Is this Bear Poop?

Does a bear poop in the woods?

A better question is "Did a bear poop in the woods near my house?"

I live in the Blue Rigde Mountains of Virginia, and we do have some Black Bear sightings now and then. I found some droppings yesterday that look mighty suspicious. I find plenty of Whitetail droppings, which are easily identified. There are also plenty of domestic animals around, like cats and dogs, and the rare coyote or mountain lion. But the droppings I found were not any of the above. There are some cattle within a mile or so of the site, but it is highly unlikely that a cow or any kind of farm animal would be so far back in these woods. Besides, it didn't look like any cow patty that I've seen - and I've seen plenty. So, I hope to get your "expert" opinion.

This is the scat I found:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3371/...5545e9.jpg?v=0
If the picture does not work for you, click on this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22624576@N03/3671768878/

There were a couple more "piles" like it, but this was the best one. It looks fairly old to me.

So, WSF, is it bear poop or not?

Thanks!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by preachtheWORD

Does a bear poop in the woods?

A better question is "Did a bear poop in the woods near my house?"

I live in the Blue Rigde Mountains of Virginia, and we do have some Black Bear sightings now and then. I found some droppings yesterday that look mighty suspicious. I find plenty of Whitetail droppings, which are easily identified. There are also plenty of domestic animals around, like cats and dogs, and the rare coyote or mountain lion. But the droppings I found were not any of the above. There are some cattle within a mile or so of the site, but it is highly unlikely that a cow or any kind of farm animal would be so far back in these woods. Besides, it didn't look like any cow patty that I've seen - and I've seen plenty. So, I hope to get your "expert" opinion.

This is the scat I found:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3371/...5545e9.jpg?v=0
(hopefully the picture works)

If that does not work, click on this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22624576@N03/3671768878/

Thanks!

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that certainly looks like bear scat.herbavores drop pellets,or pies. fox and others drop sausages(some with hair and bone remenants.) the acorns give it away.(bears eat em up)
we could ask bear Grylls to taste it. but it sure looks like bears poo

Mmmm kinda looks like bear scat, but not all of it. Maybe the bear had the sh*** lol... while some bears lay logs some do leave patties. Not real sure though but in your neck of the woods I would say yes it bear crap.
Age and deteriation also come into play, was it fresh? I have seen some big coyotes leave something close to that here in Oh. Were there any tracks? Scratchings on trees or bear rubs? I'm just curious.
Then again you could've left that and are faking us out... lol... was there a dirty rabbit hoping around there? Lol... just some things to think about. I am joking though bro.
Beo,

The scat in question appeared to be entirely made up of plant material. It is my understanding that Black Bears can be nearly herbivorous during parts of the year. Still, I didn't see any acorns or berries or any other identifyable remants. There was no fur, bones, etc, that would suggest a carnivore or omnivore.

I could not call it an "ideal" specimen of bear poo, but I can't imagine what else it could be. It was not from a cat or dog, either domesticated or wild (ie, coyote, wolf, bobcat, cougar). It is unlikely to be from any farm animal. It certainly was not from a deer. It was way too big to be from a racoon, possum, or other small mammal. It wasn't a human turd. The process of elimination (pun intended) leads to a Black Bear.

Still, I am not 100% sure.

scaled from your quarter, the volume would indicate an animal of 250+ lbs. a double handful of scat takes a good sized bowel to carry it. fox and the big cats range in cigar size hotdogs. my money is on the bear scat.

looks like its blunt and roughly spherical, I would guess bear

At least whatever it was left a quarter for the person cleaning it up.

Adult bear feces look a lot like human but with the addition of undigested bark and other plant or animal(hair, bone) material. That looks like a bear under 3 years of age. They eat more softer, easier to acquire foods and thus have looser scat. Also all animals have looser scat in the plush time of early Summer when so much food is available. Bear cub scat will have a large amount of undigested food mixed with digested milk(can you say Elmer's glue?) They eat foods other than their mother's milk but haven't developed all the enzymes they need to digest it fully. Hey I just suprized myself, I know my sh!t LOL

And I panic when I see fox poo!?!? My little life has just been put into perspective!LOL

Probably eating lots of ripe green plants this time of year, def could be bear poopy imho :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hoosierarcher

Bear cub scat will have a large amount of undigested food mixed with digested milk(can you say Elmer's glue?) They eat foods other than their mother's milk but haven't developed all the enzymes they need to digest it fully.

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I was less concerned when I figured it was a full-grown bear! I don't need bear cubs running around behind my house giving Mamma Bear a reason to turn me into bear poo!

Given the size of the "pile" in my first post, I'd say it was a full-grown bear, but there were several other smaller piles around. Here are some pictures:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3613/...f3c0ed.jpg?v=0 http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3600/...a6fb31.jpg?v=0

The poo on the left looked quite a bit older and more weathered and decayed, so it is perhaps not a good specimen. The poo on the right was slightly more "pelleted" but it was mostly a "plop." I am not convinced these poo piles are from the same animal, but they are similar. Sorry I didn't lay the quarter down for a size reference, but you can get an idea of the scale from the leaves and twigs.

Although the patch of woods where I found the poo is very close to civilzation - less than 1/2 mile to stores, gas stations, etc - no human being sets foot in the place besides me, and that only started recently. Any wild animal could rest comfortably in there with zero hunting pressure and almost no human presence.

Bear crap looks like what they have been eating. They will eat anything so the crap will vary quite a bit.

But I would say yes, that is likely bear crap.

Yes, that is bear scat. We found some a few years back and were quite puzzled.

My ex-wife used to bake brownies that looked like that. Never could bring myself to eat one of those things..... :innocent:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ken

My ex-wife used to bake brownies that looked like that. Never could bring myself to eat one of those things..... :innocent:

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At least your ex could bake. Ohhh--SNAP!