Identify this faeces, please. North Devon. (1 Viewer)

[Jon Turner]

Found this poo on a small rock in the bird reserve I look after. That's a 2p coin for scale.

Any help welcome!

 

[Farnboro John]

I'm going to say fox although its a bit thin: Mink should be blacker and Weasel/Stoat much shorter. It has a twist and lots of fur and bits of bone - and its been left on a prominent spot probably as a territory marker. Domestic cat should be shorter and blunt ended.

John

 

[Seanbirds]

I say mustelid sp.

 

[Jon Turner]

I favour Mustelid. I haven't seen Fox poo that thin and placed so accurately before... I have had both Otter and Mink in the reserve before so I guess I'll have to try the trailcam.

 

[Torchepot]

Or if you’re brave enough give it a sniff! Our local otter spraint smells surprisingly like fresh cut hay. It looks a lot like your pic as it’s dining on the frogs in our pond at the moment I love having the otters - but they sure can eat a lot of frogs.

 

[Farnboro John]

I favour Mustelid. I haven't seen Fox poo that thin and placed so accurately before... I have had both Otter and Mink in the reserve before so I guess I'll have to try the trailcam.

Foxes are known for placing their turds accurately on such things as garden toys and shoes: it's as if they have a bombsight (bumsight? - no forget it!) My local ones frequently use the brick corners of raised beds at particular points on their patrol lines as marking stations.

Your sample is mainly hair and bits of bone - mammalian rather than amphibian. Mink poo is blackish, treacly and smells TERRIBLE.

Cheers

John

 

[Torchepot]

Some otter poo from our pond for comparison - it's been washed out by the recent rain but the freshest is at the top of the image - oldest at the bottom.

 

[Seanbirds]

What about size? It looks kinda small for a fox or an otter...

 

[Jon Turner]

That's why I suggested Mink, but no more deposits for a couple of days no, so I'll keep my eyes peeled and sniff if I find more -the one in the pic didn't have much of a smell at all.

 

[Seanbirds]

That's why I suggested Mink, but no more deposits for a couple of days no, so I'll keep my eyes peeled and sniff if I find more -the one in the pic didn't have much of a smell at all.

Maybe it was old.

 

[Jon Turner]

Maybe it was old.

Fresh since the previous day.....

 

[willisoften]

Some bodys lost a really enormous ferret.
Theres a book by Hugh Falkus (used to be contributer to Trout and Salmon) on Tracking, from memory theres a whole section on diagnosing crap.
You might request it from your local library.

 

[Torchepot]

Fresh since the previous day.....

I thought it looked pretty fresh, and if that’s the case I think you can rule out mink. I think it comes down to otter or fox. The resolution of the screens on my devices (or possibly the original photo) isn’t good enough for me to make out hair in the scat. It looks a bit long and thin for fox and I would expect a fresh dropping to smell.
One of “our” otters produced a long skinny dropping the other night but it was destroyed by rain very quickly. Mostly the droppings are not as long, sometimes like a chain of two or three.
They often use favourite logs or stones ( particularly in the river) to conspicuously deposit their scats. Of course the ultimate test is the taste and I bet passing that 2p piece made it’s eyes water!

 

[Jon Turner]

Thanks all. About half of it is still there, having survived some pretty heavy showers and a mighty gale of wind for several days. No additions. The last time I saw and Otter in the reserve it ate all the juvenile Tufted Ducks and Pochard that I had been supervising. They were from mixed nest! The 3 Pochard ducklings were taken first then it returned and dealt with the 4 young Tufted Ducks, much to the displeasure of the mother (a Tufted Duck) - and me!