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"Oom Blou"!!! I think, bishop, that "Oom Blou" dropped the gauntlet, only to pick it up again ...

Now to your excellent question ...

Now you make me feel old ...

Earthworms create a small disturbance above ground by passing the earth they have swallowed out at the surface. If that appears over the spoor, you can know that the spoor is old.

They also appear above ground after heavy rain and sometimes in the early mornings. If you id the earthworm spoor, you can see whether the spoor you are following is older or younger than the earthworm spoor, giving you an indication of when the animal passed.

Fascinating stuff. Tx.

BTW, if you think you're old, Imberbe, you are! But, if you're as young as your posts suggest, then you have many many years of great forum interactions ahead!!

Imberbe, RichPrins calls you "Blueboy", but since I'm only 44 years young you must therefore be a Oom for me!

Getting back to the earthworms, yes, you're mostly correct.

They are mainly active at night, so if their little "mole-hills" are inside the spoor then the spoor is yesterday's or early last night's spoor. However, if the animal has trodden on the earthworm disturbance as you call it, then it is today's spoor. And here, if it is later in the day already the manner in which the disturbance appears after the spoor was left is also an indication.

If the soil pushed up had time to dry already it will be crumbled by the animal, whereas if it was still wet it would have been sorta mushed. That can also give you an indication of the approximate time of the spoor.

You're IT again

Great stuff - I love it! Thanks.

Guys, I love this! Next

When walking in the bush you sometimes see a mark on the ground. It is about 15 - 20 cm broad, and can be plus minus 1m in length. It is usually not straight but bent. It almost looks like someone took a rake and made the mark. It is usually visible on soft ground.

What made the mark?

An elephant dragging his trunk on the ground?

That would be the obvious first thought, but no, not this time.

I want to say pangolin but can't quite get to it with the clues...

Me neither ...

How many "rake fingers", or does that vary? And soft ground you say specifically, i.e. not seen on hard ground?

some sort of burrowing adder?

The "rake" is actually a flat object with no "fingers", but do tend to leave certain marks, mainly because of pebbles being dragged along but also because it is not completely flat.

It is not obvious on hard ground, but can happen there as well.

Not an adder or any burrowing species.