The Skill of Traditional 'Spoor' Tracking 1980-1989

Following animals, reading their spoor (ground tracks), they leave behind and observing other bush disturbances left in their wake are commonly referred to in the art of tracking. Working alongside competent trackers has provided me with real-time observational knowledge of animal behaviour occurring, following what the animal was doing at the time of its passing, fully interpreted while in the process of being followed. Working with a genuinely seasoned tracker is exhilarating, informative and extremely productive, boosting management operation efficiency considerably, comparable to any modern follow-up IT contrivance developed. I'm not referring to the many self-acclaimed trackers that abound, but rather the very few dedicated, experienced individuals who have accumulated many hundreds of hours tracking all their lives, who routinely follow their quarry even over solid surfaces such as bare sheetrock, who never fail to locate their quarry, quickly unravelling deliberate antitracking measures undertaken by poachers in and out of a river, for example, seldom deterred by deliberate avoidance antitracking antics.