Last month, we kicked off the new "Natural Mystery" feature in the Minnesota Wildlife Tracking Project Newsletter. Our first mystery was an exceptionally challenging track--roughly a "bonus" level question on a CyberTracker Specialist evaluation. This month's Natural Mystery is a little easier :)

This photograph was taken in a residential neighborhood in Southeast Minneapolis. The questions are "Who?" and "Which foot?" A complete answer will identify the animal to species, state which foot left the track, explain how you arrived at that answer and explain how you eliminated other candidates and possibilities (it is, after all, a raccoon until proven otherwise). Remember, there is no penalty for a wrong answer! Have fun and give us your best reasoned guess.

To download the photo or view it larger size, right click the image below.
Answers are due by January 31.

Have a photo that you think would make a good Natural Mystery? Please email it to <poppele@umn.edu>