Scatology

Another week, another neighbor.  This time it was a white-tailed deer.  No, no investigation this time; there was no need.  They’re very common in the area, I’ve seen them napping in my yard, and they’re the only even-toed ungulates in New York with the exception of the moose (and believe me,  you’re not going to mistake a moose print for that of a deer).  The interesting thing about these prints is that there were two sets of differing sizes.  It looked like I had a mother and juvenile come for a visit.  We used to get them coming around all the time, but again, that was before The Fence.

We’ve been talking a lot about prints, but they’re not the only signs animals leave.  When I was in South Africa we spent a few days looking at tracks.  No snow, but plenty of sand.  A lion print here, a hippo print there, beetle tracks, but we also saw other signs.  Scrapings along the ground from a rhino horn, a bed of flattened grass from a waterbuck, and scat; lots of scat.

Scat, feces, dung, excrement, droppings, poop… you get the point, right?  If you see a print in the dirt you know an animal has been there.  Well, it’s the same with scat.  And similarly to prints, you can often tell which animal left you the “gift” too, though I admit this can be more difficult.  It changes based on diet, which can change based on season and weather patterns.  Anyway, I had such a “gift” the first fall after moving into my house.  It was a large pile; yes, I actually measured.  It wasn’t from any of the animals I’d seen since moving in.  Actually, it was much larger than what would have been left by any neighbors I’d seen.  I had a suspicion and it was confirmed by a biologist friend of mine.  I had a black bear in my yard! 

It must have been after the tasty wild blueberries on the edge of my property.  Berries are a common bear snack in the fall as they try to fatten themselves up for hibernation, and it tends to change the texture of their dung.  You can actually see berry seeds in the scat if you want to look closely enough.  (You all must think I live in the middle of the woods, but really, I’m just on the edge of town and only a few miles from the nearest city.)

Believe it or not, scat is actually very valuable to scientists (and even non-scientists.  A main ingredient in many perfumes comes from whale poop.  Sorry.)  While a print can tell you the species, size, and sometimes the sex of the individual, scat offers a bounty of data.  First and foremost, scat can tell scientists which foods the animal was eating.  It can provide DNA so that scientists can identify the specific individual animal that left the scat.  It can let scientists know if the animal is healthy or ill, or even pregnant, by way of hormone levels, blood, or bacteria left behind.  Toxins in the scat tells of toxins in the environment.

Do you remember when I told you about the dogs used in wildlife/conservation work in my post Canines of Conservation?  Well, the dogs are trained to help out in two different ways.  Sometimes they are taught to smell the animal directly, such as a turtle that may be hiding in the mud.  In other instances the dogs are trained not to sniff out the animal, but the animal’s scat instead; after all, that’s not going to run/fly/swim away.  I talked a bit about this in the Canines post.  Check it out.

National Geographic Magazine actually just published an article on scat and the world of the University of Washington’s Center of Conservation Biology Conservation Canines unit.  If the January 2013 edition is still out, you can go grab a copy and see for yourself!

Canine vs Feline: Tracks

I didn’t think I’d have another print post for you already, but, it snowed again, and apparently my yard is somewhat popular. When I first got home and brought my dogs out I saw some tracks going around the deck, but it had obviously snowed a little since they were made and I couldn’t make them our clearly (weather can help you estimate time frames; I’m guessing these particular tracks were made early Wednesday afternoon). Still, given the size and location I think it was the neighbor’s cat. She seems to like my deck. Sometimes she hides in the bushes and watches us too.

Several hours later, right before bed, I brought my dogs out again. And then I got excited (wildlife geek-dom!); there was a fresh set of tracks! Not only could I tell these were fresh because they were not there the last time I was out, but you could also tell because 1, they didn’t have fresh snow on them, 2, the edges were clear and crisp. I assumed it was the cat again, until I took a closer look. No, no they definitely were not the cat. They weren’t feline at all, in fact, they were canine. They didn’t belong to my dogs, too big (not to mention I walk my mutts on a leash), and they were too small to be the neighbor’s dogs. I have never seen strays around my area, though I suppose it’s possible. Time to take a closer look.

First and foremost, how did I decide they were not cat? Maybe there was a larger cat lurking around the neighborhood, right? Possible, but if so, it didn’t come into my yard. Take a look at a dog paw and you’ll see that the claws are always out and exposed, sort of like our own fingernails. Most cats, on the other hand, don’t walk around with their claws out. They can expose them when they need them, and pull them in when they don’t. Not all cats can do this, but most of them can. Cheetahs, for example, have only semi-retractable claws, but last I checked cheetahs weren’t running around New York.

There are two kinds of cats in my area, with another two remote possibilities. One is domestic cats, which have retractable claws. The second is the bobcat, which I’ve never seen but I know they’re around the general area. They also have retractable claws. The third is a Canada lynx. These used to live in New York and there is evidence they sometimes travel through, but we have yet to confirm a sustainable population. Still, lynx have retractable claws. And finally, the cougar. Cougars also used to live in New York, but have long been considered extirpated. There have been reported sightings but no confirmation of a sustainable population, and the few confirmed sightings turned out to be escaped or let-loose pets. Either way, also retractable claws, not to mention way too big for these prints. The prints I found had clear claw marks and were only moderately larger than my dogs’ prints (I have little pups, obviously. They’re really not much bigger than a cat).

Feline and canine prints also have general differences in shape. Take a look at these photos. There are various species of canines and felines, of course, but they generally follow this basic pattern. In canines, the lead toes line up side by side. This can change if the animal is turning or walking up a slope, but you get the idea. In felines, there is a single leading toe. Many canines lack a third lobe at the end of the pad, which cats have, though even if there is a third lobe present, it would be higher than the surrounding two. Canine pads have a single lobe at the top whereas felines have two. These are some of the main differences. These new tracks I found were not as clear-cut as the opossum I found last week, but I could tell it was a canine and not a feline.

Moving on, I was able to easily remove my dogs and that of the neighbor’s as a possibility by size. Stray dogs were still in the pool of ‘maybes’ but I find it to be a somewhat low possibility. So, what other canines are in my area other than domesticated dogs? Well, wolves used to be, but like many larger predators, they have long been removed. There has been no solid findings on wolves back in the area, and the prints were too small anyway. Wolves also often, though not always, travel in packs. These were the prints of a single animal. Other possibilities are eastern coyotes, which I’ve again never seen but know can be found in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. These animals also usually travel in packs, but not always. An adult coyote’s tracks would be larger than the ones I found. The last possibility is the red fox. Not only do these animals travel alone, and are smaller than coyotes, but I have twice seen a fox in my neighbor’s back yard, though it’s been a while (since they put up their fence, in fact). They also have a small foot pad, which sort of resembled my print.

When you add all of the above with the field tracks picture from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation site I found, I think I had a fox in my yard! I can’t be certain, the tracks aren’t clear enough for an amateur like myself to know for sure, but I am making an educated guess. I know it’s a canine, I know the small size, I know I’ve seen foxes in the area before, and the tracks were practically on top of each other like in the picture shown.

I really want a field camera to put back there. Really! And I need to remember to bring out a ruler next time too, so you guys can see the sizes for yourselves.

Hi Neighbor!

I’m not really a winter-loving person, as I think I’ve mentioned before. I used to love snow as a kid. I mean come on, sledding, snowpeople, snow days off of school! Now to me it means being cold, sliding all over the road, unburying my car. But, there is one great thing about snow and it is that it allows you to see who’s been visiting your yard! Just this weekend I found a set of prints that I didn’t readily recognize.  Our neighbors have ducks and chickens, but no, it wasn’t from them.  Sometimes their cat or dog comes by but no, not this time.  Our neighbor had some deer visit recently (their snowy prints a telltale sign), but not us.  We used to have the occasional fisher or fox, but I haven’t seen either since the fence went up.

As it turned out one of our neighbors is an opossum, and I would have never known if it weren’t for the snow and their well-timed visit.  At first I thought perhaps it was a raccoon.  I’ve never seen one wandering around my yard but I have seen them on the side of the road, unfortunately.  Since the print contained long little fingers I thought, maybe, yet they were fairly small.  A bit of research and a hunch on my part and I came to my query.

Raccoon tracks have some significant differences from opossum prints, despite both having little hands.  For starters, opossum prints are smaller, and their fingers are more splayed.  Their back feet are shaped even more differently than their front feet, and it turned out their walking pattern was also significantly different.  Opossum tracks show their hind foot landing just behind their front.

I was hoping to go for a trail hike this weekend with the intent of finding some great tracks to show you all.  Fortunately for my body temperature and unfortunately for my goal, it’s been warm enough lately that the snow has been melting.  I found these tracks this morning and managed to snap a few pictures before they melted away.  Hopefully soon I can find some more to show you.  I’m excited to learn more about tracks and to share this with you all.