There need to actually be animals for there to be tracks. I love setting up near an open mire, you get great visibility over the terrain, can find a lot of big game there. Especially if there's a mountain or thick forest nearby you can stand on it and see all around. I usually settle myself by the ocean so I can do a raft and move about easier, trading with the driik when I can and exploring the islands. I've found good animals on the islands, a bear and an elk on different very small islands, needless to say I had a very easy time tracking them over the 4 tiles of land, there was no chance of escape!
Related: I've got something like 500 pounds of meat drying right now, in early May, along with a nice bear fur cloak, mittens, footwear, and hood. I need another bear, I don't have a shirt or trousers! I am BEARLORD!
I've been looking at the Kota, and there seems to be a smallish issue with hide size. It takes a large hide to produce a kota, but it doesn't take the full 18+ pounds. I made some cord out of a hide of mine and tried to make a kota, and it worked even though it was in the "slightly damaged" state. Does anyone know the exact poundage of large hide needed to build a kota? I'm guessing it's somewhere around 5 or 10.