Yellowknife (Apr 02/03) - Biologist Bob Bromley led a small group of hikers, three of whom were on snowshoes, through rocky, jack pine covered terrain in the Kam Lake area in search of animal tracks and where they go.

"Look, see here?" Bromley asked, engaging a participant's young daughter.

"Where?" the young girl said.

"Right here. What kinds of tracks are those? They're lynx."

Later the group was on the trail of snowshoe hares, more lynx, even a fox's tracks are spotted.

Bromley explained how biologists use tracks in the snow to find out where animals go, even what they are eating and how much.

This educational animal tracking hike is organized just twice a year by Ecology North.

Tasha Stephenson and daughter Kirianne Ashley, 4, and Simon Head, with his dog Tologok (who spent some time pulling Kirianne around in her sled), took it all in.

"I didn't know too many people snowshoeing around," said Head, who was decked out in full survival gear with an axe on his back.

Head is interested in arctic biology and any chance he can get, he is out snowshoeing, and learning more about the land.

Stephenson said she's been a member of Ecology North for years, but had never been on the animal tracking walk before.

Although she fell a couple of times navigating her snowshoed feet around trees and branches while pulling her daughter in a little sled, she thought it was a beautiful day for a hike.

Bromley said he was surprised more people didn't turn out for the almost two hour hike.

But he encouraged people to come out to the Mother's Day bird walk on May 11.