It’s not great conversation for the dinner table, but it is quite a good way of keeping an eye on what is out and about in the countryside!  I find an animal’s poo is one good way of identifying which animals were around before the ‘loud crowd’ arrived.  I have seen deer, hare and squirrels when I’ve been in the woods alone, and on our camera trap we have caught foxes and badgers too.

Just as a precaution, it is best not to handle animal scats (poo!), as they do contain germs. If you want to break them apart to see what they contain, it is sensible to use a stick.

Badger

Badgers dig pits as toilets, and you often find these pits clustered together in latrines.

 

Deer

Deer leave behind dark shiny pellets.

 

Fox

Fox scats tend to be long, twisty and a bit tapered.  This is full of fur from what it ate last…