Rodent Family
GAIT PATTERNS
Pattern of foot placement when an animal moves
Pacer- slow moving and usually in no hurry.
Mammal
Life
In
LaPorte County
Parks
Show 4 toes front, 5 toes rear, claws
Brown
Rat
General Shape
Normal Pace Gait: Galloper
Cross Pattern
Gallopers: Tree Squirrel, Ground Squirrel, Mouse,
Rat, Mole, Shrew, Chipmunk, Ground Hog, Marmot
Tree dwellers show both pairs of feet parallel
Ground dwellers show dominant foot landing first
Pacers: Porcupine, Muskrat, Beaver
In deep mud show 5 toes in front (a hidden thumb)
Diagonal Walker- foot placements are diagonal
separated from each other instead of side by side.
Shorttail Shrew
Deer Mouse
Bounder- step with their front feet at the same
time and then both back feet.
Shrews can be mistaken as moles.
They both eat insects and live
mostly underground, have no ear,
and their eyes are very small.
Shrew’s feet are roughly the same
size, where mole front feet are
larger than rear.
Deer mice are the most wildly
distributed mouse in North
America. They can be gray to
reddish in color, and their tails
are light below and dark on top.
Mice are great prey for larger
predators like hawks.
Galloper- 3 beat walk where back feet land at
about the same time and front feet land with a
small time lapse between them.
•
•
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Information on some of the mammals that can
be found in LaPorte County.
Attention:
No animals can be taken from
the park, except fish that are of
legal size and number.
No animals be released into the
park.
Dogs must be on leashes at all
times.
Thank You
LaPorte County Parks
Department
Red Mill County Park Canada Lodge
Administrative Office
0185 South Holmesville Road
LaPorte, IN 46350
(219) 873-7014 Ext 223 or (219) 325-8315
Luhr County Park Nature Center
Naturalist Office
(219) 324-5855 TTY/TDD/Voice
www.laportecountyparks.org
Gray
Eastern Chipmunk
Woodchuck
Chipmunks are the smallest
ground squirrel in Indiana. They
are easily distinguished with
their black and white striping on
their sides and face, cheeks
filled with food, and tail
sticking up as they run.
Woodchucks are also called
ground hogs. Besides myths of
helping to determine when spring
will come, woodchucks are
known for burrowing
underground, and their light
brown body and dark brown tail
and feet.
Muskrat
Beaver
Muskrats have a long tail
flattened side to side use to
for swimming. They can be
mistaken as rats and beavers
with their brown bodies and
naked tail. They can burrow
into banks or build a house in
the water with plants.
Beavers are as identifiable as the
marks and structures they leave
behind. Their strong teeth cut
down trees which are used to
make dams. They have large
webbed back feet and a large tail
flatted top to bottom. Beavers
are the largest rodent in Indiana.
Fox Squirrel, Pine Squirrel, & Gray Squirrel
These tree squirrels can be identified with their large bushy tails.
Fox squirrels have large reddish-orange -brown bodies. Gray
squirrels’ gray bodies are slightly smaller than a fox squirrel. Pine
Squirrels are red and just larger than chipmunks. Gray squirrels
like large woods, and fox squirrels like smaller woods and tree
edges. Pine squirrels, also called red squirrels, live Anywhere,
especially where pine or other conifer trees grow. Most of their
diets consist of seeds and nuts.
Pine
Fox
CAT FAMILY
General Shape
Show 4 toes front, 4 toes rear, claws (rarely)
Normal Pace Gait: Galloper
Mountain
Deer Family
Show 2 toes front, 2 toes rear
Whitetail Deer
General Shape
Normal Pace Gait: Diagonal Walker
Heart Shaped
Front feet 1/2 size of rear feet and larger toes on
outside (speed or soft ground may spread toes and
dew claws appear)
If back steps are wider, it is a female. If front are wider,
it is a male. If they are same then it is an immature deer.
Lion
Front feet 1/2 size of rear
No claws (95% of time) - sometimes out during a hunt
Feral Cat– 4 toes equal size
Mountain Lion– 4 toes equal size
Bobcat– inner toes larger, dent in heel pad
Lynx– outer toes larger
Round
Dew Claws
Bobcat
Feral cats are domestic cats that have
learned to live in the wild. They can cause
serious problems by eating song birds and
other small prey species needed by native
animals.
Bobcats have been reported but
are very rare. Bobcats have fur
tufts on their ears, and their tail is
only about 5 inches long with a
black tip.
General Shape
Show 4 toes front, 4 toes rear, claws
Dog
Deer have large white tails and large orange-brown to gray-brown
bodies. Males, “bucks”, have antlers that grow during summer and
fall off in late winter. Females are also called “does.” In early
1900s, deer were very rare in Indiana until later reintroduced.
Others
Show 5 toes front, 5 toes rear, claws
Black Bear
General Shape
Normal Pace Gait: Pacer
Human looking
Raccoon, Opossum, Bear, Skunk (from Weasel Family)
Human looking, but fuzzy front edge and round back edge
Normal Pace Gait: Diagonal Walker
Front feet 1/3 larger than rear feet
Dog– inner toes larger
Fox– 4 toes equal sized, shows ridge on heal pad
Wolf– 4 toes equal sized
Coyote– outer toes larger
Egg Shape
Red
Gray
Red and Gray Fox
Coyote
Red Fox are red colored and have
white tip on bushy tail. Gray Fox
are rusty gray colored and have a
black stripe down the top of tail.
Gray fox climb trees, and red fox
stay on the ground.
Coyotes look like medium
sized gray dogs but with a
bushy tail and pointy nose.
They are nocturnal predators.
Rabbits & Hares
General Shape
Striped Skunk
Raccoon
Skunks are one of the best-known
mammals with a black body with white
striping from forehead to tail. It protects
itself from predators by spraying an
odorous liquid from a gland in its rear.
This nocturnal hunter eats plants and
Raccoon are easily recognized
with a black mask on their face
and rings on their tails. This
nocturnal animal can be found
along creeks or in trash cans
searching for food.
Opossum
Opossums are the only marsupial in North America. Marsupial’s
young are born premature and complete their development in a
fur-lined pouch on the belly of the female. They have white faces
and grayish bodies with bald tails.
Show 4 toes front, 4 toes rear
Normal Pace Gait: Galloper
Jack Rabbit
Weasel Family
General Shape
Rear
Front
(toes open)
Whitetail Deer
House Cat or Feral Cat
Dog Family
.
Rear
with elbow
Elbow on the rear may or may not show
Rabbit– rear feet 2 times larger than front
Hare– rear feet 4-5 times larger than front
Cottontail
Cottontails are very common. These plant
eaters have 3 inch ears and a white cottony
tail. They are a good prey species for larger
predators like fox and owls.
Box Shape
Show 5 toes front, 5 toes rear, claws
Normal Pace Gait: Bounder
Badger
All are ball walkers (except Skunk—see Others)
Weasel, Mink, Fisher, Otter, Marten, Wolverine, Badger
Longtail Weasal
Longtail weasel has a 10 inch long and slender body and neck. It has a
brown back and whitish stomach. Its tail is 6 inches long with a black
tip. Feed during the night on mostly on small mammals and birds.