Scat Samples

Finding Scat

The devil is in the details, so is the smell

Many times Sasquatch Scat is misidentified by novice trackers, only to result in the scat of a bear. Some of the main characteristics when determining Sasquatch Scat are; vegetation, berries, shell fragments, and or potentially bones or fragments. 

​While scales of fish may be present shell fragments continue to be a great indicator, as bears although do shell hunt it is not that often.   While many theories vary on this topic - shell fragments from our perspective are a key indicator.  ​Other factors are the amount and size of the discharge of scat as Sasquatch is a very large animal and as such will excrete a considerable amount of feces.

Often, the presence of wild creatures is revealed to us only in the signs they leave behind. Tracks, nests, food scraps, and shed feathers or antlers are all clues to the ways and means of forest animals. And so is their scat.   Poop, feces, droppings, dung—scat by any other name will smell as sweet. OK, not quite sweet, but you may be surprised that scat of the non-domesticated kind does not often present olfactory offense.

​If you can get past a basic level of squeamishness, a study of these animal signs will reveal much about life in the woods. We can analyze animal diets and habits by examining their scat. Wild woodland creatures eat local and eat (mostly) fresh, although some may contrive to mix human food into their menu.

NOTE: You should NEVER handle scat with your bare hands. Animal waste can transfer disease via contact or inhalation. Look. Use a stick. Take a photo or collect with sterilized collection kit.

The breakdown of scat and it's potential commonalities by species are described below, so the next time you come across scat familiarize yourself with what you are looking at.

Herbivores

Rabbits and hares produce similar round, pea-sized droppings. Their habitats do not usually overlap, with snowshoe hare scat often found at high elevations, even above treeline, where they munch on alpine vegetation. Round deer and moose droppings are alike in composition and tend to be deposited in quantity. Piles of cherry-sized pellets are easy to identify in moose country. Both animals feed on tree bark and buds in winter, which makes for firm, woody scat. Leafier summer food produces looser droppings.  Beavers, too, are strict vegetarians and their scat reflects their bark-heavy diet. But it can be hard to find—the fibrous clumps are deposited in water and quickly break down.  Many people don’t realize that porcupines are also tree-eaters, living largely on conifer twigs and bark. Their scat is formed into elongated woody pellets, which can accumulate in deep, turpentine-scented piles outside their dens.

Carnivores

North Woods hikers may notice small squiggles of dark scat on rocks in the trail—a sign that a weasel or marten has left its mark. These stealthy predators are rarely seen, but their feather or fur-flecked droppings attest to their carnivorous lifestyle. Piscatorial otter scat, full of fish bones, scales, and bits of crustaceans, is left in prominent spots along waterways.

Omnivores

An omnivorous diet results in variable scat. Coyotes and red foxes exercise perhaps the widest menu options—their tubular, segmented scat may contain bones, feathers, and fur in winter, with seeds, nuts, berries, grass, leaves, insects, fruit, and eggs appearing in summer deposits. The coyote’s droppings are generally larger.  Bears are also expansive in their tastes. They gorge on seasonal foods, like fruits and nuts, and leave large piles of uniform scat du jour. Near human habitation, birdseed and bits of trash will be found in their droppings.

Have you ever found an unusual piece of scat in the woods? Let us know in the comments below or email us.  We'd love to hear from you.   

BELIEVE

By Kevin Weberling
Research Writer, Sasquatch Syndicate Inc.