Whether you are looking for a wildlife tracker or for a teacher about tracking, you need look no further than John Rhyder. In all respects, John is among the very best. I have seen him find and follow the trails of Fallow, Roe and Red deer, and I have seen him trail to within 35 meters of bedded animals that are unaware of our presence. He is as reliable in his skill at identifying tracks and sign as he is at trailing the animals that left them. In addition, John has taught for many years. He is clear, to the point, expert at managing groups in all conditions, and he is quick witted, funny! I can think of no one with whom I would rather work, track, learn, laugh or share a meal than John Rhyder. I am confident that you will find him a pleasure.
Nate Harvey
Evaluator, Senior Tracker, CyberTracker Conservation
Overview
This course is all about building real skill in animal trailing. You’ll spend all of the time out in the field, learning how to follow animals, read their behaviour, and understand the landscape so you can predict their movements. Along the way, we’ll also introduce track and sign as key tools to help with trailing. While they’re taught separately for learning purposes, in practice they’re two sides of the same coin: tracking. Tracking is about spotting signs, making sense of them, following the trail, and ultimately finding the animal.
The training is broken into three blocks to give you time to consolidate and practice in between seasons. Since trailing can be surprisingly mentally demanding it is helpful to spread out these sessions. Expect a good deal of time on the trail, personal feedback, and advice for practice between sessions. By the end, you’ll have a deeper understanding of animal behaviour, the ability to anticipate movements, and the confidence to use your skills in all sorts of environments.
Course Content
The course builds your trailing ability step by step, using the CyberTracker evaluation framework as a guide. You’ll develop core skills like sign recognition, predicting animal movements, staying alert, moving with stealth, and making safe approaches. Training is spread over several months so you can practice, refine, and get tailored feedback along the way.
Although the main focus is trailing, we also weave in track and sign to give you a fuller picture of the animals you’re following. You’ll get hands-on with tracks and signs from different species, learn to identify food plants, age tracks, read bird and animal alarms, understand gaits, and practice general fieldcraft and stalking.
We focus on ungulate species, but we’ll also explore how terrain, seasons, and behaviour all influence the way you approach animals. The aim is always to bring it back to the real-world purpose of tracking: not just following footprints, but actually finding animals.
To keep things personal and focused, the programme is limited to a maximum of 5 students. Small group sizes mean more time on the trail, plenty of individual attention, and the best possible chance of real animal encounters.
You may also be interested in the following related programmes.
Course Dates 2026
- 3-5 Jan
- 30 Jan – 1 Feb
- 27 Feb – 2 March
Course Dates
Wildlife Trailing Intensive
Please read the following information before booking:
- Terms & Conditions – By booking on to our courses you agree
to our Terms & Conditions - The Course Kit List
Please note this is a self catered course and although it is non residential.
You need to be over 18 years of age to attend this programme.
Wildlife Trailing Intensive Places
Course: Wildlife Trailing Intensive
Training: Jan- March 2026 Modules
Location: Near Midhurst West Sussex
Time: 08.30 - 16.30
Course leader: John Rhyder
Course size: 5 (maximum)
Cost per person: £950
Course Reviews
Raoul Maciver
I have taken several courses with John over the years and I was keen to try the trailing intensive course.
I was not disappointed with this longer course. The extra time spent in the field meant I could learn so much more from John. His enthusiasm and knowledge is impressive and it is very instructive to work with him.
Halfway through the course John convinced me to take the cybertracker evalution. Although I was not sure I would be ready, it was an excellent way to test my knowledge and demonstrate what I had learnt.
He makes trailing look so easy and it can sometimes be frustrating when he can find trails which appear invisible to everyone else.
All the more worthwhile when by the end of the course you can start to see the same patterns.
The small number participants also allowed for good group discussions and moral support!
I would highly recommend this course to anyone interested in obtaining a more comprehensive understanding of trailing.
Lucy O'Hagan
I am delighted to say that, having completed the Wildlife Trailing Intensive course, I improved my Cybertracker score from a level one to a level three. What’s in a score? Confidence in finding a fresh trail, recognising deer tracks in a variety of substrates (are you ready to start noticing bent beech leaves where ever you go?!), the trailing intensive takes you literally a step further down the trail of this fascinating and ancient art. You’ll be met with a much more in-depth understanding of the behaviour of deer species, as well as how they relate to their landscape and the greater network of species therein.
On a more personal note, I find wildlife trailing to be an incredibly deep inner process and it has been hugely transformative process for me to develop the skills to track my inner landscape as I try to stay on the trail of an animal ahead of me.
A fantastic credit to the Cybertracker culture and to John’s knowledge of the subject, which has come from hours upon hours of committed and passionate study. This intensive programme really demonstrates how, if you practise and follow the process, then you too can follow, approach and get closer to wild animals.
