What buries it's scat in a hole?

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.

Zingmo

Eardstapa
Jan 4, 2010
1,295
117
S. Staffs
While walking the dog in the woods I spotted her rolling, trying to cover herself with some disgusting smell. On investigation she had found a small freshly dug hole about four inches across with a dollop of scat at the bottom.
Sorry, I couldn't take a picture and keep the dog out of the hole as well! I had to fill it in with one foot while keeping a hold of her.
It was well off the beaten track next to an animal trail. It was next to a small tree in a position that would have been extremely awkward for a human. The scat itself was loose with no shape to it. The hole was round and deeper than it was wide.
The dog often rolls when we're in these woods, often returning to the same spots. When I have looked before, I have never noticed anything that would explain her interest.
I am now wondering if there's a critter that buries its scat in this way and usually we find a deposit that has been covered over, but today we may have interrupted it before it could complete the process.
Does anyone know of a creature with such tidy habits?

Z
 

slowworm

Full Member
May 8, 2008
1,982
934
Devon
There's quite a few badger latrines around here. They tell you when the badgers have been about as there's fresh droppings. You can also sometimes see what the badgers have been eating by looking at the remains. Sometimes I see partly digested maize which shows the badgers wander a fair way as there's no nearby maize fields around me.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
Out for a walk over the burn with the local Countryside Ranger we spotted a Badger Latrine. She took a long grass stem and shoved it down into the poo at the bottom and brought it out to smell. If it doesn't stink, if it actually smells almost sweet, then it's pretty much assured to be badger.. Something to do with eating lots of worms apparently.

M
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
There's quite a few badger latrines around here. They tell you when the badgers have been about as there's fresh droppings. You can also sometimes see what the badgers have been eating by looking at the remains. Sometimes I see partly digested maize which shows the badgers wander a fair way as there's no nearby maize fields around me.

That might well mean that they've found a garden where they can scran the dropped bird food. They do so under the feeder outside our living room window.
 

Doof

New Member
Mar 4, 2020
4
2
49
West Wales
There is a spot in our woods where what must be a family..nay..a whole village of badgers is coming over the boundary bund and using an area of at least 20 square meters to do this in.
I set the trail cam overlooking the area two nights ago so it'll be interesting to see what it captures over this week. Never seen a badger taking a dump before.
 

demographic

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 15, 2005
4,691
710
-------------
Our dog has the GPS co-ordinates of every bit of fox turd within the Cumbria area and if he lags behind on a walk then catches me up looking especially chuffed with himself its worth checking him over before letting him back into the van.
Sometimes I see him sniff a few times then he just drops his shoulder like he's a judo expert being thrown. That's the start of a fox turd roll.
Fortunately he's short haired so easy to wash it off with the water and microfibre cloth that lives in the van.
Or sometimes he just gets washed off in the river.

Looking in the bright side, fox eggs don't smell as bad as I expected.
Not quite the cologne the dog seems to think it is though.
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE