

They seem to waddle with their rumps going back and forth. Opossum have a very distinctive way of walking. In these photos above, you can see the opossum's feet and clearly see the little pink toes widely spaced.

#Racoon paw prints how to#

If you are interested, I have a page on how to tell dog from coyote tracks One clear indication that you are dealing with opossums is the spread out toes, these often look like little starfish.Īlthough they have nails, these don't seem to show up much in the tracks, unlike a raccoon or a dog which have prominent nail marks. The opossum tracks also have a smaller front and a longer back track but the shape is very different with the toes clearly spread out. On the left, raccoon tracks, front and back paws, on the right opossum tracks. At first I figured they were raccoon or skunks but I soon realized that they were opossums.Ĭoyote and dog tracks however are not particularly difficult to tell apart. It took me a while to figure out what the strange new tracks were. They also have the endearing habit of eating ticks. They are far easier to have around than the raccoons. They would come at night and eat the catfood I left out for the 2 remaining feral cats I had moved from my Toronto colony.Īs it turns out, even though they look like insane giant rats having a bad hair day, they are very peaceful and don't seem to get into much trouble. Ontario, I discovered I had lots of opossums around. Many people are not familiar with the opossum tracks. But since they’re out in the daylight, it’s a concern.Opossum have been migrating further north and we're starting to see their tracks. If raccoons were only out at night, that would be an easy fix. “I don’t know what I’ll do except worry about him when he’s out. “Our dog has to have a way to come and go,” Mee said. It’s a cautionary one for fellow pet owners, she said. Since Rio’s incident, Mee has e-mailed Mayor Bill Phillips, contacted her homeowners association and talked with Animal Control twice in an attempt to tell her story. “It’s warmer and they’re much more active.” “On a general basis, wildlife reports always increase in late spring and summer,” Drabek said. It’s not normal, but it’s not unheard of to see them out in the daylight. She and other neighbors said the raccoons are living in a nearby storm drain, which they often climb out of during the day.īy nature, raccoons are normally nocturnal, Drabek said. On more than one occasion, Mee has spotted raccoon paw prints around her fountain. Removing wood piles or brush that covers fences is another way to help keep raccoons off the property, Drabek said.