The Encyclopedia of Tracks and Scats: A Comprehensive Guide to the Trackable Animals of the United States and Canada [Paperback]

Len McDougall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2004

The Encyclopedia of Tracks and Scats is the first comprehensive guidebook for identifying the tracks and scats of all trackable animals of the United States and Canada. With ample use of photographs and line drawings, Len McDougall, an adroit tracker and an experienced teacher of tracking skills, takes the reader step-by-step from basic identification skills to interpretation and understanding of the animal's behavior by means of its tracks and scats. The Encyclopedia of Tracks and Scats also offers a handy key of track and scat characteristics that enables the reader to quickly verify the source of any markings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"His descriptions of scat-the poop pictures, as it were-will surely capture the imagination of even the most video-game hooked child, at least for a moment."--Santa Fe New Mexican

"Good stuff."--Statesman Journal

About the Author

Len McDougall is a full-time outdoor writer and professional photographer and illustrator with more than thirty years' experience in the North Woods. He teaches survival classes by appointment and tests outdoors products and has also worked as a field guide and tracker. His books include The Complete Tracker, The Field & Stream Wilderness Survival Handbook, Made for the Outdoors, The Outdoors Almanac, and Practical Outdoor Survival.

He lives in Paradise, Michigan.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; 1st edition (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592280706
• ISBN-13: 978-1592280704
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Sports
  • #38 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Veterinary

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars not what I expected, March 11, 2006

By 

Kathleen M. Bordick - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Tracks and Scats: A Comprehensive Guide to the Trackable Animals of the United States and Canada (Paperback)

I was very disappointed with the Tracks and Scats Encyclopedia because of the hand drawn tracks. Len boasts "ample use of photographs and line drawings" for identifying tracks. His photographs are of animals, of which I am familiar, and his line drawings are of the scat and tracks; disappointing because it was for authenticity of the scat and tracks that I purchased the book. I wanted actual pictures of tracks and scat, a representation of what I would see in the field, not something I would use in a greeting card or placemat. I would not recommend this book to anyone that has spent more than 2 days out-of-doors. I may actually donate this book to the high school library and buy a Peterson's Guide.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save your money, March 20, 2007

By 

Mike Patterson "Mike Patterson" (Astoria, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Tracks and Scats: A Comprehensive Guide to the Trackable Animals of the United States and Canada (Paperback)

McDougal's _Tracks and Scat_ was a major disappointment. One presumes that a work with the word "encyclopedia" in it would live up to its subtitle, "a comprehensive guide to trackable animals in the United States and Canada". It certainly covers plenty of animals, but it's hardly comprehensive. There are very few photos and most of them are of poor quality and difficult to make out. The black-and-white drawings of various species are done in a style that's so amateurish that some of the drawings are laugh-out-loud funny (the bobcat and wolverine are particularly sad). The track drawings are better than the animal drawings, but I would argue that Ian Sheldon's back-pocket guide _Animal Tracks of Washington and Oregon_ (1997 Lone Pine Press) is a much better (and less expensive) reference if one is looking for a straight animal track guide.

Perhaps most annoying is that even though the word scat is in the title, there are only a couple of photos of scat and a couple of crappy drawings. The "comprehensive" descriptions of scat for most species amounts to a couple sentences that do next to nothing to help the tracker differentiate cats from dogs from mustellids. It is in this regard that one feels most egregiously ripped off.

So, don't be fooled. Leave this book on the shelf and let it go quietly out of print....

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Encyclopedia of Tracks and Scats: A Comprehensive Guide to the Trackable Animals of the United States and Canada, April 28, 2008

By 

Wilderness (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Tracks and Scats: A Comprehensive Guide to the Trackable Animals of the United States and Canada (Paperback)

This book was a huge dissapointment. All pictures are either sketches, line drawings or black and white photos. If you want pictures/photos, and want them in color, don't buy this book. The title is very misleading. Got a new book. Turned the first page and the binding cracked.