OK, trackers, here's a scat identification puzzle for you. What animal
made this scat? (Disclaimer: Like with most scat, I can't be 100%
certain of the identification, but we can still discuss what it could
be, and why.)
Hints:
That's my adult-male-large glove, for scale. My gloved fingers are
about an inch in diameter.
We found several of these hair-filled scats right in the center of the
path, over about 100 feet of trail, at a saddle in the ridge line.
After finding these scats, I spent the rest of the hike looking for
tracks or other sign to confirm my ID. The only fresh tracks I could
find all turned out to be large domestic dog.
There were trailhead signs telling us about this animal (and about feral
pigs).
This photo was taken on our pre-Thanksgiving hike, above Lake Sonoma in
Healdsburg, California.
Final hint: we saw another mammal in this "family" at Pier 39 in San
Francisco earlier this week.
Happy tracking! We're off to Yosemite next week, so stay tuned for a
"What animal broke into this rental car and stole my Twinkies?" quiz soon!
Okay, after reading your final hint, I did a little research. Sea lions are found at Pier 39 in San Francisco. They are from the pinniped family. "The word pinnipedia translates from Latin as "feather or fin foot," referring to their often large fin-like flippers. All pinnipeds must come ashore to breed, give birth, and nurse their young. Seals, sea lions, and walruses are taxonomically related to other carnivores, including bears, dogs, raccoons, and weasels (including otters)." So ..... from that group, I think it more likely that the signs you refer to would mention bear. Not that I would have guessed that without the clues, but that's my final answer. The size doesn't rule out raccoon, and they've been known to have large latrine areas as well as large scats, but a ridge as a latrine is weird, and that's an awful lot of fur. I think Yogi must have been busy scavenging a deer or goat kill out that way. I'm anxious to read what others may think. Your trip sounds fantastic, by the way.
ReplyDeleteRemember, this is our clever Dan, and he said "family", as in sea LION, I would say. I hope he was looking out for more than paw prints, since those beautiful mountain lions have been known to pounce!
ReplyDeleteWendy
Drat! Foiled again! You're right, Wendy; when he mentioned "family," I should have paid more attention to those quotation marks. And it sure looks like feline scat, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking mt lion too. Seems a little small, though, for such a large cat, but then again, it's all dried up. Could have been plumper when still fresh and warm. Too big for a bobcat? Probably. California Bobs are smaller, as I understand it.
ReplyDeleteThe location of "saddle" in the ridge line sounds cat-like too - it fits with Bobcat, at least. Not sure if mt lions share that habit. But do mtn lions tend to leave their scats on human trails? Bears do.
I didn't even think of sea lion as the relative. I thought he saw a house cat hanging around the pier. I've heard they have a robust population of feral cats out there.
I concluded this was mountain lion scat based on the following:
ReplyDelete1. It's at least one inch in diameter, and probably greater than 1 1/4". (I didn't have a ruler with me). That ruled out pretty much everything but mountain lion and coyote. Some of the scat piles were larger than I normally see from Eastern coyote, and since the western coyote is smaller, I assume its scat is proportionally scaled-down.
2. There were mountain lion info signs at the trailhead, and our hosts had lots to say about local mountain lions, but weren't even sure if they had coyote in the area.
3. Wishful thinking!
The inconclusive/contrary evidence:
1. I never found a single cat track. There were lots of "golden retriever" tracks in muddy spots along the trail. But I never saw a good oval coyote track, either.
2. Some of the scat had blunt ends (feline), but some had a canine twist or taper.
3. "here, kitty, kitty" failed to lure any mountain lions out into the open where we could positively identify them.
p.s. According to science, it turns out that mountain lions, sea lions, and dandelions are not actually in the same family. My apologies.