Importance of Pugmarks in Wildlife Forensics

Wild animals can be difficult to spot because of their instinctive behaviour to avoid humans. However, the presence of wild animals often can be determined by their pugmarks in snow, sand, or soft mud. Whenever an animal moves through the jungle over a suitable ground, leaves mark or impressions it called as pugmarks (paw marks). In simple terms, pugmarks refer to the footprints of almost all the animals. Every individual animal species have distinct pugmarks and numerous features contained in it can be used to support the identification of an animal.  Many people have learned to read wildlife pugmarks with a remarkable skill for hunting purposes.

In wildlife forensic, pug marks have significant importance and considered as valuable evidence. These pugmarks are easy to discover indirect evidence of an animal presence. The keen observation of these pugmarks can tell a lot about the animal’s sex, age, size, health conditions, and the time and direction in which the animal had moved. The scientific examination, identification, and comparison of pug marks from crime scenes can link with a suspect and a victim.

Nature of pug marks:-

Pugmarks are produced under the following circumstance:

1. The impressions of the pug may be caused in mud, dust, sand, and snow or similar surfaces. These impressions will be depressed or three-dimensional type and these are known as sunken pug mark impressions. These type of pug marks are most commonly found.
2. If the pug mark is produced by deposition of material like dust, dirt, blood, colored powdery substance, etc., on hard and smooth surfaces, giving rise to a two-dimensional print, which is called surface pug mark.
3. Pugmarks may also be produced by lifting dust or liquid material in which case a negative print will be left on the surface.

The different species of animals, especially the large carnivores that are traditionally tracked with the help of pugmarks are divided into two broad categories:

1. The members of the ‘Dog family’ or the ‘Canidae’ that typically move and hunt in packs often walking long distances in a file. In the members of this family, the claw marks are usually noticeable in front of the toe pads. As compared to the heel pad the toes are larger which helps them to run down the prey and the gap between the top of the heel pad and the two middle toes is evidently more than what is found in cats (hyenas is an exception). The front points of the two middle toes occur side by side (aligned).[1]
2. The members of the ‘Cat family’ or the ‘Felids’ that lead a solitary existence, depending on stealth for hunting down prey. They are acceptable climbers and some like the leopards take their hunt to a tree for abstaining from poaching by different carnivores. The claws or nails are hardly ever visible, the soft heel pad is comparatively larger (to encourage stealth) and the middle toes are put nearer to the pad. The middle toes of the felids are at different levels, especially for the hind paws.[1]

Mostly the large carnivores leave the soft padded four-toed pugmarks in the jungle.

Pugmarks of Sloth Bear, Elephant, Fox & Tiger:-

• In the case of sloth bear tracks, the pug marks appear flat due to the presence of flat sole in their limbs.
• In the case of elephants, the size of the pugmark itself reveals the elephant’s footmarks.
• In fox, the pug marks are very close to the median line, creating an impression of rope walking.[2]
• In tiger’s, pugmarks comprise of a pad and four-toes. A fifth toe is commonly called the dewclaw, which is put high on the front limbs only and it does not contact the ground. At the rear end, the pad is 3-lobed.

Significance of Pug Marks:-

Pugmarks of wildlife species are important evidence in the forensic analysis of species. The significance of pugmarks is discussed below.

(1)  Determination of Sex using Pug mark Measurements:

The sex of animal species can be determined by measuring the length and width of full pug mark, pad, and toe and some other distinct features. Example, Tiger- The pugmarks of mature males are usually larger than that of the females. The pugmarks of a male nearly fit into a square whereas the pugmarks of a female nearly fit into a rectangle. The shape of toes in a male is more rounded while in the case of females they are elongated.

(2)  The age of Pugmarks can be calculated by looking at the dust and soil depositions. When pugmarks are fresh, then the wall of the soil, sand, or dust surrounding the imprints of toes and pads are intact and almost perpendicular, and the bases of imprints of pugmarks are smooth flat. With time, depending on whether pugmarks were in a shelter or an open spots, the actions of the rays of sunlight, the rate of airflow, the dewdrops of the night, the dust deposited on the pugmarks and the movement of invertebrates, the walls of the pugmarks get cracks and the pile of earth that took the weight of the animal also begins to fill up with dust deposits and other droppings.[3]

(3)  Animal Movement Patterns (Gaits):

Different animals move differently depending on their body mechanics and behaviour. A few animals like deer and cats spend the majority of their time walking. Other animals like coyotes and foxes are intended for trotting. Numerous other animal species have their particular hopping, loping, or bounding movement patterns that are unique to that one specific animal species. These gait patterns are a major key for how trackers interpret the behaviour and even foresee future activity of animals just by contemplating trail patterns. Notwithstanding, these will also help you more strongly to recognize what animal made the trail. [4]

(4) Identification of Animal Species based on Pugmark Analysis:

“Every individual animal has its distinct pugmark.”

This principle is used for identification purposes. Pugmark plays a major role in identifying a given specific animal in terms of sex, age, or size as well as the total accuracy of the given individual species. Humans have difficulty in carrying out this task because not every footprint left by the animal is the perfect one. The abnormalities or deformities in a particular paw become relevant and hence, it narrows downs the search. In the manual method of identification, a series of measurements of pugmarks are noted and compared with the available data.

Digital pugmark technology (DPT) is a new age technology for the identification of animals based on their pugmarks. This method is used for estimating the specific individual species using a statistical approach. Each animal leaves a particular set of pugmarks while walking.[5]

(5)  Study of Wildlife Population (Census) / Pugmark-based population monitoring:

The population of the remaining rare animals in the forests needs to be protected. An animal footprint is the unique identity of the animal world. There are several techniques available to study animal behaviour. This method is a safe and brilliant way to spot the presence of an animal in a place. The main objective of the wildlife census is to find out the density of the population of the species and to procure basic data for its management.

(6) The pugmark is also helpful in estimating time when an animal moved and direction in which the animal traveled. The major problem with pugmark impressions based on the identification of species includes is an undetectable footprint on hard surfaces and sometimes these footprint sites are often contaminated by the presence of other animals. Undetectable pugmarks and erosions by the other animals in pugmarks analysis are the major limitations in the field of wildlife forensic. If pugmarks analysed skilfully and lawfully, they can provide reliable data.

Case Study:-

In the Bhogpur village of Bijnor district, from November 27, 2019, to the first week of January a leopard attacked and killed 6 people. The leopard’s pug marks were observed in some areas. These pugmarks found in the Mandawar area were matched with others. Later, on January 6, 2020, the leopard was killed by the villagers after it attacked and killed a schoolboy at Bhogpur village. According to the forest officers, the camera traps, pugmarks, and its picture were matched with the dead leopard and the killer leopard was identified. (TOI)

REFERENCES

1. https://www.hillsofmorni.com/morni-wildlife/the-lost-art-of-reading-pugmarks/ (Date Accessed 18/06/2020)

2. http://ecoursesonline.iasri.res.in/mod/page/view.php?id=78067 (Date Accessed 19/06/2020).

3. Syed Wahabuddin Nasir. THE TIGER: Keeper of the Forest, Notion Press, 08-Feb-2018.
4. https://nature-mentor.com/animal-tracks/ (Date Accessed 19/06/2020)
5. Ranjit Talwar, Amir Usmani. READING PUGMARKS-A pocketbook for forest guards. (2005). Published by Tiger & Wildlife Programme, WWF India.
6. Mohammed Nazir Alli, Serestina Viriri, Animal Identification Based on Footprint Recognition. DOI: 10.1109/ICASTech.2013.6707488

7. B.S.Nabar. Forensic Science in Crime Investigation. (2015) Third Edition, Asia Law House Hyderabad.
8. Sam Smallidge. (2016). Article on Identifying and Preserving Wildlife Tracks. New Mexico State University. Circular 561.
9. Deepak P., Jeevan K. M., Anoop T.R., and Smitha Suresh. Tiger Census Using Low-Quality Foot Print Image. e-ISSN: 2278-2834, p- ISSN: 2278-8735. PP 49-57.
10. http://epao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=education.Science_and_Technology.The_pugmark_Identification_of_individual_animals.(Date Accessed 18/06/2020)
11. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/bijnors-killer-leopard-was-shot-dead-on-jan-6-probe-report/articleshow/74261015.cms (Date Accessed 19/06/2020

AUTHOR

Palash A. Mehar

Intern (June 2020) at the Department of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation, Legal Desire Media & Insights

He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Forensic Science from Government Institute of Forensic Science, Nagpur, Maharashtra. He has a keen interest in Forensic Biology and Serology, DNA Fingerprinting, and Fingerprint Examination. he has been part of poster presentations on the topics “Wildlife Forensic” and “NEONATICIDE: An Imperil To The Society”.