The Tracks of the Gray Wolf

General Paw Shape

• The gray wolf's paw has one large, upside-down heart-shaped pad. This is surrounded by four, tear-dropped shaped toe pads. The nails are usually long enough to make a faint imprint at the tip of each toe pad. The general shape of the wolf's paw is very similar to domestic dogs, red wolves and coyotes, making it difficult to differentiate their tracks. Gray wolf prints can best be identified by their size.

Front Paws

• On the gray wolf, the front paw is significantly smaller than the rear paw. Nonetheless, it can still measure up to 4.5 inches long and 3 inches wide. This is quite large compared to the tracks of most dogs, coyotes and red wolves.

Rear Paws

• The wolf uses its larger back paws to propel itself forward while running. The back paws can measure up to 5 inches long and 3.5 inches wide. When trying to distinguish between wolf and coyote tracks, the presence of a larger rear paw is a strong indicator that a wolf passed through.

Tread

• The walking stride of a wolf is 26 to 30 inches. However, when they are running at top speed, their tracks may be clustered 6 to 8 feet apart. It is common for the rear paw to imprint over the top of the front paw due to the way that wolves run.