While out walking today, I came across this scat-like stuff on the ice at the edge of a pond. There were no tracks or other clues as to what left it. All I can say definitively is that it was pumpkin-colored and deemed roll-worthy by the dogs. Any guesses?
Donna asked:
ReplyDeleteHmmm….nice color. Did it have any scent to it? Could those be some tracks just to the right of it in the first picture?
- Didn't want to risk breaking through ice to sniff! Those tracks to the right were old ones - made when my neighbor's puppy joined us a couple of days before.
ReplyDeleteIt sure doesn't look like a typical excretion of any animal I know of. Maybe diarrhea or vomit from a dog or other animal? The color could fit with deer or rabbit pee, but the consistency appears to be more like pudding, correct? Otters and beavers leave secretions that are of mucous consistency, but I've never seen them that color.
ReplyDeleteOther than diarrhea, the only secretion I know of that matches in color and consistency is from fisher. But the size doesn't fit: the fisher secretion is usually a little round blob about the size and color of a penny, and, when I've seen it, it's within or near a roll, and often next to a normal fisher scat. What you have in the photo looks a lot larger than a penny, as near as I can tell. So my top guess would be diarrhea from a dog or wild animal.
The consistency was loose and very mucous-y, yet there was definite form to it. Unfortunately, you can't zoom in on these two photos, but when I took a close look while at the pond, it reminded me of a string of amphibian eggs. Speaking from way too much experience, I will say that it doesn't resemble anything I've see come out of a domestic canid. And the placement - not a likely spot for a dog. I know that otters frequent that pond, and my first thought was to attribute it to one of them, but it certainly doesn't look like otter scat. Different seasons, different diets, new mysteries!
ReplyDeleteJust back from my morning hike to the same area. The "stuff" is all smeared around (apparently its roll-worthiness was unanimous) and there are now otter tracks and slides there. I'm feeling pretty confident that the subject matter is otter effluent of some sort, particularly now, because I just got a very fishy whiff of my dog's fur. A definite give-away!
ReplyDeleteCool find. I've seen yellowish, whitish, and blackish goo in otter scenting areas, but never pumpkin. I've read that otters have a couple different kinds of scent glands (anal? cecal? rectal?), and the experts are in disagreement about what color comes out of which gland. Still, I've never seen reference to this color.
ReplyDelete- Should have saved some and presented it to the experts. We could have gone down in scat history.
ReplyDeleteHi there! I just stumbled upon your blog...and I wanted to input my 2 cents!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like, and by your description, otter anal jelly. I just actually wrote an entry about this myself! I'm in the Finger Lakes of NY, and we have a rebounding surge in otters in the past 10 years, since they've been reintroduced. Not sure if you're in otter habitat, but seeing as it's on the ice, I'd assume so. If you find a latrine or toilet site, check for it there too.
http://bearlyalyssa.blogspot.com/2012/02/natural-history-mystery.html