The Forestry Forum

Outdoor topics => The Outdoor Board => Topic started by: OneWithWood on April 16, 2013, 06:13:52 PM

Title: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: OneWithWood on April 16, 2013, 06:13:52 PM
Here are a couple of pics of some scat that I came across while shroom hunting.
No I did not find any  :(



 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0388.JPG)
 

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10273/IMG_0389.JPG)

I think I know what it is and if it is it is unusual for this area.

What do you think?
The knife is 6 1/4" long.  There were five of these droppings spaced about four feet apart on a path.
Whatever it is has greatly disturbed the soil around a number of trees.  Places where I usually find mushrooms.  :(
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: beenthere on April 16, 2013, 06:24:51 PM
Looks deer to me. 
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Jay C. White Cloud on April 16, 2013, 06:28:04 PM
Old buck or pregnant doe.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: muskoka guy on April 16, 2013, 06:29:41 PM
sasquatch maybe ;D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Jeff on April 16, 2013, 06:39:35 PM
Deer.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: POSTON WIDEHEAD on April 16, 2013, 06:42:44 PM
Don't show it to Si......he'll eat it thinking it's Muscadines.  :D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: SwampDonkey on April 16, 2013, 06:46:16 PM
Deer.

Even a moose sometimes will have a change in their stools. Most of the time it's oblong round pellets, but some times it's like cow pies. ;D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Dan_Shade on April 16, 2013, 07:29:16 PM
I'm sorry for eating your mushrooms, OWW

;D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: doctorb on April 16, 2013, 07:34:45 PM
I think it was Jeff ;D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Jeff on April 16, 2013, 07:54:01 PM
Not me.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: OneWithWood on April 16, 2013, 07:56:39 PM
The deer scat around here are always loose pellets.  I have never seen this conglomeration before.
I was thinking black bear cub. A couple of folks swear they saw one in the woods a while back.  We did have a fellow down the road busted for keeping wild animals including black bear and big cats.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: OneWithWood on April 16, 2013, 07:57:45 PM
 :D I dunno, Jeff. You have been keeping a pretty weird diet of late... :D :D :D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: pigman on April 16, 2013, 08:08:44 PM
I don't know what deer eat up north to have droppings like that, but down here deer droppings never look like that.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: beenthere on April 16, 2013, 08:11:49 PM
Here is a shot of one I think similar, not as "new" or fresh, or reconstituted with some rain.
Snap shot of a few minutes ago.  Some similarity.


 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10180/100_0972.JPG)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: clww on April 16, 2013, 08:19:45 PM
Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on April 16, 2013, 06:42:44 PM
Don't show it to Si......he'll eat it thinking it's Muscadines.  :D
:D :D :D I remember that episode!

OWW- It's deer scat. Just like humans, what they expel doesn't always look the same.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: thecfarm on April 16, 2013, 08:29:59 PM
The Easter Bunny hid some eggs on the front lawn. The Grand Kids found some chocolate jelly beans from the deer.  :D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: clww on April 16, 2013, 08:44:23 PM
That's funny. :D I can picture that happening. :)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: WDH on April 16, 2013, 08:56:42 PM
Fox or coyote.  Probably coyote. 
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: chevytaHOE5674 on April 16, 2013, 09:04:05 PM
Looks like deer to me.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Jeff on April 16, 2013, 09:22:16 PM
Quote from: WDH on April 16, 2013, 08:56:42 PM
Fox or coyote.  Probably coyote.

No way. Its definitely whitetail deer. Looks typical of what we see all over michigan. Somebody go get Corley5 if you want an expert. He was a DNR poop counter for over a decade.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Jay C. White Cloud on April 16, 2013, 09:52:50 PM
I wasn't crack'n a joke before, it's an older buck, or pregnant doe, that is what there scat looks like very often.  It's deer just as Jeff said.  Definitely not fox or coyote  Bear cub scat is similar, but wrong proportion and consistency.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: beenthere on April 16, 2013, 10:46:10 PM
Quote from: doctorb on April 16, 2013, 07:34:45 PM
I think it was Jeff ;D

Nope, no jersey glove.  ::)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Corley5 on April 16, 2013, 11:17:01 PM
Whitetail deer  :)  Former MDNR Pelleteer  ;) ;D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: sawguy21 on April 16, 2013, 11:29:27 PM
Quote from: Jeff on April 16, 2013, 09:22:16 PM
Quote from: WDH on April 16, 2013, 08:56:42 PM
Fox or coyote.  Probably coyote.

No way. Its definitely whitetail deer. Looks typical of what we see all over michigan. Somebody go get Corley5 if you want an expert. He was a DNR poop counter for over a decade.
Uh...nope. Not touching that one. ;D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: SwampDonkey on April 17, 2013, 05:00:07 AM
Quote from: Corley5 on April 16, 2013, 11:17:01 PM
Former MDNR Pelleteer  ;) ;D

Volunteer poop counter. ;D ;)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: OneWithWood on April 17, 2013, 05:34:37 AM
Thanks for all the replies.  In all the years I have been walking these woods I have never seen scat like this and I have seen a lot of scat from white tails, coyotes, coons, etc. 
Learn something new everyday.  I guess I was hoping it might be a small bear.  We have had reports of sightings of a black bear and a large cat in the area.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: jdtuttle on April 17, 2013, 05:40:57 AM

All you want to know & more about the business end of deer.  ;D
   http://bowsite.com/bowsite/features/armchair_biologist/poop/
Round, individual droppings incate deer have been eating browse such as leaves, twigs, and acorns.

Lumpy droppings indicate softer to digest; grasses, clover, alfalfa, apples, and other forbs.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Corley5 on April 17, 2013, 07:25:49 AM
Michigan deer management decisions used to be made based on Pellet Surveys.  That's all the details I'm going to give  :)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Jeff on April 17, 2013, 01:32:05 PM
Its always been obvious to me that excrement was the basis for a lot of DNR decisions.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: beenthere on April 17, 2013, 01:58:53 PM
I heard those were smart pills.  ;D  Maybe more ways than one. ;)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Jeff on April 17, 2013, 04:32:42 PM
I've gotten word from a very trusted source, that our new director for the DNR is the right person for the job. Since I trust the source so much, I'll trust that we now have a good person in the position. Hopefully he can find a way to tread through everyone else's excremental trails, detours and roadblocks that can make such a position a bit of a stinker job so to speak.  :)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: SwampDonkey on April 17, 2013, 09:13:48 PM
Deer management in northern NB was a failure and they were told it would fail by the old guides, and they were right. And they were told why it wouldn't work and they were right about that to.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Bibbyman on April 18, 2013, 09:46:09 AM
 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10034/wsbearscat20120817a.JPG)

I had this scat tested by state wildlife biologist.  All they could tell me was that it was from omnivore.

I keep finding clues but no bear. Just last Sunday I spotted boulders turner over in a branch near the house and a standing dead tree with the sap wood ripped off about 4-6' off the ground.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: OneWithWood on April 18, 2013, 10:44:18 AM
I have seen what looks to be claw marks on trees before and there are a few logs that have been shredded in the same area.  Yesterday I came upon a few more piles of poop.  If it is a white tail deer it would be the biggest around by a long shot.  Could be a trophy rack for me this year!
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: OneWithWood on April 18, 2013, 10:45:09 AM
Still no shrooms.  Better happen today because we have a major system moving in with drastically dropping temps.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: mesquite buckeye on April 18, 2013, 11:27:47 AM
Check under those little piles. I hear the heat promotes mushrooms. Also gives a distinct (dis stinked) flavor.

Bet there are lots of mushrooms in Washington with all the hot air out there. ;D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: SwampDonkey on April 18, 2013, 11:38:49 AM
I think a lot of times a bear will try and push over a rotten stub to get at the beetle grubs. Not tall snags so much but the crumbly short stubs. And they like to climb my post that holds the bat box, plus any oak I have that will sustain their weight. Oversized coons. :D :D

The feeder with the coons on the chicken coop thread, is just as fitting with bears at that feeder. They aren't as dexterous but they can figure stuff out. Don't think for one minute they can't figure stuff out. :D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: red oaks lumber on April 18, 2013, 01:04:34 PM
is it grits?
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Chuck White on April 18, 2013, 06:29:28 PM
Looks like deer droppings to me.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: martyinmi on April 18, 2013, 06:59:03 PM
Quote from: red oaks lumber on April 18, 2013, 01:04:34 PM
is it grits?
Not bland enough looking to be grits! :D

Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: POSTON WIDEHEAD on April 18, 2013, 08:57:55 PM
A Bear would not have left his water bottle.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Holmes on April 18, 2013, 09:16:31 PM
Quote from: Jeff on April 17, 2013, 01:32:05 PM
Its always been obvious to me that excrement was the basis for a lot of DNR decisions.

                           :D :D :D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: WDH on April 19, 2013, 04:20:49 PM
Quote from: martyinmi on April 18, 2013, 06:59:03 PM
Quote from: red oaks lumber on April 18, 2013, 01:04:34 PM
is it grits?
Not bland enough looking to be grits! :D

What a low blow  :D.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Paul_H on April 19, 2013, 11:32:58 PM
Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on April 18, 2013, 08:57:55 PM
A Bear would not have left his water bottle.


(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/20011/2410/DSCN0405.JPG)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: WmFritz on April 19, 2013, 11:57:25 PM
Mystery solved smiley_ignore
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: ryguy777 on July 16, 2013, 11:19:33 PM
a sick indian, or sasquatch
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: SwampDonkey on July 17, 2013, 04:02:24 AM
When I was a younger lad about ready for college there was this book written on such matters, only not on the ID, but how to... in the woods.  I bet it's on Amazon. ;)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Paul_H on July 19, 2013, 09:40:37 PM
Quote from: SwampDonkey on July 17, 2013, 04:02:24 AM
When I was a younger lad about ready for college there was this book written on such matters, only not on the ID, but how to... in the woods.  I bet it's on Amazon. ;)

Deuteronomy 23:12-13 is to the point but something a lot of people don't bother to do.Just common courtesy really.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: WmFritz on July 19, 2013, 10:33:36 PM



           I dusted off my bible and there it was...  all spelled out.   :P
           Never realized the Old Testament included that sort of instruction manual.   :D
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Paul_H on July 19, 2013, 11:28:31 PM
There is even a recipe for dung bread in there. :)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Jeff on July 20, 2013, 06:27:48 AM
PASSOVER THAT!
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: POSTON WIDEHEAD on July 20, 2013, 06:44:04 AM
Quote from: Paul_H on July 19, 2013, 11:28:31 PM
There is even a recipe for dung bread in there. :)

Reminds me of Si and the Muscadine.  :)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: Al_Smith on July 20, 2013, 07:46:35 AM
Dung bread :o Perhaps an early attempt of recycling so to speak .
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: WmFritz on July 20, 2013, 08:32:07 PM
It never ceases to amaze me   ??? no matter what the title of a thread starts out as  ::)  the amount of times the discussion strays off about food.    :) :) :D :) :)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: sandhills on July 22, 2013, 10:07:43 AM
Yeah I think I'm on a diet now, at least as far as bread goes anyway.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: pappy19 on July 27, 2013, 08:41:49 AM
Looks like something a 12 year old constipated lad would drop.
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: DaleK on July 27, 2013, 09:42:23 AM
Could be a raccoon that's been stealing cherries (don't ask) but I'd go with deer.

Bear sign in wheat - Never seen bears hitting wheat here before harvest, they're all over this year. Doesn't bode well for the corn now that it's earing up. May bode well for a freezer full of bear and a new rug or two though


 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31907/51E16B6B-0EC0-421D-8588-C5F1A5FE35C4-2415-000001B0D177A427_zps18ef186d.jpg) 

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31907/A5B60F88-E368-4FDD-B6E9-F3E0B646440A-2415-000001B0E5112E36_zpsfbf48858.jpg) 

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31907/6AF7623A-7537-4C82-9CFA-1E1752B1DD83-2415-000001B0DA4F2187_zpsf78167ee.jpg)
Title: Re: Unknown scat in woods
Post by: SwampDonkey on July 27, 2013, 04:56:15 PM
Bear numbers are getting high around here. Can't be any hunters.