August 2026 Natural Mystery Answered

We can learn a great deal studying the tracks of African animals. Many, including this one, mix familiar and unfamiliar features and help us re-think what characteristics are most important when narrowing down our list of candidates. Congratulations to Bill Kass, who recognized this track from one of his visits to southern Africa.

This is the track of a cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus).

I’ll turn it over to Bill now to share his insights, process, and ever-infectious enthusiasm:

“Oh such a wonderful track! I knew this immediately because all of us during a certification with the San Master Trackers in the Kalahari missed this one, most of of mistaking it for an African wild dog.

I like to think of a cheetah as the greyhound of the cat family. The tracks are very elongated, which is atypical of most felines, but still showing one key feature - the trilobing of the heel pad in the back. In the tracks we saw in the Kalahari, this was not so evident, but the blunt (bilobing) of the front of the track was still visible there, but barely discernible here. This is a left because the slight lead of T3 indicates left side. Awesome track!”

Bill nailed it, this is a cheetah track. And, as Bill’s experience alludes, these tracks are often mistaken for canid tracks or hyena tracks. In addition to having unusually long feet for felids, cheetah’s have blunt claws that show prominent in their tracks. Specialized for running, rather than for capturing prey, cheetah’s claws are stout and non-retractable. Yet as we look beyond the narrow profile and the stout claws, cheetah tracks are still distinctively feline. In addition to the “M” shaped palm pad that bill describes, the toes have a tear-drop shape and asymmetric arrangement characteristic of other felids.

Congratulations again to Bill for correctly identifying this track, and thanks to everyone who wrote in and shared your process.