Everybody poos!

A lot of mammals are very elusive and hard to find or track. Sometimes the best way to find out what kind of animals there are in an area is to check for ‘field signs’ which can include scat (poo), fur, scratches on vegetation, piles of leftover food etc. But poo is one of the best ways to identify a creature because they come in all shapes and sizes specific to that animal! We will be learning to identify different types of mammal scat in order to better understand the abundance and distribution of Nova Scotia’s mammals. Take a look at the photos below to see a couple kinds of poo!

To the left is coyote scat, in the middle raccoon and to the right is porcupine. I think the porcupine poo is the best because it looks like a string of pearls! You can see how different they all really are. And yes that is one of the scientists holding it! She's not afraid to get dirty an examine the scat to find out what the animal has been eating. Maybe I'll be so brave next time we find some!

I won't ask a question today because there are still no responses from yesterday... come on people! You at least must have something to say about poo!