Paul Wanta examines a deer hair found during the Silver Lake animal tracking hike with the Grafton Land Trust.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Lord Paluzzi

GRAFTON, Mass. - The families who set forth on a Grafton Land Trust animal tracking trek on Saturday did not expect their walk in the woods to turn into "CSI: Grafton."

Midway through the morning, however, children running ahead excitedly reported back their find: a gnawed upon ribcase, lying on the trail by Silver Lake. Several yards away were even more gruesome discoveries: the fur and bone strewn "kill" site for a female deer, a skull stripped of flesh and, close to shore, a bobbing portion of carcass.

"It's sad," said Paul Wanta, an animal tracker who was leading the small group. "This was a beautiful animal. But this deer will feed many animals."

Children on the walk were unfazed by the gruesome find and bent close to the bones in fascination as Wanta discussed how the animal was hunted and killed, possibly by coyotes in the Grafton Land Trust's Fletcher Preserve.

This is the second year that Wanta, a teacher of tracking and wilderness skills for the past 25 years, has led a tracking expedition through one of the Grafton Land Trust's properties. Last year's walk through the Webber property in North Grafton was aided by newly fallen snow but even the bare ground left by this year's balmy winter showed signs of animal traces to those who know where to look.

A sparkle of fish scales near the Silver Lake shoreline showed the presence of otters. The water-loving creatures eat fish whole and excrete only the scales, along with traces of their musk to alert potential mates of their presence, Wanta said.

"This is all otter here," he said, bringing up a leaf to sniff. "This is ridiculously fresh -- and it smells as bad as you might imagine."

Beside the otter scat were signs of another animal, and it was easy to determine what it was -- beavers had been busy at work gnawing at trees along the shoreline.

Wanta said beavers are determined creatures and hard workers whose dams often are not discovered until they've flooded human areas. He recalled several instances where beaver dams were removed -- and replaced by the beavers overnight.

The group quickly found the beavers' lodge on the opposite shoreline, as well as signs of past lodges.

The Grafton Land Trust's final winter program is on March 3 at Grafton Elementary School. Animal Adventures' Ed Laquidara will bring examples of several of the animals that may be found locally, as well as a few who may not, at the 1 p.m. program, which is supported in part by a grant from the Grafton Cultural Council. Pre-register by emailing info@graftonland.org.