A scatological question...

TX907

TX907

Joined
Feb 3, 2008
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Went hiking Sunday on a trail around Grapevine lake in north Texas (northern part of DFW metroplex). Saw some scat with red berries in it. I should have taken a picture, but didn't figure it was a big deal so I didn't. From pictures I have seen on the Internet, it looks like bear. But there really shouldn't be any around here. Any idea what it might have been besides a bear?

Looked a lot like this:
bear_scat.jpg
 
Bears can live all over..The first bear I've ever seen was in the everglades swamp in florida of all places.. black bears I understand even live south into mexico..and black bears live in suburban areas as well. SO it very well might be, However not having the actual pic or a size reference it would be impossible to tell.
 
As BarberFobic1992 said, bear and coyote can look pretty similar, except for size. I've seen both (and fox) that have been partial to almost pure berry.

About how big (diameter) was it? Black bear is typically around 1.5 inch or so. Coyote will be less than 1 inch. Fox, maybe 0.5 - 0.75 inch.
 
I would say the diameter was at least an inch, probably more. Thats why I was having a hard time thinking what larger animal would be leaving it.
 
One of the biggest frustrations in tracking is trying to identify an animal from poop or a single footprint.

All we can do is make reasonable guesses, but it's rare to be perfectly certain.

Scat especially can be difficult to ID without any context. I would take note of what you saw, but then start looking within ten feet for any footprints, hair, or other signs to help establish some context.
 
TX907 said:
I would say the diameter was at least an inch, probably more. Thats why I was having a hard time thinking what larger animal would be leaving it.
Click to expand...

Raccoons will give an honest effort, depending on what they have been eating.
 
Could be hog poop. Hogs have been tearing up parts of Trophy Club golf course near the USACE lands. I've also heard of credible sightings of mountain lions on the course near the same lands.
 
Cripes. Without knowing the size and distribution, it could well have been a hiker with a previously undiagnosed allergy to raw boysenberries.

Eeewww.
 
I meant to apologize for sh**ting under your grape vine there. Boy I love those red berries.
 
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It looks like racoon poop. It seems that it always has half digested berries in it around here.
 
As a public service announcement, I'd like to mention that it's generally a bad idea to sniff raccoon scat -- it can contain a parasite (I forget which -- lungus f*ckupus, or something like that) that you can breathe in and will ruin, not just your day, but several of your months.

I once mentioned this to my brother, who looked at me for a moment and said "You know, most people don't actually have to be warned against sticking their face into random piles of poop that they find laying around". He's right, of course, but we on this forum are not 'most people'. We're special.

Maquahuitl said:
...I've also heard of credible sightings of mountain lions on the course near the same lands.
Click to expand...

Mountain lions don't eat berries. They eat the things that eat berries.
 
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Joel Stave said:
As a public service announcement, I'd like to mention that it's generally a bad idea to sniff raccoon scat -- it can contain a parasite (I forget which -- lungus f*ckupus, or something like that) that you can breathe in and will ruin, not just your day, but several of your months.

I once mentioned this to my brother, who looked at me for a moment and said "You know, most people don't actually have to be warned against sticking their face into random piles of poop that they find laying around". He's right, of course, but we on this forum are not 'most people'. We're special.



Mountain lions don't eat berries. They eat the things that eat berries.
Click to expand...


They also eat the things that inspect the poop of the things they eat.
 
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