What You'll Learn

🐾 Track Recognition: Master the skill of identifying animal footprints by using proven methods to analyze the characteristics and unique features for any species.

🚸 Animal Sign: Discover how to find and read the evidence of an animal's presence in an area including feeding, resting, marking, nesting, rooting, scat, urine, and other sign.

🐻 Wildlife Behavior: Interpret what animal tracks, gaits, and other clues reveal about an individual's movements, intentions, and state of mind.

🎯 Advanced Skills: Age tracks, follow trails, and analyze predation events with techniques used by scientists and professional trackers.

Benefits

📸 Incredible Wildlife Moments: Locate and observe animals in close quarters without  creating disturbance or having them know you are there.

🌿 Deepen Your Connection to Nature: Gain a profound appreciation for the intricate web of life, so that every outdoor outing becomes a meaningful experience.

🧘‍♂️ Rejuvenate Your Mind and Spirit: Transform your time outdoors into a stress-relieving adventure that fosters inner peace and mindfulness.

Why Choose Us?

🧭 Expert Instruction: Our lectures and other course materials are the same as those used in classes at elite universities to train professional biologists.

🌟 Proven Results: Hundreds of students have enhanced their outdoor skills through our programs—many using their newfound expertise in wildlife jobs or conservation efforts.

📚 Comprehensive Curriculum: Includes video lectures, analysis exercises, quizzes, and flashcard examples giving you the all the tools needed to become a master tracker.

We're so sure that you'll love Wildlife Tracks & Sign that we're offering an outrageous guarantee: You have 14 days after the course starts to change your mind and ask for a refund. No hassle, no questions asked, no hard feelings!

Lee Burton

Known as The Outside Professor, Lee  is the founder of Naturalist Studies and an adjunct instructor at the University of Florida and Texas A&M, where he teaches animal behavior courses.

He is certified in Wildlife Track and Sign by CyberTracker Conservation, is a Master Naturalist, and mentored under Jon Young, the founder of the Wilderness Awareness School. Lee is also recognized as a Bird Language Leaders Instructor.

His passion for wildlife ultimately led him to become the director for Conservation Centers for Species Survival, where he was profiled on Steve Rinella's Meateater podcast for his role in reintroducing the Scimitar-horned Oryx to sub-Saharan Africa.

Lee grew up in a small town in Texas where easy access to nature led to a love of the outdoors, instilled in him by his father and other relatives who taught him how to hunt and fish. As he matured, his curiosity about the natural world deepened, leading him to study animals, plants, and ecology in some of the most remote places in Asia, Africa, and South America. While these experiences heightened his understanding of the world's fauna and flora, he yearned for a deeper connection with nature.

Upon returning to the United States, Lee delved into Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), learning ancient skills like animal tracking, bird language interpretation, and wilderness survival. Developing these skills was a game-changer, allowing him to see nature in a whole new light and realize that he was an integral part of the natural world, not just an observer.

Let’s hear it from Lee himself:

“Before learning wildlife tracking, I had a wealth of scientific knowledge but struggled to understand the way animals think. I couldn’t get inside their heads to know where they would be, what their motivations were, or predict their movements. I felt like an outsider, always on the edge of their world, but never truly part of it.

After learning tracking, I could step into any outdoor setting—whether it was my own property, a local park, or deep in the wilderness—and read the tracks and signs around me. I began to understand not just who was there, but why they were there, and what they were doing. Over time, I started being able to think like the animals I was pursuing, predicting their movements, and understanding their behavior. It was as if I had been welcomed into their private world, where all their secrets were laid bare. This not only made me a more capable hunter and wildlife observer, but also a better naturalist, in the process transforming my wildlife adventures and deepening my connection to nature.

A few years later, a biology professor friend of mine asked if I would teach animal tracking to her students. The course I created became an instant hit, with students describing it as their favorite class. This success led to the development of other courses and the founding of Naturalist Studies, where I wanted to share this knowledge with a broader audience.

Now, I’m thrilled to offer these same learning materials to others. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to teach these skills and share this journey with you, as I believe that this course will fundamentally change your outdoor experiences forever, helping you see the wild in a way you never have before.”