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Do not identify a lion or hyena from footprint size alone. Examine the print’s shape and details, compare several prints when possible, and check them against an illustrated spoor guide for the right region and hyena species. One lion field-guide entry describes large toe pads and a double indentation along the rear edge of the main pad; the sources available here do not support an equally complete written checklist for hyena prints.
What to look for in a lion print
A regional field-guide preview describes the lion’s front print as having large toe pads and a double indentation on the posterior, or rear, edge of the main pad. Look for those features in a clear impression, but remember that soft, uneven, or disturbed ground can blur an outline. The guide also notes that lion hind tracks are narrower than front tracks.
If a trail has several legible prints, compare them with one another. The difference between front and hind prints may be more useful than trying to classify a single mark in isolation. These observations come from the lion entry in a Struik Nature field-guide preview; the retrieved excerpt does not establish its publication year or display an individual author beside the relevant passage. View the field-guide preview.
How to compare a possible hyena track
Use a regional visual key that includes both candidates rather than treating a general description of “hyena tracks” as universal. The Cheetah Conservation Fund’s 2016 spoor identification key includes African lion and spotted hyena silhouettes. It also shows brown hyena separately, a reminder that hyena species and geography matter when comparing prints. Consult the Cheetah Conservation Fund spoor key.
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The key’s retrieved text does not provide a complete written account of hyena toe shape, claws, pad form, gait, or scat. That means a reader should not treat any one of those details as a proven lion-versus-hyena rule on the basis of these references. If the print is incomplete, distorted, or outside the guide’s region, record the identification as uncertain.
Use size as context, not a verdict
The Cheetah Conservation Fund key lists silhouettes measuring 120 mm for African lion and 95 mm for spotted hyena. Those are dimensions in that guide’s illustration, not guaranteed measurements of tracks in the field or universal cutoffs. The lion field-guide preview’s comparison panel labels a lion front print with dimensions of 90–128 mm and 110–130 mm, and a hind print at 120 mm. Keep those panel labels in their original context; they should not be combined into a single threshold.
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Size can help compare a print with a reference, but the lion guide cautions that young lion pugmarks can be close in size to leopard tracks. Species, age, completeness, substrate, and the guide’s own measurement context all affect how useful a measurement is. See the lion guide’s comparison panel and the CCF visual key.
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- Describe the print. Note its outline, visible toe pads, main pad, and any features you can see clearly. Do not fill in details hidden by a partial impression.
- Record the conditions. Note whether the print is complete and what the substrate is like; disturbed or soft ground may obscure its shape.
- Compare the sequence. Where several prints are clear, compare them with one another, including apparent front and hind prints.
- Check a regional illustrated key. Use one that depicts both candidate species and is appropriate to the location. For hyenas, check which species the key actually covers.
- Keep the conclusion proportionate. If key features are missing or the reference does not fit the region, record a possible identification rather than a certainty.
This is a cautious way to organize observations, not a formally tested tracking protocol.
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How much do other signs tell you?
Tracks are not the only evidence a field reference may cover. Stuarts’ Field Guide to the Tracks & Signs of Southern, Central & East African Wildlife describes a reference with photographs, descriptions, sketches, and measurements for tracks and signs. Mpala’s lion page presents tracks and scat together. But the available material does not establish a reliable lion-versus-hyena scat distinction, so scat alone should not be used here to assign a species.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Choosing a regional tracking reference
For a closer comparison of African wildlife signs, Stuarts’ field guide is described by its publisher as covering tracks and signs with full-colour photographs, descriptions, sketches, and measurements. Two southern African options are also described by their publishers: Pocket Guide Tracks & Tracking in Southern Africa by Louis Liebenberg, with diagnostic spoor illustrations and scat coverage, and Sasol First Field Guide to Animal Tracks of Southern Africa, presented as a beginner resource on common regional tracks. Check that a guide’s geographic coverage matches the place where the track was found.
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