Pacific Coast Mammal Finder: Identifying Mammals by Their Tracks, Skulls, and Other Signs

Identify mammal tracks of the Pacific Coast with this pocket-size guide.

Whether you’re at the beach with your family or on a hiking or camping trip, you’re bound to come across wildlife--or signs that animals have been there. If you’re curious about mammals of the Pacific states, then Pacific Coast Mammal Finder by Ron Russo is just what you need. With the handy, easy-to-use book, you can identify mammals by sight, as well as by their animal tracks, burrows, nests, scat, scratch or chew marks, and skulls/jaws.

The booklet begins with introductions of the various signs, followed by two dichotomous keys: one for identifying animal homes and another for scratch and chew marks. Simply answer a series of simple questions based on appearance to identify what type of mammal was there. A field guide section presents more than 50 mammals, complete with professional illustrations by Pam Frazier, range maps, and detailed descriptions to help you identify each species.

Book Features:

• Step-by-step guide to mammal identification


• More than 50 species of common and important mammals


• Guides to their signs: chew marks, nests, scat, skulls, tracks, and more


• Professional illustrations with key markings for identification


• Small format that fits into a pocket or pack

This guide is applicable to the West Coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington.

Ron Russo is well-known for his broad knowledge and enthusiastic teaching. He has written more than 40 articles for various magazines and journals--including a feature article in Natural History magazine--as well as five technical papers on leopard shark biology. Ron is the author of such books as Pacific Coast Fish Finder, Pacific Coast Mammal Finder, and Plant Galls of the Western United States.

Ron served as a naturalist of the East Bay Regional Park District for 37 years, including 17 years as Chief Naturalist, before retiring in 2003 to focus full-time on his passions of plant galls and shark biology. He is the recipient of the distinguished Fellow Award from the National Association for Interpretation (1989) and served as an instructor of California state park rangers for 25 years at the William Penn Mott Training Center at Asilomar, California. Ron was also a wilderness guide for 18 years, leading trips to observe and study Alaska’s rich array of plants and animals, including humpback whales and grizzly bears.

Pam Frazier served as the longtime publications manager at the Grand Canyon Conservancy and was also the deputy director there for a number of years. An artist at heart, Pam found inspiration from the natural beauty that surrounded her in Sedona, Arizona. Her illustrations appeared in the field guides Pacific Coast Mammal Finder and Pacific Intertidal Life. Pam passed away in 2022.