Customer Reviews

The Complete Tracker The Tracks, Signs and Habits of North American Wildlife

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Seriously, Mr. Mc Dougall has put together an informative book about the art of tracking. I gave this book to my wildlife biologist husband and he gave it a thumb's up which is worthy of 5 stars.

For a lay person such as myself, I have learned so much from the handy, transportable book. We spend alot of time outdoors, and I enjoy pulling out our various compact resource books to enhance the experience. This book is appropriate for all levels of tracker interest and certainly goes into more information than simply identifying scat. The book offers at least 80 drawings to assist in track identification of approximately 45 species of wildlife. You will gain knowledge as to age of scat (when was the animal here) terraine conditions, habit details, behavior, and potential for danger to humans. The guide is perfect for hiker, hunter and nature enthusiast. This is a great time of year (summer vacation) to promote more than campfire s'mores..bring this book along with you on your next outdoor adventure and spark true appreciation for what surrounds you. (and what you unknowingly trample on!)

I have been to Tom Brown's Tracker school in New Jersey and own several tracking books. This is a great book for people who want to know an overall knowledge of the most common animals in the US. This is not a book completely about the art of tracking. If you are into that get Tom Brown Jr. The Science and Art of Tracking.

I'll just be walking through the woods, when I see some scat. I think its deer, but I figure I'll check and see how old it is. Yup, it's deer...no tracks are on the ground though. Take out the book, in no time I know signs and habits of whitetail deer. The Complete Tracker is handy for anyone who's outside...even a 13 year old!

After reading McDougall's book, walking in the outdoors is a whole new (and much richer) experience for me. And that includes the local city park as much as anywhere else.

The book does a very good job of showing habitats, tracks and scat of different animals, as well as pictures of each animal (although I wouldn't have minded a few more pictures than what he has). He also includes stories from what he has observed himself and stories from others as well. This makes the book very readable - the story about the badgers by the side of the road on page 166 is especially hilarious.

There is interesting information about different species on almost every page. There is also a great amount of information about observing and tracking wildlife, including tips like wearing hats and avoiding perfumed or color-brightening laundry soaps.

This is really a very interesting book and I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to open their eyes and see more of the world around them. It has something for the casual observer and for the serious hunter.

This is the best tracking book I own. In fact, it's the best tracking resource I'm aware of (including web-based material). The author writes well, so the book is well organized and the information is presented clearly. The index is excellent -- much better than most books -- so it's easy to locate the info you need. The tracks are illustrated by drawings rather than photos, which I might have preferred, but the drawings are clear, and I suppose they illustrate key features better than most photos would. Best of all, this author really knows his stuff, and he writes about animals with passion and insight. As a result, this book is much more than a "track identification" manual. It provides serious -- but easy to read -- information about the animals whose tracks it covers. And the author has enriched the descriptions with interesting personal anecdotes about his own wildlife encounters. Finally, the author has included very helpful information about finding and observing animals in the wild. Highly recommended for people who enjoy wildlife observation.

If you go to the Natural Resources Commission office of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Petoskey, Michigan, you'll find The Complete Tracker on their reference bookshelf. If it's good enough for a tribal biologist to use as a reference, this book is certainly good enough for me.

Overall, it is somewhat an interesting read but, it contains false, misleading information through out the book. One example is that the author states on page 75 "Feral swine lack tusks (although some with mixed blood have them)". Domesticated and Feral hogs are both born with canine teeth (tusks). Farmers remove the canine teeth within a few days of birth so swine will not injure each other, their owners, or damage property. The crude drawings of scat (animal droppings) aren't very useful aids in identifying animals, color photos would be much more useful.

This book tells you not only the tracks, signs, and description of animals but also their habits, mating habits, seasonal habits, and food excellent for hunters, trappers, farmers, ranchers and anyone else who either works in or enjoys the outdoors.

I worked in Law Enforcement and in my particular law enforcement branch I use tracking everyday. I have personally met Mr. McDougall and have spent sometime with him in the woods during a private three-day tracking and survival class. Mr. McDougall is very knowledgable and lives to be near to nature. He owns several wolves and has overwelming knowledge in wildlife. I used to live in Michigan and it was a pleasure to meet and spend time learning from Mr. McDougall. I only wish that I still lived in the U.P. and could benefit from his knowledge, face-to-face, still further.

Shawn Wilson