Weird Scat? sorry, three large pics...

B

Bdawg

New member
Please forgive the three non-resized images, but for detail's sake, I left the larger pics as is...can anybody tell me what pooped this out?
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This is a closeup of said scat:
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This is the best pic of the tracks came along with the scat:
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closeup of track: [image]
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These tracks and scat were in my yard this morning...I saw piles very similar looking in size,shape,and color,but of larger quantities in the woods out back while hunting a couple of days ago...at the time I assumed it was porcupine stuff because of the "woody" looking color and chewed up trees nearby, but didn't look up close until this morning, and I noticed some hair in it. At first I thought "bobcat?" because of the tracks, but thought about it some more and decide that the litterbox probably had stuff that looked more bobcat than this pile, and when I searched up bobcat scat, a picture of "fresh" stuff looked not only more like the litterbox stuff, but also exactly like another form of scat I found near(within 20 yds or so)the original stuff in the woods. At first glance I had decided it was coyote scat, but after seeing pics online, I decided that the hair and bone in it was too digested to be from a coyote, and so determined that it must be bobcat...coincidentally, that deposit happened to be about 100yds down the ridge from where I had been calling the day before I found it, right about where I thought I had seen a flicker of movement but deciced that it was just the breeze moving a branch or something....about 10 minutes before I had to pack up and go pick up my wife from work /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif.

I also considered if it was fisher, but online pics of fisher scat looked more like the bobcat stuff. Considered raccoon, but the tracks just didn't look like coon tracks to me, nor did the scat look like online pics of coon scat either... The last bit of info I can offer is that the accompanying tracks appeared kind of random in areas, like the owner had been chasing something around, and I did find some form of rodent tracks w/ skinny tail drag marks in the mix. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Definitely Porcupine. There are a few living in the hollow of a tree behind my house and there is about 100 pounds of those droppings there. If you need more, I can send them along! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
I know that I have the porksters on my property from time to time, they do a real number on my pines. If I ever saw one, it'd be toast. I think you guys may be right about the scat, especially with the similarities to the piles out in the woods...the tracks just didn't make any sense. The hard,crusty snow made for lousy pics, but the general pattern and dispersion of the tracks didn't look like a porky had been lumbering along, more like a big kitty toying with a rodent...The scat was real close to the tree line and it was tough to really see the details of the majority of the tracks, so a porky would definitely not be out of the question, but most of the the tracks were between the pool and the back deck, kind of randomly following the rodent tracks...doesn't seem like porky behavior to follow a rodent in an open area of the yard, but it doesn't seem usual for a bobcat to just come right in close either...I guess the other scenario could be that I had more than one visitor last night...maybe it was a big feral cat. I know there's a few around, but I've never seen one big enough to make those tracks. ....If I find more sign in the fresh snow tomorrow, I'll put the trail-cam out and see what I can catch. Thanks for the replys. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Thanks MAUMAU...maybe there was a little "wild kingdom" party going on last night /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif...I 'spose I'll pass on your offer though...gee, I dunno, I wonder if it could be dried out and burned in the woodstove? I'll have to get back to you on that one /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Quote:
It's a porcupine. I find large amounts under hemlok trees for some reason.



They love hemlocks. My property is loaded with hemlocks and porcupines. On a 20 acre plot of land we kill 15 or so a year. I just cant keep the numbers down. We go out when the spring is near and its 40 out with snow on the ground still. Best time to find them.
 


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