Rattlesnake Safety, Awareness, and Safe Handling Scat Talk
• Scat characteristics – size, shape, texture, color, and contents
• Common scat family characteristics
• Identification (best guess) scat quiz
Alicia Vermilye Park Ranger [email protected] jeffco.us
@RangerAlicia19 Shape and Texture
Spheres: Elongated or round
Cords: Thin, thick, broken, twisted
Herbivore: Pellets Hard scat – dry diet separate Soft or runny scat - wet diets
Carnivore: Cords Hard scat – Hair and bones Soft scat - Feeding on flesh
Omnivores: Argh! Size
Size and quantity provide clues
Length is contributing factor Color
• Black - meat diet
• Dark color in herbivores - moist vegetation
• White - older scat (phosphate from chewed bones or fungus digesting the scat)
• Gray - mixture of hair and meat
• Brown – vegetable matter
• Blue/red – berries
• Glittery – insect exoskeletons
• Colorful –garbage Family Canidae: Coyote and Fox
What do they eat? And when?
• Deer
• Scavenged ungulate meat
• Acorns and nuts
• Juniper berries
• Rabbits Photo by Wendy Miller
• Rodents
• Grasshoppers
Photo by Steven Beck & Marlane Gottlieb Coyote and Fox Scat
Shape: Tubular, twisted, smooth surface, blunt ends, tapered ends
Size: Fox: - “ diameter, 3-6” L 5 3 Coyote:⁄16 ⁄4- 1 “ diameter, 5-13” L 3 3 ⁄8 ⁄8 Color: Brown, blue, green, sparkly Coyote and Fox Scat Quiz
Photo by Kent McFarland Family Cervidae: Mule Deer, Elk, and Moose
What do they eat? And when?
Photo by: Andrew DuBois Photo by: Andrew DuBois
Photo by: NPS Photo/Kent Miller Mule Deer Elk Moose
What do they eat? And when? What do they eat? And When? What do they eat? And When?
Mule deer are browsers Elk are both grazers and browsers Moose are more browsers than grazers but they will also graze • Grasses! • Twigs • Twigs • Twigs • Bark • Bark • Bark • New seedlings • New seedlings • New seedlings • Forbs • Forbs • Forbs • Grasses • Grasses • Aquatic plants
• Sedges Mule Deer, Elk, and Moose Scat
Shape: Elongate spheres Dimple and point (deer and elk) Cow pattie/clumped
Size: Mule Deer: - " diameter, - 1 " L 3 5 1 3 ⁄16 ⁄8 ⁄2 ⁄4 Elk: - " diameter, - 1" L 7 11 1 Mule Deer Elk ⁄16 ⁄16 ⁄2 Moose: - " diameter, - 1 " L 1 7 7 3 ⁄2 ⁄8 ⁄8 ⁄4
Color: Brown sometimes green
Moose Mule Deer, Elk, and Moose Scat Quiz
Photo by Larry Master Ursidae Family: Black Bears
What do they eat? And when?
New vegetative growth
Animal carcass
Berries
Acorns/nuts
Beetle larvae
Ants/Wasps/Bees
Rodents
Rabbits Black Bear Scat
Shape: Lack of shape, loose, tubular shape, linked segments, blunt ends, loose patties
Size: Big! 1 " diameter (cubs as little as a “), 5-12” L 1 1 ⁄4 ⁄2 Color: Black, brown, glittery, colorful Black Bear Scat Quiz
Photo by: Fred Bauder Family Felidae: Mountain Lion & Bobcat
What do they eat? And when?
• Elk/Deer
• Porcupines
• Rabbits
• Beaver
• Ground squirrels
• Carrion – rarely
Photo by Steven Beck & Marlane Gottlieb Photo by Steven Beck & Marlane Gottlieb Mountain Lion and Bobcat Scat
Shape: Tubular, long ropes that may be segmented and folded on themselves or just one great length, smooth outer surface, blunt ends or just one pointy end
Size: Mountain Lion: " diameter, 6 " – 17” length Bobcat: " – 31” diameter,15 3-10” length1 4 8 2 7 ⁄ − ⁄ ⁄ 16 Color: ⁄ Shades of black
Mountain Lion
Bobcat Mountain Lion and Bobcat Scat Quiz
Photo by: Kim A. Cabrera
Photo by: Kim A. Cabrera
Photo by: Kim A. Cabrera Photo by: Kim A. Cabrera Snakes
What do they eat? And When?
Small mammals Birds Bird eggs Lizards Grasshoppers Frogs Salamanders Fish
Photo by Andrew DuBois Snake Scat
Shape/Texture: No bones, usually runny
Color: Black, sparkly
Photo by Andrew DuBois Oh Crap! Surprising Fecal Facts Oh Crap! Surprising Fecal Facts
Why do rabbits eat their own feces? Oh Crap! Surprising Fecal Facts
How often do bears poop a day? Oh Crap! Surprising Fecal Facts
How often do deer poop a day? Oh Crap! Surprising Fecal Facts
Colorful scat is not fun for the animals. Why? Oh Crap! Surprising Fecal Facts
Why is identifying wildlife scat valuable? Additional Resources:
1. A Field Guide to Mammal Tracking in North America By James Halfpenny
2. Mammal Tracks and Sign By Mark Elbroch
3. Bear -Tracker.com
4. inaturalist.org