Predator Hunting > Predator Biology

Droppings

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Hern:
Let's tall...droppings (scat). Fox & Coyote

When scouting, calling, trapping or fishing I look for droppings. I look in-season and out-of-season. Plain and simple, it's a sure sign a critter was there.
But at times, it's not so simple to figure why a signal animal stopped there. Is it a local critter? A traveling critter? Adult or juvenile? Hard to answer.  Where was the critter going to or coming from? A look around the landscape should tell you the answer.
Where I find several piles of droppings, aged and fresh, is where I want to call or trap. This shows me the critters spend time here and feel comfortable here.

Your thoughts on droppings (scat)...

Misterjake23:
I tend to see a lot of scat on logging roads or atv trails.  I perceive this as the animal being just like me and taking the easy travel route.   I've also noticed that the "pile"  is usually right in the middle of the road and usually not off to the side.......

Lookn4Fur:
I'm always looking for droppings anytime I'm out in the woods.  I have the most problem with identifying the age of the dropping.  I always think if I knew how long ago the dropping was made, I could figure out if the animal was within calling distance.  Of course I can determine fresh from old but I would like to be able to tell the difference between fresh as in just dropped to 6 hours old.  Not easy when you consider frost, rain and snow.  I look for a shine, softness and even temperature to determine really fresh droppings.  If I run across that, then I am calling immediately.  It doesn't matter if it's a lone animal just passing by or I am in their living room.

If I find a kick back in front of coyote droppings, I consider that a territorial animal and I am in the coyotes home range.  I feel that when a wondering coyote passes through a territory or is trying to set up his own new territory and leaves droppings the resident coyote will leave his droppings on top or within three feet and do a kickback trying to prove that this is his area and he is bigger, stay out!

Scat is interesting and as hern said, difficult to determine specifics from but can be very beneficial to understand. 

uncle buck:
First off this all sound like a lot of  sheeeeeeeeet to me!!!

IMO I don't care if the scat is old or new. If it be red fox then it's probably going to be there no matter how old it is unless it's in the mating season.  I pay more attention to the type of scat... is it domestic dog or is it canine... Now red fox and coyotes I better say it this way: IMO has pointed ends on it...Small scat with pointed ends that be a red... Now when you start to get into the bigger cigar size with the pointed ends that be coyotes... Now what is so hard to ID IMO is gray fox scat...Can't figure it out sometime if it's coon or gray fox..

Now if it wet  and shinny I do feel like it fresher than that white scat... However you just never know if the fox or the coyote might have a bit of constipation problems that particular day... Hey they are mammals like us...
Again if you do find coyote scat... You know that at least they do come through there.... Now where I hunt it's not YET designated as Pa Coyote Hunting Capitol of the world... So I do keep it in the back of my mind when calling that I might want to throw in a few coyote vocal toward the end of my fox calling just in case the coyotes are not there..
What I find far more important is sign....Now the only time to get some good sign is after a heavy rain and you look for tracks in the mud along the sides and corners of the fields...
Also snow.......If you find tracks in the snow heading from Point A to Point B on a farm.... a direct  route... More than likely the predator is just passing through... However if you see those tracks Sig sagging around the tree line and brush piles in the snow... that canine is hunting and you need to call right away...
I once knew a guy that could smell if ruffed grouse were in the area...You would  think that you could smell where a coyote or fox might have taken a fresh pee?  You Would think?????

uncle buck:
When you thinking  about scouting and tracking...Many of the natives in  Africa hunt different things with bow and poison tips... But did you know that they know what time a certain field mouse only comes out over there in the terrain they hunt... you know the roads that cut right through the hunting area... SAND!!  They track in the sand that's how good they are... OK if they find a targeted animal paw print or hoof with the field mouse track on top they know the target animal passed through before the field mouse time.   Now if the field mouse tracks are at the bottom let say of an antelope hoof track they know that based on the time when that field mouse comes out in the morning that the antelope just came through there...We don't have much Sandy areas in Pa nor do we know all the habits of small animals like our field mice...However that's how some tribes track in Africa by where this particular field mouse track is in relation to the target animals track... It gives them a point in time when the prey animal really came through that area..   

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