It is written enough in the literature on hunting and wild animals about wolf's traces. I'll try to be more in detailed in separate specific features which are seldom described in the popular literature but which are rather important for those who want to find a wolf, instead of just to know about them more, than others know.
So, the trace of the adult wolf looks like a trace of a very large and heavy dog. The print of the wolf's paw is very compact and not "spreading", like majority of the dogs' clearly printed finger pads and claws. Wolf middle fingers considerably stick out onward. Between average and lateral fingers it is possible to put an imagined match across a print. At full-grown male's paw is wider, female has more "slender" trace. Very seldom fingers of wolves are spread apart on drift sand, liquid dirt, etc. that is quite explainable.
Often people write that connected segments between traces of dog's paws make a broken line, but the wolf walks "on the straight", traces are located on one straight line. Alas, and wolves have exception. For example, if the snow still allows walking at a slow pace, "at a tort", but is already deep enough, the wolf also begins spreading apart his paws.
How to not mix traces of a wolf and a dog in the nature? First of all, it is important to understand, that normal dog will not run away far in the forest, and a wolf, in its turn, don't twist around man's legs. This means, if you see traces of a person, and there are also traces of a small wolf or a dog near them; and if these traces are of identical freshness, and the person, most likely is a hunter, since, for example, he was on wide skis and without stick most likely the trace belongs to the hunter's dog. Secondly, the trace of the adult Central Russian wolf is always much larger than a trace of a dog which can be met in a wood. And another thing … how to explain - wolf's trace is sharper, it is more sharply perceived by an eye. As though at once you feel that there has passed an animal, not a dog. Prints of the wolf paw in length 13-15 cm quite often come strike my eye. Such traces belong to quite usual animals with weight no more than 50-60 kg. There information in literature that the size of a wolf paw's print can be up to 18 cm.
Popular belief is that wolves in pack walk in trial. As a rule, this is true. At the same time if the relief allows, a pair of wolves can move side by side. Not once I met on forest road in parallel going traces of wolves. At the same time male wolf from time to time steps aside to a tree to mark with its urine. When wolves should leave the convenient road, they walk in single file, that it is more convenient. In any case, it is necessary to pass on the wolf trace very little as there is clear the number of wolves in the pack. On turnings the wolves that go behind, cut off a trajectory; while going around an obstacle everyone chooses its own path; while passing a forest road or something like that wolves, as a rule, disperse, obviously, from considerations of common security. In other words, wolves walk that way, which is more expedient in the given situation. During long passages on the snow, on the grass, or among bushes, in woods it is expedient to walk in trial.
In a wood sometimes even skilled hunters confound wolf traces with traces of a lynx. Lynx also has large prints of a paw and a wide step. However the lynx falls in the snow much less, almost never lets out claws on balanced running and its print of paw is always very round. If all this is considered then it is easy to distinguish their traces.
Speaking about wolf traces, it is necessary to say, pardon, about wolf dung. It is very informative thing. Characteristic feature of wolf dung is that, at least male wolf leaves it on the most visible place. More often wolf dung can be seen in the middle of wood road, on the hillock visible from afar - in this way wolf marks territory.
Searching, finding and puzzling out wolf trace - is quite a fascinating and sports occupation. At the minimal skill of the pathfinder the wolf's life opens from the most surprising parts. You start to see things which force to look at the wolf absolutely differently, than you did it earlier, to see it as it is in reality.
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