Guide

Animal poop identification: what left this?

Droppings (trackers call them scat) are often easier to find than tracks. Shape, size, what is inside it and where it was left narrow it down fast. Look with your eyes and a stick, never your hands.

Red Fox scat — A real photo taken in the US. Credit is under Photo credits below.

Before you rely on thisNever eat a wild plant or mushroom unless you are 100% sure what it is; many deadly ones look like safe ones. This page helps you avoid it, not eat it. Poison Help line (free, all day, every day): 1-800-222-1222. If someone stops breathing, has a seizure or passes out, call 911.A learning tool, not a replacement for training. In an emergency, call 911.

Read it in four steps

Shape: tiny hard pellets (rabbit, deer, mouse), ropes with twisted, tapered ends (coyote, fox), blunt tubes (raccoon, bear), or tight segments (bobcat).
Size: grains of rice point to mice. Pea-size round balls point to rabbits. Thick piles you could not cover with your palm point to bear.
Contents: hair and bone mean a meat eater. Seeds, berries and grass mean a plant eater or a bear in berry season. Crayfish shells often mean raccoon.
Place: a pile in the middle of a trail or at a trail crossing is often a coyote or fox marking its ground. Many piles in one spot, on a log or at the base of a tree, is a raccoon latrine.

Stay safe around droppings

Droppings can carry germs and worm eggs that make people sick. Raccoon droppings can hold roundworm eggs, and mouse droppings can spread hantavirus when they are swept up dry. Use a stick or take a photo, keep children and dogs away, and wash your hands even if you think you did not touch anything.