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Identification chart

Animal tracks identification chart: Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina

Fourteen prints cover almost everything you will find in a yard, an attic, a garden bed or on a muddy bank in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. Each one comes with a photo, the real measurements in inches, the marks that settle the identification when two animals leave something similar, and the animal people mix it up with. Pick where you found it to narrow the chart down.

Key takeaways
  • Toes and claws first. Five toes means raccoon, opossum, skunk, beaver, muskrat, otter or armadillo. Four toes means squirrel, rabbit, bobcat, fox or a member of the dog family. Two toes means deer or hog.
  • Claw marks rule out every cat. A bobcat retracts its claws, so its print has four toes and no marks in front of them. Dogs, foxes, raccoons and skunks always print theirs.
  • The pattern is half the identification. Bounders put the hind feet ahead of the front feet, walkers put the hind foot into or beside the front print.
  • A track on a roof or in a gutter is a route, and a route ends at a gap. That is the entry you are looking for.
  • Photograph it with a scale. A coin, a bank card or a tape measure next to the print turns a guess into a measurement, and the measurement is what settles the close cases.

The chart

Raccoon tracks

Raccoon

Procyon lotor
Front 2 to 3 in long, hind 2.5 to 3.5 in
  • Five toes on both feet, arranged like a small human hand, with a wide palm pad
  • Claws are not retractable, so they usually print as small dots in front of the toes
  • The hind foot lands beside or ahead of the front foot on the same side

Confused with: The opossum, which is the other hand-like print at this size but shows a splayed inner toe instead of a full palm

What to do: Concrete or gutter prints mean a regular route, so check the roofline and the bin lids on that wall before you set anything

Opossum tracks

Opossum

Didelphis virginiana
1.5 to 2.5 in
  • Five toes, but the inner toe of the hind foot sticks out like a thumb and prints without a claw
  • The splayed thumb almost never prints with the rest of the foot
  • Often wanders in a loose zigzag instead of following a line

Confused with: The raccoon: a raccoon print looks like a full hand with a broad palm, an opossum print looks like a star with one ray pulled out

What to do: Opossums are nomadic and usually leave on their own within days, so the print alone is rarely a reason to trap

Striped skunk tracks

Striped skunk

Mephitis mephitis
1 to 1.6 in front, up to 1.8 in behind
  • Five toes with long, blunt front claws that print clearly, often 0.3 in or more in front of the toes
  • Small feet for the size of the animal, close together in a slow walk
  • The heel of the hind foot usually prints, which makes the hind track look longer than the front

Confused with: Nothing at this size shows such long front claws: if the claws print like small fingers, it is a skunk digging

What to do: A den under a porch or shed is the usual reason for the tracks; block the opening only after you are certain nothing is inside

Photo: garth_harwood, CC BY 4.0
Eastern gray squirrel tracks

Eastern gray squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis
Front 0.7 to 1.2 in, hind 1.5 to 2 in
  • Four toes on the front foot, five on the hind, with thin claws
  • Bounding gait: the two hind feet land ahead of the front feet, so the tracks look like two marks followed by two larger ones
  • The pair of tracks is roughly as wide as the animal is long

Confused with: The Norway rat, which is smaller, keeps its tracks closer together and drags its tail through the line

What to do: Tracks on a roof or in a gutter mean the entry is at the roofline, not at ground level

Photo: mbwildlife, CC BY 4.0
Eastern cottontail tracks

Eastern cottontail

Sylvilagus floridanus
Hind foot 2.5 to 3 in, front foot about 1 in
  • The hind foot is much longer than the front, and the sole is covered in fur, so the print looks soft with no clear pads
  • Bounding gait, always with the hind feet ahead of the front feet
  • The landing track shows four toes on the front foot and four on the hind

Confused with: The squirrel: a rabbit print is bigger, softer at the edges and shows no pad detail at all

What to do: A line of these through a garden bed is the animal, not the damage: look for clipped stems at 45 degrees to confirm browsing

Photo: brandoncorder, CC BY 4.0
Beaver tracks

Beaver

Castor canadensis
Hind foot 5 to 7 in, front foot about 2.5 in
  • Webbed hind foot, huge next to the small front print
  • The wide flat tail drags between the tracks, leaving a smooth band in mud or snow
  • Tracks lead straight into water rather than running along the bank

Confused with: The muskrat, which also drags its tail but is a third of the size and leaves a thin line instead of a wide band

What to do: Do not touch the dam: a flow device that holds the water at a set level solves flooding without trapping the animal

Muskrat tracks

Muskrat

Ondatra zibethicus
1 to 1.7 in
  • Small five-toed prints with partially webbed hind feet
  • A thin tail drag runs through the middle of the track line
  • Prints cluster on the mud ramps at the water line and on feeding platforms

Confused with: The Norway rat, which has the same drag but rarely works the water edge, and the beaver, which is far larger

What to do: Damage shows up as burrows in the bank and cut vegetation: a bank burrow can undermine a pond edge or a dock footing

Norway rat tracks

Norway rat

Rattus norvegicus
0.8 to 1.2 in
  • Four toes on the front foot, five on the hind, with bare pads that print clearly
  • A straight tail drag is the giveaway, and it is often the only part you see in dust or flour
  • Tracks run along walls and pipes instead of crossing open floor

Confused with: The house mouse, which leaves a much smaller print and a finer drag, and the squirrel, which lands in pairs

What to do: Dust a strip of floor along a wall overnight: a run of prints in one line tells you where to put the trap

Photo: prokhozhyj, CC BY 4.0
Nine-banded armadillo tracks

Nine-banded armadillo

Dasypus novemcinctus
1.5 to 2.5 in
  • Four toes on the front foot with a very long middle claw, five on the back foot
  • The middle claw leaves a deep groove, which is what makes the print look three-toed
  • Wanders in a loose line with the tail dragging behind it

Confused with: The skunk, which also shows long digging claws but with five toes and no tail drag

What to do: Armadillos dig for grubs under lawns and burrow under slabs and porches: fixing the grubs usually ends the digging

Photo: nonato_, CC BY 4.0
White-tailed deer tracks

White-tailed deer

Odocoileus virginianus
2 to 3.5 in long
  • Two toes only, each pointed at the front, so the print is heart-shaped with a split down the middle
  • Dew claws print as two small dots behind the hoof only in deep mud or snow
  • Walks in a direct register, putting the hind foot almost exactly into the front print

Confused with: The feral hog, whose hoof print is wider and rounder with more blunt toes, and which shows the dew claws far more often

What to do: Browsing damage plus ticks: the same animal that clips the plants carries the ticks into the yard

Photo: nflicker101, CC BY 4.0
Bobcat tracks

Bobcat

Lynx rufus
2 to 3 in across
  • Four toes and a round pad with three lobes at the back edge, and no claw marks at all
  • Much wider stance and much larger than a domestic cat print
  • Walks in a direct register along trails, fences and logs

Confused with: The domestic cat, which prints the same shape at half the size, and any dog, which shows claws

What to do: A bobcat in the yard means prey in the yard: secure the food first, keep cats and small dogs in at night, and never feed it

Photo: garth_harwood, CC BY 4.0
Feral hog tracks

Feral hog

Sus scrofa
2 to 3.5 in
  • Cloven hoof with two rounded toes that often splay apart on soft ground
  • Dew claws print as two small marks behind the hoof far more often than in deer, because hogs walk heavier
  • Rooted, overturned soil and a wandering line rather than a neat trail

Confused with: The deer, whose print is narrower, pointed and rarely shows the dew claws

What to do: Report rooting to the state agency: feral hogs are a regulated invasive species, and the rules are not the same as for a native animal

Photo: clementm, CC BY 4.0
River otter tracks

River otter

Lontra canadensis
2.5 to 4 in
  • Five toes with webbing between them, and a wide pad behind
  • Slides leave a smooth trough in snow or mud, often 20 feet or more long, ending at the water
  • Tracks almost always run between water and a log, a rock or a bank hole

Confused with: The beaver, which also works the water edge but drags a wide flat tail instead of leaving a narrow slide

What to do: Otters follow fish, so a pond with stocked fish and otter slides will lose fish: exclusion around the pond beats trapping

Photo: muir, CC BY 4.0
Gray fox tracks

Gray fox

Urocyon cinereoargenteus
1.5 to 2 in
  • Four toes and a triangular pad with a clear lobe at the front, and claws that print because they cannot be retracted
  • Compact, almost circular arrangement of the toes around the pad
  • Walks in a direct register, and it climbs trees

Confused with: The bobcat, which is bigger and shows no claws, and the domestic dog, whose print is looser and blunter

What to do: Dens under decks and sheds happen in spring: check in June, after the pups are mobile, before you close anything up

Photo: wendelyns, CC BY 4.0

How to read a track without guessing

Every print answers four questions, and the order matters because the last one only matters when the first three leave you with two candidates.

  1. Count the toes. It splits the list faster than anything else, and it is the one feature that does not change with the ground.
  2. Look in front of the toes. Claws print as small dots or short dashes, and their absence is just as informative as their presence.
  3. Read the pad. Round with a lobed rear edge is a cat, a broad palm with fingers is a raccoon, two clean halves are a hoof.
  4. Measure it and read the pattern. A direct register walk, a bound with the hind feet ahead, or a loose wander, and the measurement that separates a bobcat from a house cat or a deer from a hog.

Ground decides how much of that you get. Wet mud and a thin layer of snow hold the detail, dry sand and gravel lose it, and a print in dust is often only worth the outline. When the ground is poor, wait for rain or read the other signs in the same place, because the tracks and the droppings usually point at the same animal.

What the tracks are telling you about the problem

A single print is usually nothing. A route is something, and the routes are easy to read once you know where to look for them.

  • On a roof, a gutter or a fascia board. The animal is climbing to a gap, so the tracks show you where. Raccoons and squirrels both use one path, which is why the prints look worn into the same corner every night.
  • Along a wall inside, or through dust on a shelf. Rats and mice run the edge of a room rather than crossing it. A line of prints with a tail drag in it is the fastest way to place traps.
  • Under a porch, a deck or a shed. A print that enters and does not leave, with loose soil at the entrance, is a den rather than a visit. Spring is when that happens, and the fix is to wait until the young are mobile before closing anything.
  • At the water edge. Webbed hind feet plus a tail drag mean beaver or muskrat, and webbed feet with a slide mean otter. All three are working the bank, not the lawn.

More signs in the same series: the animal tracks chart and the snake shed skin guide, both built the same way. If you would rather answer two questions and get the shortlist, the what did I find tool does that. These charts cover Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, while the operator directory covers six states: Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, Indiana, Louisiana and Virginia.

Safety, in one short list

Tracks are harmless. The animal that left them is not necessarily, and some of the species on this chart are protected or regulated depending on the state you are in.

  • Do not follow a fresh track into a crawlspace, a shed or a brush pile where the animal may be cornered.
  • Keep pets away from the area, and keep cats and small dogs in at night where bobcat or coyote tracks show up.
  • Never feed a wild animal to get a better photo. Feeding is what turns a passing animal into a problem.
  • Some of these species are protected or regulated, so a licensed operator is the safe route when removal is needed. My guide to choosing a wildlife removal company covers what to ask.

Both leave five toes and a hand-like print at roughly the same size. The raccoon has a broad palm pad across the middle of the print and claws on all five toes, and it puts the hind foot beside or ahead of the front foot. The opossum shows an inner toe on the hind foot that sticks out like a thumb, prints without a claw, and almost never touches the rest of the foot. If you see one ray pulled away from the print, it is an opossum.