Read the hint on the note carefully. The hint says: "Check your globe + trust the tracks if the colors match".

Examine the Animal Fact Sheet carefully.

Examine the keychain carefully.

The hint on the note says: "Check your globe + trust the tracks if the colors match".

The "globe" is the keychain. Pay attention to the colors of the keychain and the colors of the footprints.

You can match each animal footprint to a different animal using the Animal Fact Sheet. Next, check if the color of the footprint matches where that animal is from.

If the color of the animal's footprint is inconsistent with the color of that animal's Native Region on the keychain globe, disregard that footprint. You can find each animal's native region on the Animal Fact Sheet.

*Note that there can be multiple correct colors for some animals because some animals are from multiple regions. Only disregard an animal's footprint if the color does not match any native regions.

After disregarding all footprints where the color of the footprint doesn't match the color of the animal's native region (as depicted on the globe keychain), you'll have a set of "matching" footprints. Note that a set of footprints (i.e. 2) is one letter, not two.

Then, translate each footprint into a different letter.

Translate the footprint into a letter by finding the matching animal and taking the first letter of that animal's name.

To decrypt this message, match each footprint to an animal using the Animal Fact Sheet. Then check the animal's native region on the Animal Fact Sheet and check the color of that region on the globe keychain. If the color of the animal's footprint is inconsistent with the animal's native region, disregard the footprint*. Once you've disregarded the footprints that don't match (i.e. are the wrong color), translate the remaining footprints into letters by taking the first letter of the animal the footprint belongs to. For example, if the footprint is a Tapir's footprint, it translates to the letter 't'.

*Note that there can be multiple correct colors for some animals because some animals are from multiple regions.

Decrypted, the note reads:

start without me tonight ill be late