I can fully appreciate what you saying now,iv'e had me tea and its settled.
Bernie
And was it hairy sausage tonight?
Geoff
Fox droppings?
- Thread starter Toadflax
- Start date
And was it hairy sausage tonight?
Geoff
And was it hairy sausage tonight?
Geoff
Leave it out Geoff, i said it was settled
Bernie
hi i looks like fox to me , though normaly you can tell a fox as it has a point on one end and the lower end has a twist, cats are blunt on top and pointed at the bottom
regards rob
regards rob
As Rhoda says, it's not easy from a photo and you have to take any other evidence into account eg where was the trail leading to or was there a print or other sign nearby or perhaps was the scat on a higher peice of ground which is a particular feature of where foxes leave scat. It might also help to have a scale (appreciated you've got leaves there.)
On the twisty end comment - I know that most books show a twist, but I don't often see this as it happens. By a process of deduction (my dear Watson) I would say it probably isn't a dog because of the fur, bones and claw. It appears to be too big for any of the smaller mammals. It's a little too solid for stripey - so it may well be a fox. Just my opinion.
Happy tracking.
Pablo.
On the twisty end comment - I know that most books show a twist, but I don't often see this as it happens. By a process of deduction (my dear Watson) I would say it probably isn't a dog because of the fur, bones and claw. It appears to be too big for any of the smaller mammals. It's a little too solid for stripey - so it may well be a fox. Just my opinion.
Happy tracking.
Pablo.
How do geoff,
Well the three likely culprits have been mentioned here pritty well so far but id like to cloud the issue as i see it;
Fox is the obvious choice, but is rather wide and blunt for fox. You would expect a smell for any of the canid species. all of which is nasty! Having said that when fox is very stuffed with fur as this may be it can be much more mild.
However, someone mentioned stripey, well old brock will take rabbits and the guides show their droppings as being blunt ended. I usually see this when they OD on blackberries, and the size and shape are very comparable. Also there appears to be a mucal layer on some of the pics, which again badgers can leave anal secretions.. nice
So no answers but hopefully a little more to ponder on.
location sounds foxy, but badgers don't always make latrine pits and will mark paths ocasionally.
did you scout around for print, even partials can be quite telling
Well the three likely culprits have been mentioned here pritty well so far but id like to cloud the issue as i see it;
Fox is the obvious choice, but is rather wide and blunt for fox. You would expect a smell for any of the canid species. all of which is nasty! Having said that when fox is very stuffed with fur as this may be it can be much more mild.
However, someone mentioned stripey, well old brock will take rabbits and the guides show their droppings as being blunt ended. I usually see this when they OD on blackberries, and the size and shape are very comparable. Also there appears to be a mucal layer on some of the pics, which again badgers can leave anal secretions.. nice
So no answers but hopefully a little more to ponder on.
location sounds foxy, but badgers don't always make latrine pits and will mark paths ocasionally.
did you scout around for print, even partials can be quite telling
The foxes that i have tracked have nearly allways got a slight twist to them dear watson you just need to get close to them and look properly.
Rob, Apologies if you interpreted my "Watson" comment as directed at you. Perhaps I wrote this badly. I was merely suggesting that we may be able to ID tracks by a process of elimination if we can't positively ID the track or scat (like crime work - hence the Watson reference). In this case I deduced that there was higher likelihood of it being fox than anything else.
I still maintain that my observations of fox scat (especially in the summer and autumn) are that it's not twisted. I believe this may be to do with the diet where the animal is not reliant on so many birds (hence feathers) or small mammals (hence bones). I believe that it's these two factors (feathers and bones) that may cause the twists in the scat.
Also, many books show fox scat as white as a result of eating calciferous material (bones). Once again, I have not seen this in the foxes in my area.
Perhaps foxes in your area do not have the same access to other sources of food as mine, hence the difference in scat type. Just an opinion. What do you reckon?
I still maintain that my observations of fox scat (especially in the summer and autumn) are that it's not twisted. I believe this may be to do with the diet where the animal is not reliant on so many birds (hence feathers) or small mammals (hence bones). I believe that it's these two factors (feathers and bones) that may cause the twists in the scat.
Also, many books show fox scat as white as a result of eating calciferous material (bones). Once again, I have not seen this in the foxes in my area.
Perhaps foxes in your area do not have the same access to other sources of food as mine, hence the difference in scat type. Just an opinion. What do you reckon?
