Rattlesnake Safety, Awareness, and Safe Handling Scat Talk
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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.