Scat ID

The purpose of this forum is to help people identify things they've seen while out hiking: wildflowers, trees, birds, insects, small animals, animal tracks, even geographical features like buttes or streams
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snow_sketches
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Scat ID

Post by snow_sketches » July 27th, 2021, 6:48 pm

Hey folks,

Not quite sure how I feel about introducing myself to the forums with this topic as a first post, but here we are :) I happened upon some interesting scat the other morning, on the Green Lakes 4070 trail, in the Three Sisters Wilderness:
581A0A8E-00C2-4D62-AE97-206F0C4849AE.jpeg
Cursory research seems to narrow this down to mountain lion or bobcat (considering shape, size, form, and contents). Am I on the right track? And if so, which of the two seems like the right ID?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

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RobFromRedland
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Re: Scat ID

Post by RobFromRedland » July 28th, 2021, 5:27 am

I'm no expert, but that certainly looks like kitty scat to me. I'd say it is too big for a bobcat. My vote is a cougar.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW! What a ride! - Hunter S. Thompson

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retired jerry
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Re: Scat ID

Post by retired jerry » July 28th, 2021, 5:44 am

coyote?

I think they like to poop on the trail to warn others

cats more try to hide it, at least smaller cats.

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bobcat
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Re: Scat ID

Post by bobcat » July 29th, 2021, 5:13 pm

RobFromRedland wrote:
July 28th, 2021, 5:27 am
My vote is a cougar.
Agreed. The size and that rope-like formation that issues from the entrails of a catamount. Not uncommon, by the way. They're everywhere and watching us all the time.

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snow_sketches
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Re: Scat ID

Post by snow_sketches » July 29th, 2021, 8:25 pm

Thanks for weighing in, all! Your perspectives are helpful.
bobcat wrote:
July 29th, 2021, 5:13 pm
Not uncommon, by the way. They're everywhere and watching us all the time.
Sure, yeah. Once, looking for a pleasant lunch spot on an otherwise unremarkable trail, I scrambled up a nice rock. After a while, other hikers began passing by on the trail below, just totally oblivious to my presence. It really struck me how easy it is to disappear into the landscape! I'm used to announcing my presence/harmlessness to other humans, so being invisible in this case felt a little weird. It was an interesting insight into what I imagine the mountain lion experience is like, though :)
retired jerry wrote:
July 28th, 2021, 5:44 am
coyote?

I think they like to poop on the trail to warn others

cats more try to hide it, at least smaller cats.
I've only recently started spending a lot of time in the Central Cascades, and wasn't aware that coyotes lived there; that's cool to discover, so thanks for pointing it out!

I've noticed bear scat on trails, too. Always cool to see some sign of who is in the neighborhood, and I suppose when they leave it right on the trail, it's hard to miss!

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retired jerry
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Re: Scat ID

Post by retired jerry » July 30th, 2021, 6:11 am

I have never seen a mountain lion but I've seen their tracks. Once I saw the mountain lion tracks on top of mine from the previous day. From reports of other people, yeah, they seem to stalk us without us usually knowing it.

In the wild, I've seen coyotes a couple times. I've also seen them crossing the highway, walking by my house in the city,...

Bears I've seen many times. I was at split rock in Paradise Park and was watching a bear below eating berries. Then someone walked along. The bear took off in the opposite direction. I went down and asked them - they hadn't seen the bear even though it was maybe 200 feet from them.

I think all three are all over the cascades, coast range,...

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bobcat
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Re: Scat ID

Post by bobcat » July 30th, 2021, 8:44 am

I'm going to backtrack on my original ID (cougar) and make it more confusing after checking a few sites and photos of examples online.

1) probably bobcat, from everything I've checked. Unless you have giant feet, it's a good size for bobcat scat (I suppose I should know definitively, but it would involve scenting the thing to recognize one of my species);
2) could be coyote (one site says coyote scat, depending on what they've been eating, can sometimes be confused with bobcat or cougar, and coyote often has that tapering form);
3) possibly a small cougar, but too small and narrow for an adult cougar - although the pieces on the left especially look very cougar-like.

The cats sometimes do that scraping thing with their hind feet, but not always.

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retired jerry
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Re: Scat ID

Post by retired jerry » July 30th, 2021, 8:49 am

I think that the user "bobcat" should be considered an authority on this :)

I should get one of those trailcams and research this.

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snow_sketches
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Re: Scat ID

Post by snow_sketches » July 31st, 2021, 6:48 am

bobcat wrote:
July 30th, 2021, 8:44 am

Unless you have giant feet,
...Ah yeah, it struck me after posting that I ought to have mentioned: I wear size 11 shoes. So, not giant :)

Bobcat does seem pretty plausible; size, shape, segmentation, placement, and (at least a superficial glance at) contents all seem to check out. Apparently, bobcat scat is firmer than coyote. This discussion has been interesting enough that the next time I encounter scat like this, I'll probably try stepping on it a little, too. Learning is making me weirder, as it should :)
retired jerry wrote:
July 30th, 2021, 8:49 am
I think that the user "bobcat" should be considered an authority on this :)

I should get one of those trailcams and research this.
Ha! Yeah, I agree.

That trail cam idea is an interesting one! It would be cool to observe an area photographically, and then explore the landscape for corresponding signs.

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retired jerry
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Re: Scat ID

Post by retired jerry » July 31st, 2021, 6:56 am

this lady in southern california puts trailcams out behind her house and there are an amazing number of animals walking around

I think if you put a trailcam on any of the trails around here you'd catch a surprising number of animals

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