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What Rodents Don't Leave a Footprint?

A rodent is small animal in the mammal kingdom -- although some are not so small. The beaver is considered a rodent although it is bigger than some small dogs. Size does not always dictate what is and what is not a rodent. Beavers and porcupines are rodents; whereas shrews and moles are not. Most rodents have four toes up front and five in the back. According to the Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management, all rodents leave five-toed tracks with their back feet. However, there are some rodents that do not leave footprints at all.

Urban Rats
- No footprints here.
  
  The infamous urban rat that lives in the concrete jungle does not leave a footprint. This is because footprints do not take hold on sidewalks, streets and back alleyways. Any pest controller who wants to track a rat in the city is out of luck. Try a different method. There are rare circumstances when the urban rat will leave a footprint. This only happens when they walk through drying cement on sidewalks. There is also very rare occasions when they do find mud, but 95 percent of the time they leave no footprints.
The Beaver
- This beaver is leaving no footprints
  
  One of the largest rodents is the beaver. The beaver lives in the water or in its beaver hut. Try and track a swimming beaver in the water by their footprints and you will be searching all day. When the beaver is not swimming, it is crawling on logs building beaver dams. Sometimes on the shore it will slide into the water and leave a funnel-shaped indention, but no footmarks. On occasion they do leave footprints on the shoreline, but 95 percent of their movements leave no footprints.
The Mouse in Your House
- Your mouse in the cupboard leaves no footprint
  
  The pesky mouse running amok in your house, garage, and cupboard will leave no trace except for a few bite marks in plastic food containers. Do not attempt to track the mouse in your cupboard. You will never find them using tried and tested tracking techniques. On rare occasions they do leave a footprint. This is when they have broken into your flour. Only then will you be able to follow their white tracks.
Desert Pocket Mouse in a Sandstorm
- The Desert Pocket Mouse inhabits desert regions in the American Southwest. It is found in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. Anyone looking for desert pocket mice footprints in a sandstorm should just forget about it. Any footprints will be covered just as fast as they make them when the wind is howling. Tracking this mouse in the desert after a sandstorm is a waste of time.

Animals & Science