encountered under the bridge was something nei- ther canine nor feline nor rodent. Toward the end of class, the teacher pointed our attention to little holes lining the banks of the creek. There were dozens. “What do you think
could’ve made those holes?” Bob asked, chuck- ling to himself. We pon- dered what might’ve bur- rowed in. “Spiders?” I thought
of tarantulas. “Wood rats?” We had
learned about the diminu- tive rodents in class and seen some dainty prints that might belong to one. “Something that rac-
coons really like to eat,” Bob gave us a clue. We ventured a few more incorrect guesses. “No, no,” Bob laughed
as he revealed the identity of the mysterious hole- maker. “It’s crayfish!” We laughed, too, at the pres-
ence of crustaceans down there, but it made sense why there were so many different kinds of tracks by the water: that spot is popular not only for the drinks but for the snacks. Raccoons go there for the seafood. Voles and rats go
R E S E A R C H S T U D I E S Bobcat track
for the scraps, and bobcats go for the voles and rats. The San Diego Track-
ing Team began its efforts as Friends of Los Peñas- quitos Canyon in the late 1980s, partnering with the San Diego Biodiver- sity Project. Together they convinced the City of San Diego and Caltrans, among other agencies, of the importance of includ- ing wildlife corridors in urbanization plans. A “wildlife corridor” is a link or narrow area of native vegetation that joins larger areas of habitat between developed lands. Links between habitats are crucial to maintaining healthy viable populations of species. Over the years, several
San Diego County track- ing teams merged into
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• You have a mutation in the APC gene • You are at least 18 years old
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one umbrella group, while volunteers have been con- tinuously compiling data since 1996. The database on the California Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife website is available to the public. Collaborators such as San Diego State Uni- versity, the United States Geological Society, and the Center for Natural Land Management use and analyze the data. The team monitors
the county by choosing 60 one-kilometer trail sections, called transects, with regular monitoring of each. From Anza- Borrego Desert State Park, where Harter saw a bighorn sheep nursing a baby, to urban areas like Rose Canyon near Univer- sity City, volunteers walk “one usually hot and dusty trail (and muddy under- pass and dark tunnel or sandy wash) at a time and compile data one track and one scat at a time.” Senior trackers must have at least five years of dirt time before “holding the clipboard” on surveys. During the surveys,
volunteers look for signs of animals on the trail (going off-trail is a no-no) and the leader records findings on a chart. Apex predators bobcat, coy-
TRACK BY DENISE HARTER. BOBCAT BY MGUNTOWN/ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK
18 San Diego Reader February 25, 2016
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