Later the same day, a message came from Ask MDC live in Macon County just north of 36 Highway,” the message read. Could this be a different animal?” Chocolate-Covered Almonds “The piles of poop are everywhere except they are much different in shape and size. “The poop seemed to change - same size pile but a little different color and consistency,” the email read. The writer went on to describe how the scat piles continued to show up overnight throughout the summer and into the fall. The next day, more poop, but a little farther away from the house and right next to my fire pit. Next day, just about the same spot was another pile.

I took a picture, scooped it up, and tossed it across the road. “And it was not huge, but bigger than what I have ever seen from any dog. “On April 29, I noticed a pile of poop in my yard, rather close to the front porch,” the email began. Later that same morning, I received an email that showed people are interested in knowing what is using their yard as a toilet. We did have a bear close to us last summer, could it possibly be Bruno?” Evolving Scat Piles Based on what I saw there and the size of the scat piles in the yard, it must be a bear. We have been out west to Colorado several times. “We are very concerned for the safety of the young children and pets in the neighborhood. “We live in a subdivision surrounded by woods, and we have seen deer, coyotes, foxes, and raccoons,” said the caller. In the case above, the caller went on to provide additional information that might be helpful in identifying the source of the scat, going as far as to even supply a suspect by name - Bruno, a black bear that made headlines in 2020 when his travels from Wisconsin to Arkansas took him through the St. However, by asking the right questions, you can go a long way toward reducing the number of available suspects and determining the guilty critter. Scat identification can be difficult, as scat changes according to what food is available, content of that food, and age and health of the animal. And frequently the best evidence left behind is the animal’s feces, or scat.Īn animal’s scat provides unbeatable insights into its diet and behavior. Being successful in my job requires being a good detective. To help solve issues and answer questions, properly identifying the culprit is the first step. My job is helping people with wildlife concerns and coexisting with wildlife. “We found huge piles of scat in our backyard and neighbor’s yard, our trash cans were knocked over, and trash spread everywhere.”Ĭontacts like this are an everyday occurrence in the life of a wildlife damage biologist. Caller ID indicated it was coming from Wentzville. My cell phone started ringing earlier than usual. Wildlife damage biologist helps homeowners identify mystery visitors

Skat identifier