Coyote Scat Question...

stiff neck

stiff neck

New member
I was scouting a new area this morning and saw a ton of scat. I didn't hike very far in because the terrain was pretty rugged and there was poison oak all over. I could't find the trail (the area isn't used much obviously) so I just followed some game trails up the sides of these hills. All these pics were from a random 1/2 mile hike up and down the hills. This is DFG land, with BLM land on the other side of the ridge. The hillsides are covered in dry grass and oak trees with some rocky areas.

Within 40-50 yards uphill from the moderately busy roadway I saw scat piled on the tops of rocks. As I continued uphill there was more, all over the place. I've seen scat on dirt roads or worn game trails, but this coyote seems to like "unloading" on top of rocks with a view, and making sure everybody can see it. Most of these pics show scat high on rocks overlooking creek beds or steep terrain.

I don't usually hunt steep hilly areas like this. I honestly didn't expect to see so many obvious signs of coyote on a hillside like that. A lot of it was old, but some was fairly recent. Is this "normal" behavior?
 
It could be either a group gathering place or near or on a territorial boundary. One pasture in WY gives me half of what I catch in my three week trip(I don't cover a lot of ground). One time I know I caught and shot three huge males and other large yotes, I figured for that many large adults it must be a boundary for two or three groups of yotes.T.20
 
Siff neck what you found is not that uncommon, dogs like to crap on top of somthing when marking territory. Fox wolfves and coyotes all do this. Looks like you found a place to do some howling
 
stiff neck: thanks for the photos. You may have averted a diaster by posting them. As you know, the further south you go in your state, the weirder the population and in a recent edition of a local SoCal magazine they showed similar photos but described them as "edible wild Kalifornia turnips" and promised hightened sexual prowess the more one consumed. I'm gonna call them up and let them know right now. On second thought .. . . maybe, I wont.

As mentioned, such turnips are not an uncommon method for marking territory. Too, I suspect a lot of coyotes just prefer an open area to dump. Its one of the signs we watch when driving backroads looking for potential calling sites as coyotes often will use the road itself for walking or dumping. You seem to have found the Motherlode of all sites.

Going callin' soon?
 
Looks like a case of the longlegged doodle bug, stashing his trophy. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Its a territorial behavior by all means.
 
Stiff neck, those are some right nice pics of poop you got there! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Seriously though, like the other guys have mentioned, dogs like to poop on top of things.

I have found yote scat on top of hay bails, rocks, and one time and old rusted abandoned car.
 
Maybe the coyotes want to keep their butts out of the poison oak?

This reminds me of the time I took a young fella hunting. He was full of questions, what's this plant, track, poop, etc. I walked up a ridge ahead of him and laid an unwrapped tootsie roll on a rock. I waited until he almost caught up to me and let him see me pick it up. I put it up to my nose and took a big whiff. Then I bit a chunk off, chewed it, looked at him and said "um bobcat". He would have puked if he had anything in his stomach. He was reeling from the dry heaves. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
That could be bobcat scat. Notice how it is segmented. Bobcats love that rocky terrain. In that last picture it looks like a cat scrape. Coyote will do this too but the scratched out spot is usually longer, and more narrow. Cool pictures.

Byron
 
Thanks for commenting on my "crappy" pictures. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I figured it was a territorial marking of some kind, but I have never seen so many piles of scat so close together and all on top of rocks. Anyways, this area is now officially marked as "Pooh Corner" on my map. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Yeah, looks like good bobcat country, eh? I've never called in a cat before... I'll have to try calling this area when it opens for hunting in Sept. It's currently closed to hunting.

Do bobcats bury their scat? If not, what does it look like?
 
That is typical grey fox habitat, and typical looking grey fox scat, full of manzanita berries, and on top of small rock piles. The last pic looks like bobcat scat to me, along with a small scratch. We have lots of country like that in my area too, and seldom is it inhabited by many coyotes. You ought to have a ball calling for fox there this winter though.
 
Originally posted by Weasel-UT:

I walked up a ridge ahead of him and laid an unwrapped tootsie roll on a rock.

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Now that's funny! Hey, Weasel, got any more stories?
Click to expand...
 
Well I think you guys are all wrong. I think that all this poop was left by the road crew after one of their lunch breaks. They even left their backpack that they carried the toilet paper in. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
I have plenty of stories, but I don't do many taste tests.

Speaking of crappy stories:
One of these days I'll have to post the story about the fudge brownie mix. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 


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