“Who or What Has Been Here? Wildlife Tracking and Sign Interpretation in the Pacific Northwest”
Presenter: Andy Stratton, Wildlife Biologist for Panthera International
Wednesday, June 18, 2025, 7.00 p.m.
Rainshadow Hall, Dungeness River Nature Center
Free to attend.
Andy Stratton
We see pretty well, but compared to most other animals, including many birds, we don’t hear or smell very well. It’s often hard for us humans to interpret our surroundings unless we actually see it happen.
What is tracking? What are the basics of track and sign recognition? How can it be an engaging hobby and used in modern ecological research? We’ll answer these questions and also talk about how you can learn more by engaging in a community of trackers that is equally as rich as communities of birders.
Andy is currently the Project Coordinator for Panthera on the Olympic Cougar Project. He got his start in the wildlife research field through his skills in tracking, tested by the international standard set by CyberTracker. He has over 10 years’ experience studying wildlife track and sign and trailing in the Pacific Northwest and holds a Professional Tracker certification with CyberTracker North America. Over the past decade he has spent time in the field studying mountain lions, wolves and bobcats in Greater Yellowstone ecosystem and the temperate rainforests of Western Washington.