WHAT IS MANTRACKING?

Mantracking is the ability to find, read, interpret and follow the tracks, visible signs and other disturbances left behind by people’s movements.

In emergency situations, Situational Awareness and Environmental Awareness are of fundamental importance. In harsh natural environments, however, such as mountains, deserts and jungles, and even in rural areas or farmland, modern technology such as drones, robots, thermal cameras and computers, etc, alone cannot substitute for an operator’s lack of environmental awareness. There is still a place for systematic Mantracking methods to fill this gap.

Although tracking is a skill with ancient and primitive origins, modern Mantracking remains extremely useful today as a means of acquiring information and is frequently used by modern Special Forces around the world. It is also used during Law Enforcement operations for crime scene analysis and / or arresting criminals on the run in rural environments. Likewise, Search and Rescue (SAR) organisations also make use of Mantracking to find missing people.

Modern Mantracking is not some holistic spiritual concept for observing nature and then making assumptions. Rather, it is a means of searching for and identifying signs and other objective evidence present in the area. After thousands of years of practice, Mantracking now provides an up-to-date method of gathering evidence in natural environments using specific techniques, tactics, procedures and protocols.

Where requested by Public Prosecutors or the Courts, track and sign evidence can be recorded, categorised by location, date and time and then exploited in accordance with standard forensic science procedures.

Mantracking teams can follow the tracks and signs left by people moving through a given area. Trackers can establish the exact direction of travel and determine if the subject has met up with others. They can also age the tracks and assess the likely behaviour of fugitives or missing people.

Mantracking today is an approved method of obtaining timely information in the field. It provides a complementary way of enhancing the success of military, police and SAR operations.