Hooves

Goat

Goat footprints show cleaved (two symmetrical parts) hooves with slightly incurved tips. The footprints of goats are more kidney shaped (due to the curve on the inside of the toe) than sheep, pig or deer prints. Footprint dimensions are approximately 55mm long by 25 mm wide for adults.

Can be confused with:
Goat footprints can be confused with those of deer, particularly sika deer, but goats have more kidney shaped footprints (due to the curve on the inside of the toe). They are also distinguishable from those of sheep, as the latter have blunt tips.

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Chamois

Chamois have a cloven hoof with pointed toes; the imprint of each cleave measuring about 25 mm wide × 70 mm long. The imprint of sharply pointed toes are often visible in their tracks. The toe prints may splay quite widely if the chamois was running downhill. Footprints are commonly be found in soil, streambed sand or snow. Chamois hooves are specially designed for surefootedness, with a combination of hard and soft surfaces to give excellent grip; the outer edge comprises a narrow rim of hard horn-like keratin. Sometimes the indentations made by this narrow outer edge of the hoof are clearly distinguishable in foot prints

Can be confused with:

Chamois tracks could be confused with those of red deer, tahr, sheep and feral goat where the distributions of one or more of these species overlaps with chamois. In suitable substrates, chamois tracks may be distinguished by the deeper indentation made by the narrow outer margins of the hoof.

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Himalayan Tahr (thar)

Himalayan tahr have cloven (split) hoof prints, almost square in area and are about 45 × 35 mm in size, although this varies with the size of the animal, bull (male) prints often being larger than those of nannies (females). Like goats and deer, tahr have dew claws; small claw-like digits positioned slightly higher up the leg to the rear of the hoof. On soft surfaces dew claw imprints may be seen behind the hoof print.

The hooves of the tahr have a flexible rubber-like core that enables them to grip smooth rocks, and hard, sharp keratin (like finger nails) at the rim of their hooves that aids hoof durability and enables the hooves to be lodged in small footholds. The outer rim of the hoof print is the deepest and most pronounced part of the footprint. 

Can be confused with:

Himalayan tahr hoof prints could be confused with those of chamois, red deer or sheep. However, chamois and red deer hoof prints have more sharply pointed toes, and red deer hoof prints appear more rounded in overall shape. No other types of hooved animals, occur in tahr favoured habitats.

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Fallow deer

Like all other species of deer, fallow deer have cloven hooves, meaning each hoof is divided into two parts called cleaves or toes. Dew claws, small claw like digits, are positioned slightly higher up the leg and to the rear of the hoof – these may show in hoofprints when the animal is running or in soft surfaces such as mud. A fallow deer footprint is approximately 50–60mm long and 30–40mm wide. The most obvious parts of the footprint are often the two pointed toes, or the rounded heel. The print of the hindfoot usually overlaps that of the forefoot.

Can be confused with:
Fallow deer footprints will look similar to other deer species. They can also be confused with goat, sheep and pig footprints. Deer footprints tend to be narrower than those left by goats, sheep, and pigs and pigs often leave a dew claw mark in soft ground.

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Sika deer

Like all other species of deer, sika deer have cloven hooves, with each hoof divided into two toes (also known as cleaves). Dew claws, small claw like digits, are positioned slightly higher up the leg to the rear of the hoof.
Sika deer footprints are often seen in muddy patches of forest floor or on alpine tops, and in sand on river berms. They characteristically show two pointed toes, although on harder ground a poorly defined heel is sometimes all that is obvious. Sometimes if the ground is very soft, or the deer has been moving quickly the toes become splayed and impressions from the dew claws are visible.

Can be confused with:
Sika deer footprints look similar to the footprints of other deer species. They can also be confused with goat, sheep and pig footprints. Deer footprints tend to be narrower than those left by sheep or pigs.

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Rusa (Javan) deer

Like all other species of deer, rusa deer have cloven hooves, meaning each hoof is cloven into two toes (called cleaves). Dew claws, small claw like digits, are positioned slightly higher up the leg to the rear of the hoof.
Footprints characteristically show two pointed toes, although on harder ground, a poorly defined heel is sometimes all that is visible. Sometimes if the ground is very soft, or the deer has been moving quickly, the toes become splayed and impressions of the dew claws are left. The hoofprints of a mature rusa stag can measure up to 60mm long by 38mm wide. Those of a hind are somewhat smaller.

Can be confused with:
The footprints of rusa deer can be confused with those of other species of deer in areas where their ranges overlap. They can also be confused with the footprints of pigs and goats.

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White-tailed deer

Like all other species of deer, white-tailed deer have hooves that are cloven into two toes (or cleaves). Dew claws, small claw like digits, are positioned slightly higher up the leg and to the rear of the hoof. The average length of stag hooves is 465mm
White-tailed deer footprints are often seen in muddy patches of forest, and in sand. They characteristically show two pointed toes, although on harder ground a poorly defined heel is sometimes all that is obvious. If the ground is very soft, or the deer has been moving quickly, the toes may become splayed and impressions of the dew claws may be visible.

Can be confused with:
The average size of an adult white-tailed deer footprint will be smaller than that of a red deer, but larger than that of a fallow deer (but not always reliably so). They can also be confused with the footprints of other deer species, goats, sheep and pigs. Deer footprints tend to be narrower than those left by cows or pigs.

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Sambar deer

Like all other species of deer, sambar deer have cloven hooves, with each hoof divided into two toes (called cleaves). Dew claws, small claw like digits, are positioned slightly higher up the leg to the rear of the hoof.

Sambar deer footprints are often seen in muddy patches of the forest floor and in sand on river berms. They characteristically show two pointed toes, although on harder ground a poorly defined heel is sometimes all that is visible. Sometimes if the ground is very soft, or the deer has been moving quickly the toes become splayed and impressions of the dew claws are visible. The hoofprint of a large stag will not exceed 70mm by 45mm. Prints left by hinds (females) will be smaller, narrower and often shallower. Sambar deer footprints are often narrower than those from red deer, but not consistently so.

Can be confused with:
Although typically narrower, sambar deer footprints can be confused with those of red deer and other deer species whose ranges overlap that of sambar deer. They can also be confused with feral goat, sheep and feral pig footprints. However, deer footprints tend to be narrower than those left by sheep or pigs.

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Red deer

Like all other species of deer, red deer have cloven hooves, meaning each hoof is divided into two parts called toes or cleaves. Dew claws, small claw like digits, are positioned slightly higher up the leg to the rear of the hoof.

Red deer footprints are often seen in muddy patches of the forest floor or alpine tops, and in sand on river berms. They characteristically show two pointed toes, although on harder ground, a poorly defined heel is sometimes all that is visible. Sometimes if the ground is very soft, or the deer has been moving quickly, the toes become splayed and impressions for the dew claws are left.

Can be confused with:
Adult red deer footprints will be larger than most other deer species in New Zealand (with the exception of Wapiti). However, the footprints of smaller, younger animals and some small hinds will look similar to other deer species. They may also be confused with goat, sheep, cattle (calf) and pig footprints. Deer footprints tend to be narrower than those left by cows or pigs.

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Wapiti

Like all other species of deer, wapiti have cloven hooves, meaning each hoof is divided into two parts called toes or cleaves. The hoof of a pure-bred wapiti is larger than that of a red deer but smaller than that of cattle, and the toes are less pointed than in red deer. Wapiti hoof prints often look more like cattle prints than red deer prints but lack the large gap between the two toes that is obvious in cattle. Due to hybridisation between red deer and wapiti in Fiordland, the hoof prints may be hard to assign to a particular species as hoof shapes can vary and hoof sizes overlap.

Can be confused with:

Pure wapiti make larger footprints than any species of deer found in New Zealand. However, in New Zealand, particularly Fiordland, wapiti have hybridised with red deer. Consequently, it will be difficult to reliably differentiate wapiti hoof prints from those of red deer in most situations. Even if the print is characteristic of wapiti and subsequent identification of the animal showed it to be ‘wapiti-like’, genetic analysis may show the animal is primarily red deer. A print of a farm-escaped wapiti could potentially be confused with young cattle hoof footprints. They are unlikely to be confused with goat, sheep, or pig footprints because the ranges of these species do not overlap with wapiti except where there are farm-escapees and the prints of these species are much smaller than wapiti.

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Pig

Pigs have cloven hooves with two bilaterally symmetrical toes (called cleaves). The dew claws (lateral toes) are frequently evident because they are much lower down than those of deer and other ungulate species. When dew claw prints are present, they are behind and to the side of the cleaves. The cleaves are blunter than those of deer and goats, and in general the footprint is wider and rounder. Toe indentations are often splayed away from the central line. Hoof prints are about 50–80mm in length and 40–50 mm in width.

Can be confused with:
Pig footprints can be confused with those of deer, goats, and sheep. However, sheep hoof prints tend to be more pointed at the front, goat hoof prints are more kidney shaped (due to the curve on the inside of the toe), and deer hoof prints are longer and narrower. When deer dew claw prints are present, they are directly behind the main hooves, rather than behind and to the side.

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