this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2024
325 points (87.7% liked)

science

14658 readers
236 users here now

just science related topics. please contribute

note: clickbait sources/headlines aren't liked generally. I've posted crap sources and later deleted or edit to improve after complaints. whoops, sry

Rule 1) Be kind.

lemmy.world rules: https://mastodon.world/about

I don't screen everything, lrn2scroll

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

There will certainly be areas where the trail disappears, but tracking isn’t necessarily about locating every individual footfall.

With an understanding of movement and behavior, one can make inferences about where the animal went to find and follow the next sign.

Even moving over rock or packed soil, sign is left. You may not be able to perceive it yourself, but to someone who spends hours a day reading and studying the ground over the span of years, those subtle differences are perceptible.

An animal will eventually reach a place to stop and rest, but with repeated interruption that rest won’t count for much.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

I will acknowledge that things that seem impossible to me are probably easy for people who engage in those activities frequently. So, you're probably right.