If you read the title of this Lesson, then you know the answer – YES….bears do poop in the woods. A lot of other things poop in the woods too (including Chicks with Ticks). So, in honor of Kristen this week – we will take a look at….
SCAT
(that’s right – POOP)
It’s not every day you get to talk about it, laugh about it, see it, or study it. Believe it or not, we look for it everywhere we go. No, we aren’t weirdos (at least some of us aren’t). We can tell a lot about a site by what scat is strewn about. One spot we found large bobcat scat – it told us there must be a fairly healthy population of small mammals or food and that we should be careful. Cow poop means grazing and we look for signs of stressors in the streams. Otter poop means a good aquatic support system. People poop – well, someone has preceded us!
So, here are a few crappy (ha ha) photos of various types of scat – see which ones you can name?
Dried poop.
Who's poop?
Hmmm.....poop in the grass!
Old poop.
Poop in a tree!
Enough about bears. Inquiring minds want to know if you have seen a panther – and where!?
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I have seen a panther in the early morning almost 20+ years ago at Cypress Lakes golf course on the back nine. I have seen panther tracks on several sites and have felt that I was watched when I saw a fairly fresh pair. We are respectful and won’t name names but those who know where they are can understand. Their corridors are getting smaller, food scarcer, and days shorter. It’s a miracle they are here at all at this point. Some major work in population increase needs to be done soon if we are to have them at all. Even what we see may actually be animals that didn’t originate in Florida! But, in all fairness – bears are pretty cool too!
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Fun and informative blog. Thanks. I understand Indians and good trackers could accurately tell how old the poop was, and how large the animal was. Also, when tracking a human they could tell how old the trackee was by observing the distance of the footprints from the urine puddle. The closer the puddle, the older the trackee. Need I explain more?
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Love it – you just made me make a puddle…..
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this is informative post, I and my nephew enjoy reading your post today…
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No poop, no poopers, long may you run. In my neck of the woods I get to see lots of black bear poop in around Sept when the blackberries are ripe. They usually allow me to gather during late
morning till late afternoon then they take their shift. In our area we can have fruiting canes up to 10 ft tall so its like playing twister making your way throught the brambles bush with plenty of yellow
jackets sharing in the fun as well.
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Yay – more poop lovers – you make us proud!!
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Did you know that Elephant Poop is being used to make paper and other artefacts? In India gobar gas–gas from cow dung is a rural production. This gas is used in cooking. From ancient times cow dung mixed with hay, sun dried into flat cakes has been used to make fires, including the Holy Fire for worship.
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I want to hear more cool poop facts….this will fascinate Kristen!! She is so happy right now! Thanks for making this so much more fun than it already was!!
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You chicks can’t get these fresh down south, but (moose dung earrings) are surprisingly attractive, they are the poopiest fashion statement and northern chick should ever make. They were kinda a fad a few years back
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Just when I thought I had read everything, along comes your post. This should be a Jeopardy category. “Alex, I’ll take ‘Poop in the Woods’ for $100.” “What kind of poop means a good aquatic support system?” “What is Otto, Alex?”
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I have flunked this test before even getting started. Somewhere I have a scat identification book. Where’s the darn book when you need it?!
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I AM very fascinated to read everyone’s posts!!! Especially the earrings — I HAVE to get a pair!
-Kristen
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On one of my websites I have a photo of coyote poop with a burger wrapper in it – you can still see the word “burger”! (see at http://www.muirmaid.net/beggars.htm)
You know what they say about telling black bear from grizzly bear scat in Montana: if it has a lot of berries and such, it’s black bear scat. If it has a bunch of little bells…
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This is great. I kind of laughed. I guess any post about poop will do that. Whose poop is in the tree? (dare I ask)
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Funny how we all think alike when it comes to poop….it’s funny unless it’s on you, you have to clean it up, or step in it!
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