tracking poo in the winter

When we go for a walk in the woods, we can be like detectives, looking for clues. With the lack of snow, we could easily see poo on the paths. These poo clues tell us about the creatures that have been there.

Several weeks ago, we came across some dog and coyote poo, right near each other. Do you know the difference? Here is some photo evidence: 

In the picture on the left, it shows the two piles of poo. The next two pictures are closer shots, to see the detail. :) So... which is dog, and which is coyote?

If you guessed that the blackish-grey one is coyote, you are right! And if you guessed that the brown one is dog poo, you are also right! 

When we looked closer, we could see fur and small bones in the coyote poo. When we looked closer at the dog poo, it just looked like grainy shades of brown. We also noted that while the coyote poo was supposed to be there (the park habitat is its home), the dog poo was out of place. This park habitat is not its home, and so poo should be picked up on paths. Hmmm...

In another area of the park (on a much less snowy day 2 weeks ago), there was deer scat (fancy word for poo). Here are some:

And then guess whose poo is here? Looks kind of similar to deer poo, but more round and a bit smaller. 

You guessed it! Rabbit scat. 

​So much to see in the woods, and the winter woods scat can be especially fascinating!