# What made these tracks?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-made-these-tracks/760003>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 15, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-made-these-tracks/760003 "2016-07-15T20:34:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-made-these-tracks/760003/1 "2016-07-15T20:34:36Z")

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I found these while I was out walking my dog this morning. They are too small to be a deer, plus they go in a straight line with an inch and a half separating one set from another. I’m in SW TX.

[https://www.flickr.com/photos/99746822@N03/28296238246/in/dateposted/](https://www.flickr.com/photos/99746822@N03/28296238246/in/dateposted/)

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-made-these-tracks/760003/2 "2016-07-15T20:44:10Z")

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Could be a young [Collared Peccary](https://books.google.com.pa/books?id=b5A9KgAve1UC&pg=PA229&lpg=PA229&dq=collared+peccary+tracks&source=bl&ots=oFT24ZVxbX&sig=ZajTmPChf7tdx6LNYhH-LNspVDU&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=collared%20peccary%20tracks&f=false)(javelina).

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**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-made-these-tracks/760003/3 "2016-07-15T20:45:39Z")

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I would have said wild pig, but “inch and a half separating one set from another”? The prints are an inch and a half apart? How big is the print itself?

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**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-made-these-tracks/760003/4 "2016-07-15T21:24:32Z")

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> [@Bear\_Nenno](#):
>
> I would have said wild pig, but “inch and a half separating one set from another”? The prints are an inch and a half apart? How big is the print itself?

Less than an inch, sorry. Those rocks by it are small pebbles. I didn’t have the time this morning or anything I could use to get a good size comparison.

There was only that row of tracks, no others. So I don’t think it’s the peccary. It was early morning and no people had been there, so I don’t think a second set got erased.

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**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-made-these-tracks/760003/5 "2016-07-15T21:31:50Z")

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a litter of baby pigs moving in a line?

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-made-these-tracks/760003/6 "2016-07-15T21:33:25Z")

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Chupacabra. The evidence indicates they mimic the footprints of other animals. They mimic the shape, size, fur, anatomy and DNA of other animals too.

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-made-these-tracks/760003/7 "2016-07-15T23:39:17Z")

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> [@Brodi](#):
>
> Less than an inch, sorry. Those rocks by it are small pebbles. I didn’t have the time this morning or anything I could use to get a good size comparison.
> 
> There was only that row of tracks, no others. So I don’t think it’s the peccary. It was early morning and no people had been there, so I don’t think a second set got erased.

Peccary (and young feral pigs) would be the smallest wild hoofed animal in the region.

Other native hoofed animals in Texas include:

Mule Deer  
White-tailed Deer  
Pronghorn  
Bighorn Sheep  
Bison

These would mostly be too big. I assume that the last three would probably not be near houses.

Texas also has several introduced species of Asian deer and antelope, but they are around the same size as deer.

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**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-made-these-tracks/760003/8 "2016-07-16T00:52:14Z")

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Sheeps and goaties …

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**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-made-these-tracks/760003/9 "2016-07-16T01:17:38Z")

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> [@watchwolf49](#):
>
> Sheeps and goaties …

Maybe, or Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs…
