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Fit Cheetahs is a self-funded PHD at Heriot-Watt University with the aim to help cheetah conservation using a brand new Footprint Identification Technology (FIT).

29/10/2026

It's been a great few days trailing red deer in Moray, Scotland. Despite challenging substrate and weather conditions, we all improved on our previous scores and learned a lot. Trailing deer through all sorts of substrates, including grass, moss and heather is hard but also exciting and super interesting as it teaches us so much about their behaviour and ecology.

Why do I trail deer when I normally analyse paw footprints, you ask? Because the skills I learn during these trailing sessions are transferable to all other species. Trailing and tracking skills make me a better conservation biologist and researcher. And I wish these skills were taught at university!

A huge Thank You to John Rhyder Woodcraft School, Dan Puplett Nature Awareness and all my fellow participants for sharing their knowledge and wisdom.🙏🦌

P S. Everybody received a certificate, we just forgot to take a photo at the time.

27/10/2026

Another great Track & Sign evaluation with John Rhyder Woodcraft School and Dan Puplett Nature Awareness in Moray, Scotland, UK.
I just love spending time with my tracker pals and exploring nature's language together. It's been such a privilege to learn with and from you all and I can't wait for the next time we meet. 🐾🪶
And now straight into trailing red deer... 🤞🦌

17/10/2026

Great to read some good news about the critically endangered cheetah subspecies in Iran. At the last count, only 26 wild cheetahs were left. These cubs bring a much needed boost to the population. Let's hope they make it to adulthood.

Great job by Stichting Spots and local conservationists for creating and improving cheetah habitat. These cubs may be a direct result of these conservation efforts.

13/10/2026

Did you know that beavers can climb trees? And have you ever seen the tiny foot of a common shrew? Or a juniper gall or tree creeper sign?
Walking the land and learning about 's language with other trackers is always a treat and a brilliant way to exchange knowledge. We came across a huge variety of tracks and signs in the Cairngorms over the weekend. Love hanging out with these guys. 🐾🪶

12/10/2026

Still catching up on work after trips abroad, conferences and courses. This is one of my favourite places to work at, with a view of the Firth of Forth, coffee and cake. ☺️

26/09/2026

Recently I spent an amazing three days with trackers in Alberta, Canada and attended my first Track & Sign Evaluation in North America. There is no better way to spend your weekend than to look for tracks and signs with like-minded people, and learn about nature and wildlife together. We found deer, elk, fox, coyote, lynx, cougar, black bear, snowshoe hare, mink, red squirrel, muskrat and many other signs. 😍

In terms of the eval, I had low expectations of myself as the biodiversity is so different and so much richer in North America compared to the UK. So my only goal was to learn and hopefully get at least one question right. 😅 Have you ever felt proud, embarrassed and annoyed with yourself all at the same time? Well, that's how I felt after finding out that I had achieved 69%, 1% away from a Level 1 qualification. 🙈 I was proud to have done much better than I thought I would, annoyed for talking myself out of five correct answers, and embarrassed about some of the answers I gave. Let's just say that when it looks like a bear track and walks like a bear, it probably is a bear and not a weird giant American badger that doesn't live in the area anyway. 🤦 Note to self: "Trust your initial instinct and don't talk yourself out of correct answers." An important lesson I will heed next time.
I have come away with so much new T&S knowledge and wonderful memories. I am grateful to Raymond Wildlife and Joseph Litke for sharing their amazing wildlife knowledge with us and making this a great evaluation weekend, and to my fellow participants for being wonderful, welcoming people. It was so great to meet you all and to share knowledge with you! And as always, I am forever grateful to the wildlife that shared their land with us and left us so many tracks and signs to ponder about and learn from. 🙏🐾❤️ Until next time!

23/09/2026

This was the closing ceremony of the Martes Working Group Conference by Kwanlin Dün First Nation Elder Ron Chambers and I have his permission to share this message.
Ron spoke about the importance of looking after nature and ensuring species don't disappear. He praised conservationists for valuing and protecting wildlife and compared this to First Nation values.
For me, this was a humbling moment of reflection, which left me feeling invigorated with new determination for the work I do. I am grateful to Ron and all Kwanlin Dün First Nation people who so kindly welcomed us onto their land. Gunałchîsh. May the Great Spirit always look after you. 🙏

22/09/2026

I am way behind with my posts due to travelling around Canada, so here a quick catch-up from the Martes Working Group Conference in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Amy Fitzmaurice and I ran a 'Tracking for Research' workshop. Participants were given sand patches and track plates with footprints of different species. They had to identify the footprints of their species of interest and were shown how to use the WildTrack app to collect data for our footprint database. They also learned how to set up a track plate, followed by a short demo on how the uploaded images get reviewed and processed in preparation for analysis.
The Footprint Identification Technology (FIT) is still a relatively new tool for non-invasive wildlife monitoring, which most participants were unaware of. It was well received and many researchers expressed great interest in contributing to the footprint database and help develop FIT for more endangered species.
A huge Thank You to Johnny Birks for taking all the photos!!
Thank you also to Bristol Zoo Project for allowing me to get paw plaster casts from their wolverine and to Dan Puplett Nature Awareness for letting me copy his pine marten paw casts, which were needed for this workshop.

02/09/2026

It was a great honour to present my talk on footprint analysis to Kwanlin Dün First Nation Elders and scientists from around the world at the 9th International Martes Working Group Symposium 2026 in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. Thank you for having me. 🙏
The Footprint Identification Technology (FIT) by WildTrack, which I used for my and research, has been developed for many other species including like and . Let's develop it for and other martes species as well to add another non-invasive monitoring method for the conservation of these beautiful species. If you are interested in FIT for your conservation work and are at the symposium, please join my workshop on Thursday if you can. Otherwise, please do get in touch to discuss possible collaborations. 🐾🐾

03/04/2026

It was a pleasure to present my and at the Mammal Society Conference in Inverness last week. I also enjoyed attending so many inspiring talks and workshops, and spending time with wonderful people. Looking forward to seeing many of you again next year! 🦫🦦🐆🐾
Thank you to everyone who made this conference such a success and to Asaf Ben David for his wonderful track drawings. 🙏

WildTrack Heriot-Watt University JMP Software

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