Tracks and droppings are but a few of the signs that trappers look for to determine animal presence but what does the latter actually show us, except for the obvious?


I have some photos with text that I intend to post on here but would like to give some other trappers a chance to add to this.

Dropping of course, can show us what animals are feeding on at a certain time of year but what else do they teach us about WHERE they leave them ?

Anyone ?

Teritory??

I'd have to say territory, And common toilets (ie bobcats)

Edges of the territory.Nothing makes me happier than to see 15 piles of yote crap in a 1/4 mile stretch of road..A spot where 2 or 3 family groups territories overlap has to be one of the best locations there is.The response to gland lure and urine is awesome.I could be wrong but that is how I read the sign.I might be catching these yotes and not really know why.Same result dead yote.

So was I right?

I'm not sure about what all droppings can teach us, but if I find a spot were there are several piles I will set it hard.The way I look at it if it's a territory thing or not at least the yote feels comfortable there and come through the spot regularly.

But what about mink droppings? Do they only leave those to mark their territory? Or do they just go when they got to?
Thanks,
Tyler

to watch where we step>

Dropping also teach us what they are eating and what they ate last lets u know if their hhungry or not

That to me looked like a pile of black berries wiley left me a couple of months ago

Species of the animal who left it... During dry summer conditions it can be hard to impossible to find sign.. Dropping can be a good indicator of what species are using the area..

i agree with yoteguts all the way but teach us something LT

They tell us what animals are around, when they were there[ roughly], where their toilets are , and what they are eating.

I agree. I'm never 100% sure if that's the case when I find an area like that...but I've found a few that sure seem to produce, year after year. Makes sense.

Yep everone is interested in who peed where.lol Great spots.

I agree with london. If you know what the species droppings look like, you can tell what is in your area. The diet changes from season to season, so you have to know what you're looking at.

It teach's us who,what, when ,where ,and why.Territories and feeding stations.

The area an animal leaves a dropping or multiple droppings can teach us many things. As Paul said you have to know what animal left it behind to begin with before you can begin to gain more information from it.

The content of the droppings can teach us not only what the animal is eating buy how far it traveled from that food source. If there is a scat pile with wild grapes in it and the closest grape vine is 1/4 mile away that can tell you alot. If it is full of corn (and your not in corn country) it can also bring to light how far the animal is traveling to feed. Once this is figured out and the food source is diacovered then you can begin to figure a travel pattern and set along the traveled path, not just the toilet.

Droppings are, as most have stated above an area that might mark a territory boundary. Common toilets can also shed light onto how often an animal(s) are traveling through an area. A timeline in poop as I have told my son once before.

they show if the animal is excited or nervous or calm. they show territory, they show what it is feeding on. they show population in a given spot (family groups) or (overlapping territory.) just for a few

yote poop, yote sets. cat poop, cat sets. fox poop, fox sets. mink poop, mink sets ect.... ect....

a simple equation to the task at hand, capture the target animal or animals by reading the sign they leave behind. droppings can indicate preditor and prey species, travel corridors, population densities, food sorces, territorial boundries, the art of trapping and capturing a target animal isn't all about making the perfect set. studying animal habits and their habitat are important keys to being successful. a successful trapper is one who looks at the big picture and droppings are a big part of the paint used to create that picture

just my opinion which ain't much

Bud

Hey Jonesie, show us a nervous dropping?

Would that be diarhea ?

also it lets you know how many are traveling that some route meaning (before i started remaking after a catch i would see a couple turds show up 2-3 days later) so i figuer that there were two more traveling the same road

good one LT,


Bud

One must also be careful and check how fresh the sign is. If the poop is soft its was 0-24 hours ago, if it has a crust on the outside but the interior is still soft and gives off a fine odor then it is 24-48 hours ago. If it is dry with no smell 48+ hours ago. Wheather also effects the aging of poop too. Obviously in a wet climate it takes longer to dry out and will be harder to tell. For tracks I test the soil right next to it to see what poundage it would take to make an impression the same depth. I'm still working on how to check freshness from tracks. Hopefully I will learn something in this post.

Teg

Well put, coilspring!

Go up to the post above mine 3nd picture down! you being a sa here, but you mean to tell me you can't tell when you dog is not right or over excited when hunting birds. or you rabbit or coon dog has been working extra hard by the poop!

you may not see in the field but in wildlife control in the attics you can tell alot of the time if the dropping are loose and you talk to the customer and they have been woking it hard for a week or 2.

Never thought 'coons in Ohio could leave a stool pile big enough to "cast a shadow"... but this picture proves even I can be wrong at times!

Anyone recognize the seeds in there?

Even the coyotes are eatting them...

look like persimon or paw paw seeds to me

Good eye but in late August on a coyote job, which grove are you visiting?
That alone may determine your success at locating trails in and out of there.




I can always tell how fresh a dropping is by the insect activity.
But does a butterfly lick dung anyway?
Salt?

paw paw persimons want ripen til a frost gets em. so around here i would be looking for a deep shade holer

your right i always mark rocks , stumps and logs i see butterfly on for know reason good way to find urin post before season

The seeds in the first dropping picture look like wild plum seeds. And in the last two pictures it looks like they are eating a lot of corn. I love setting wild plum thickets trails are easy to find, but gotta watch out for their little thorns around here.

Wild plum thickets are major attractions when the fruit falls.

we dont have many wild plum here

ttt

ttt

And most important of all: WATCH WHERE YOU'RE WALKING!!!

Sure those are seeds Tony? As around here we see alot of June Bugs in scats. We don't have alot of wild plums around here either.

Certain times of the year you will also see grasshopper parts that do not digest well and also fruit "skins."

yea around here in a few weeks when bow season opens be full of deer hair

Do raccoons place there poop in any certain spot like territory edges, toilets areas or to mark den trees? Or do they just go were ever?

probally get rocked here but ill say it anyhow. What about the size of the droppings? Especially k9s and cats. It can tell you if your dealing with pups or adults, adult toms or kittens. Which could lead to other factors how you set up an area. Just my view and i do concider it when i examine droppings.

Very well thought out, furslinger. I find myself doing the same.

I think they just go when nature calls.

I find em in to many odd places, and only rarely with several piles in one spot. When I do, It's river coons, and not forest coon.

Not sure though!

I know they have a place outside den trees...

Biggest thing that droppings tell me is that the animal that left it is in the area enought to have left it and in my opinion will be back. If he it didn't feel comfortable enough to have left that dropping in that area, than I wouldn't have found it. Means I'm on location. Make a set.

I think these are fruit "skins" but not 100% sure.

I have been finding several droppings that have corn in them. They also have hair in them and are in the same locations I find yote droppings. It's hard to tell for sure what the source is due to the unusual consistancy from the corn but I'm sure its coyote.

Coyotes will certainly eat corn, especially sweet corn.

Corn field yote's, besides corn, will normally come with lots of feral (or tame) cat hair...around here anyway.

Will bobcats eat grasshoppers?

I have trouble nailing scat down to species. Could you all explain to me some of the key differences in juvenile bobcat droppings and an adult red fox. I know I am on cat sign when I find a toilet, well usually, but the cats and red fox have me stumped. I can usually rule out one species or other on the basis of habitat but by scat I really struggle. All tips would be much appreciated. Great Thread. I love talking poo.

This is not trapping related per say but has anyone ever heard that coagulated deer droppings are from male whitetail deer. I always thought it was a product of the deers diet but a biologist told me that during the rut hormone changes cause a bucks scat to coagulate and it is always buck scat. He seemed sincere but I am not sure if this is true. Not trying to hi jack thread, after all it is poo poo related.

telling bobcat and red fox poo is some timmes a challenge. I'm by no means a professional but hear are some tips I use. If the droppings are partly fresh and you have a good tracking medium to look for tracks, you can tell the difference in the stide as the animal walks/trots away. Also bobcats diets consist of close to 90% rabbit/hare. So look for bunny rabbit fur in the dropping. Foxes lack the front claws to catch speedy rabbits so more often than not their droppings will contain something else.
As far as shape the red's poop is usually on semi conected strand. And the bobcats should be clumped periodically, if it is a healthy cat that is.

'Cat droppings (at least what I've found), are mostly in segments almost like Tootsie Roll candy. Just like a common house cat. Even tiger and lion droppings are this way. Not so much with canines.

regardless of the maturity a bobcat you can usually tell a difference in the color of his droppings as compared to canines. A bobcats stool will usually start to gray in color quickly as it starts to age. There will normally be little fragments of bone and hair, claws etc: in a bobcats stool. A red fox may or may not have this all the time and of course depending on what time of year it is very common to find fruit seeds,berry seeds, grasshopper parts,etc:in fox droppings. and sometimes it may be in a partial liquid state. A bobcats diet and a foxes diet are very similar with the exception of fruit particles and related substances that most likely wont be found in a cats stool. This is just some of the differences. One thing that will help you immensly and is foolproof is to actually open the vent of the next fox and or cat you catch and study its contents thoroughly. File this away in your mind and the next time you go go on your line you may be surprised how quickly you can recognize what left that pile of poop and what his diet consist of. Hope this helps you out some.

Also, when the crickets are thick as lice, I notice tarry black fox stool and always thought they were eating crickets. maybe not?

thanks for the advice Coilspring, Lt, and fruslinger.

When is the last time you saw a dropping with hands?

Half hour ago for me why do you ask? lol Is that a frog?

Yep. Undigested at that...

If its predator turds, I'm setting it, red fox or cat or whatever!!

I compare cat scat to a kind of tar-like lump as opposed to the actual poop segments of fox. Its hard to pin-point unless you have them side by side a lot to compare, and even then they can look alike.

I also heard that about buck poop. Clumps in more of a wad then the pellets.

Just what I know, with a little speculation

Why is it canines eat grass again?

Do animals want others of their kind to see their droppings?
Is it a way to mark a territory or boundry?
Why would an animal back up to leave a dropping up high like this?
I think I know...do you?

( Piece of concrete at an old gravel pit lane.)

Here's another photo of a pile of droppings on (what looks to be) a paint spill on an old asphalt road at an abandon strip mine.
Why here?
Because it stood out?

Two droppings picked up a week apart about a hundred yards between them on the same trail.
Same coyote?
Same M.O. ?
You be the judge...

[quote=LT GREY]
Why is it canines eat grass again?

My domestics do it when they have an upset stomach. I think the grass twists around chunks of bone and hair to help it through the digestive system. This is just a guess, but my dogs find lots of roadkill so I see the grass often.

LT do they leave there droppings in high visual places to broadcast their presents in an area?

What kind of animal leaves this kind of scat? There is hair and small parts of berries in it. I'm guessing red fox, but am new to the game...ttt

I know that most of this thread is about predators but how about a water line, muskrats often "go" on a log and leave a musk smell there, anyone have a good picture off this?

They teach us a coyote has been there! They sure use them as territorial boundry markers along with urine and vocal communication. What is really good is when you find droppings of different sizes and alot of fresh droppings durring the fall it means your on a dispersal route alot of times. A good friend and co worker uses rocks at these areas and they will mark them year after year and he sets these mainly with m-44's you can really tell them as they will be the darkest and tallest grass in the pasture. You could blend in a foot trap and add nothing to it and catch those coyotes, dragging would be best to poreserve the location.

Coyotes eat about anything, here the month of august mainly grasshopper droppings, but about anything and everything.

this isnt a dropping but i figured you fine folks would find it interesting...........i will take pictures of dropping on my line this same color (dark purple) not plumbs mind you........coyote intestines th whole inside is dyed reddinsh purple...........this happensfrom sep to early november here



i will post an answer in a few days...........its very interesting for trappers in the south west and usualy right in front of your eyes..........and is a very useful resource in lure or bait

poke berries

poke berry? nope

will post pics of dropping tommorow didnt geta chance today

prickly pear

got er did

Dakotaboy...probably gray fox not red due to the seeds as reds are carnivores, grays are omnivores I believe.

TravC do you have any tricks for making Prickly Pear bait? I've been thinking about trying something for the past few days. The pears around my house are going fast.

Was that puked up or crapped out? Its believed they eat it to purge bile from their stomach

It's a dropping.

Funny thing happened at Locklear's Advanced Trapping School.
We pull up to a culvert with about a 6-8 students.
On top of the concrete crossover are piles of coyote and bobcat droppings. A couple of the students jumped out and start gathering up the droppings like they were pickin' up Easter eggs...
I laughed so hard I almost cried. But,those were the ones that were ahead of the class, IMO !

these dropping tell me a cougar came in about a week ago and marked this territory with droppings. then it came back this morning and dumped on the same pile. the droppings have deer hair and... possibly juniper berries. I knew the droppings were fresh by the steam coming off them. its hard to tell in the pic but the fresh droppings were a reddish lite brown color.

I'd either be nervous or set that up with a 750 !

Can you trap cougars in Oregon?

Lol LT. I guess looking back me and my buddy did look like 2 kids on Easter morning.

yes you can trap cougar in oregon if they kill your livestock. It killed one th3ere last april or may and i dont know how long after the kill you can trap it. there seems to be a there a grey area as to that.
dont tell anybody but i set it up with two #5's next to the dung and another pile of cougar dunk on the opposite side those traps with some cougar gland/urine mix on a piece of the sheep hoof it killed. chained the traps to a tree 15 feet away with logger chain. Im hoping the heavy chain will take up some shock and allow the cougar to get into the thicket where it feels more comfortable and won't fight the trap so much. One trap is a Bridger Alaskan Wolf trap and the other is a beefed up CDR Wolf and lion trap (now out of production).

I cant sleep at night with that big cat that close to my livestock and do nothing.
I had a good discussion on this forum last spring. someone said I might have a long weight for it to return, several months. Id given up on it returning and then here it is 7 months latter.

I didn't place any guide rocks or sticks just plugged in a couple of traps and lured it up.
scent station predator set:


this double pile of droppings taught me I was previously off on my location. I previously thought the lion had come around from the other side of the pod. Now I believe it was coming right down off the mountain, across the highway and I've the fence in the west corner of the pond where a tree had blown over across the fence. It can get water right there in the corner of my property and leave back out the way it comes in.

It has to cross the highway, busy in the day but traffic is light in the wee hours of morning. Ive never in my life seen a cougar killed/hit next to the highway. I think they must listen for a break in traffic and quickly dash across.

I may have deterred this cougar from my property just by repairing and building a higher fence. Droppings tell us everything about location and an animals territorial boundaries.

I found this yesterday.




The funny thing is that it is on the edge of my yard. I have a wooden box with a dermestid beetle colony in it. There is alot of smell that comes from the box and I guess the yote thought it was worthy of a dump.

Here is the dropping as it layed on the ground just about 20 feet from my bait buckets and beetles.



My dog is kept in the yard by an underground wire 20 yards from here. Hope the yote isn't marking the dog for a future meal.

Jayirvin,
Man, wish you were closer. I 've got a pile of #8 DLS LPC's ready to go...

Ive wished many time I could get you here Lt Grey. You know more ways to catch a predator than there are ways. We can only set a trap with a 9 inch jaw spread if it isn't in a kill type situation I think it is.

the dropping I used were fresh last spring but i dried them this summer. It rained hard and they puffed up in-spite of the glycerin id pored and painted on them. The rain didn't change the look of the real cougar dropping at all.

So far there's no sign of the cougar coming back it. Could be another 6 months. Maybe the fencing detoured the predator.

jayervin if a big lion your #5;s will look like a bunch of bent up metal when you come back! Many don't understand the power of a larger lion and what kind of trap one needs to hold them, staked even more on a drag as well. Larger lions will test traps like no other animal there is.

I found another calling card the cougar left.

Lot of deer hair in that one? Wonder what it's been eatting?

I found droppings on a set this morning . Fox I think . But it left the bait undisturbed. Can anyone shed some light on this ?

That's a real good ( and common) question...

Anyone want to share some thoughts on this, before I do ?

I checked a set today and there was i dropping on it . It was a rabbit baited dirt hole with grey fox lure . Can anyone shed some light on this ?

Well ... so...whats the anewer ,,?

A male just marking his territory ?

Just curious why you 'thought' it was a male ?

But yes, marking it's territory....and a specific point of interest!

Thanks Grey, I thought this was possibly the case. My next question and I guess I'll find out is will he investigate my set now enough for a catch or do I pick a fight ie gland lure or urine at this sets backing. I think I will wait a while and then if no more action I will transplant a turd from another critter near the backing and hit the backing with some pee. I will keep you posted.

That would be the way I would do it. That canine is "marking" it's territory and by YOU doing it right beside it will sure draw a lot of interest, next time through...

Just be sure to go UPWIND from the place it left it's mark and blend in the trap well. Never hurts to AGE a set of this nature, although leave the droppings fresh.

Still finding a good many solid grass droppings in late November.

Wonder why that is...

Here's one that is 'coughed up', so it isn't a dropping.

Dropping on a trail up 8" high off the ground on a grass tuff.
Was that done so 'everyone' would see it ?

I found a pile of crap today that had been mostly covered up with pine straw and leaves. It was on a little road threw the woods i ride threw. What kind of animal wouldve done that? Seems kinda like a cat?

Drew,

In general, around here, 'cat scat differs from canine (foxes, of any type, are rare here) in that 'cat scat is "pinched" (or "twisted") at one end.

Krusty

Lt could i ask what do you mean by aging a set in your reply on Walleyemikes set?

.

or so 'everyone' would smell it. The smell will potentially carry further. The other side to this could be 'look at how big I am - I can turd right up high so I am dominant'

i tend to beleive that eating grass is for two reasons 1 to induce vomiting on an upset stomach and two to try to get rid of worms.

what are your thaughts?

Alpine hunter, that makes me think about a few things, such as , if it fact it wasn't an Alpha that scent marks that way...

How about 5' (five feet) off the ground? Please see my post & video links under "Scat ID" I'd value your imput, and I like your Socratic writing style.

5 feet? I guess I'm missing the punch line here....

that's 'cause there isn't any punch line... i put up 2 short videos of fisher toilets, 1 = 5' off ground the other 12'

Last fall

TTT