#maybe incompatible tisms but yknow

[anonymusbosch]

a forever-baffling thing about my father is that he often asks me questions about things he is nominally interested in but seems to have no interest in gathering information to answer them, even from me.

dad: what kind of tracks do you think these are?

me: huh, that's really interesting! It looks almost like a sled or ski track or something manmade but being pulled by a dog? And the gait is really funky with the paws directly side-by-side. It almost makes me think of one of those two-legged dogs with the wheels in the front but with a little ski instead

dad: I think it's a beaver :)

me: Hm. Here's the pages from my mammal track book on beavers. The paws are really different shapes and sizes and super asymmetrical, and the tail drag seems like it should be covering part of the tracks but this thing has really fresh and neat looking tracks pressed into a very uniform drag. Maybe a carnivore walking in the pressed-down snow track left by something manmade?

me: I missed that it could be a 2x2 trot I'm not super familiar with the different gaits.

dad: maybe a coyote following a beaver?

me: Still don't think it's likely to be a beaver because there don't look to be any beaver footprints at all. I'll look on iNat, though, and see what other tracks in the area look like

me: *browsing iNat* *doing a few IDs on the side* *maybe I should get my dad a tracks guidebook and a little ruler for christmas* *would he even use them?*

dad: here is a photo with my better camera. I think it is a beaver and also other animals.

me: well there are still no beaver prints, which are very distinct, visible here. These might be otter prints? See the five toes? If you took a photo with a scale bar like a ruler or credit card that could help narrow it down. Here are some photos from my book!

dad: seems like a cool book!

me: I'd be happy to bring it when I visit :)

dad: would an otter tail be wide enough to leave that trail?

me: I'm still not convinced it's a tail, especially with how the footprints are pressed cleanly into it...

me: *googling otter trails* yes! perfect! look! it's an otter slide! it's a dead match! here are four articles and a youtube video on otter slides!

dad: looks like you've solved it :)

me: you could post on iNat and see if anyone else agrees!

dad: nope looks like it's solved!

like, are you reaching out to connect with your semi-estranged kid? are you curious about the tracks? what kind of behavior model produces just "I think it is a beaver" over and over with virtually no elaboration?

thoughts/advice welcome

#long post #personal #genuinely do not understand how to talk with him #maybe incompatible tisms but yknow