Badger footprints and other UK tracks compared
Badger
5 toes · about 5 cm long, up to 6.5 cm wide
Broad kidney-shaped pad, five toes in a row, long claw marks
Red fox
4 toes · about 5 cm long, 4 cm wide
Neat oval with toes close together in a diamond shape; often walks in a straight line. Red fox profile
Cat
4 toes · about 3.5 cm long, 4 cm wide
Round, with no claw marks; smaller than a badger's
Rabbit
4 toes · front about 3.5 cm long; hind more than twice as long
Two long hind prints with two small front prints behind them. Rabbit profile
Grey or red squirrel
5 toes back, 4 front · front about 3.5 cm; hind about 4.5 cm
Small, spread toes with claws, like tiny hands
Deer
Cloven hoof · size varies by species
Two long halves with a gap, pointed at the front; sheep prints are rounder. Roe deer profile
Hedgehog
5 toes (often only 4 show) · about 2.5 cm long, 3 cm wide
Tiny handprints, usually without claw marks. Hedgehog profile
How do you tell a badger print from a dog's?
Count the toes: a badger has five, a dog four. A badger's pad is also much broader than it is long, and its claw marks are long and set well ahead of the toes.
How do you tell a fox print from a dog's?
A fox print is narrower, with the toes closer together, giving a diamond shape. A dog's print is rounder and usually bigger. Foxes tend to trot in a straight line, while dogs wander about.
Where and when should you look?
Soft mud by gates, streams and puddles, damp sand, and fresh snow are the best places. Look early in the morning, before people and dogs walk over the night's tracks. Hedgehogs hibernate, so look for their prints in mud from spring to autumn rather than in snow.
Make a footprint trap
Smooth a tray of damp sand or mud near a hedge gap in your garden overnight, then check it in the morning. Never put one near a badger sett.