Species: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

What to look for

  1. Shape. Two toes forming an upside-down heart, symmetrical, with the points aimed in the direction of travel.
  2. Length. Maine puts a deer track at 2.5 to 3 inches (6 to 8 cm), Missouri at 2.5 to 4 inches (6 to 10 cm), and Mississippi State Extension at 1.5 to 3 inches long by 1 to 2.5 inches wide (4 to 8 cm by 2.5 to 6 cm), varying with the size of the animal.
  3. Front against hind. The front tracks are slightly larger than the hind, so a clean pair is not a matched set.
  4. Dewclaws. Deer have two toes per foot plus occasional dewclaws, which print behind the hoof when the ground is soft enough for the foot to sink.
  5. Stride. About a foot between prints at a walk, stretching to 10 to 15 feet when the animal is bounding.

Easily confused with

Moose tracks. Moose prints are 4.5 to 5.5 inches (11 to 14 cm), roughly double a deer track, with dewclaws set far apart.

Beaver tracks. Beavers leave a webbed five-toed hind print rather than a split hoof, and the trail is often dragged smooth by the tail.

A single running deer track. Splayed toes and dewclaw marks make one animal look like something bigger. Measure the hoof itself, not the spread, before deciding it is not a deer.

Where and when

Wildlife agencies in Maine, Missouri, Mississippi and Maryland all publish white-tailed deer track guidance. In Missouri, deer use a wide variety of habitats and especially the transition between woodland edges, clearings and agricultural fields. Tracks show best in mud, sand or snow, and well-used field edges, browse lines and water crossings are good places to look.

Related signs

  • Moose tracks: A moose track is the largest hoof print on the continent: two crescent-shaped halves running about 4.5 to 5.5 inches long, pointed toward the direction of travel, with two dewclaws that often register behind them in snow or mud.
  • Coyote tracks: A coyote track is a compact oval about 2.5 inches long and 2 inches wide, with four toes and toenail marks that nearly always print.
  • Deer scat: Deer scat is a scattered pile of dark oval pellets, each about 0.5 to 1 inch long and 0.2 to 0.5 inch across, shiny when fresh and holding no recognizable pieces of food.

Sources