What scat is that ?

[bernieq]

While I wait for Museum Victoria to respond to my enquiry about a scat found in the Northern Grampians, I was wondering if anyone here could identify it?

scat.JPG (245.51 KiB) Viewed 26024 times

Obviously, it’s from an herbivore – a fairly large one. For an idea of scale, the black tape on the yellow bag is 2.5cm wide.

I have walked through this location 3 times in the last couple of years and not seen anything similar before - this time it was everywhere.
.

[Greenie]

It could belong to a Pangkarlangu

[alanoutgear]

That looks terrible. My guess would be human, vegetarian, with a penchant for seeded mustard (but I could be wrong).

[Strider]

What he said ^

[Onestepmore]

Looks like something I'd find in my backyard after the dogs have been eating birdseed

[Strider]

Google revealed this - Coyote scat with berry seeds. Could yours be from a fox?

[Tortoise]

A fox on steroids?

[Chris]

It could belong to a Pangkarlangu

Hmmmm, "a huge creature with wild eyes, knotty hair, and long sharp nails and teeth" doesn't sound quite like a seed-eater

That looks terrible. My guess would be human, vegetarian, with a penchant for seeded mustard (but I could be wrong).

I hate to say it, but suspect strongly you're more or less right

[walkinTas]

Wow! Proof at last! That is a such a rare find. Drop bear scat!

I doubt it is human. From the pictures it seems to contain a lot of animal fur and plant seed, so would be from an animal that grooms itself and eats fruit.

[clarence]

I'd suggest reading the book "Tracks, scats and other traces" by Barbara Trigg. If the book doesn't help, she used to offer an identification serivce for a very reasonable fee (maybe a few dollars per sample). Researchers, outdoors people, budding zoologists etc would send her scats, hair samples, photos of footprints etc and she would identify them. She used to be based down on the NSW/Vic border near the coast, maybe Genoa or Mallacoota.
Clarence

[alanoutgear]

[quote, ........... so would be from an animal that grooms itself and eats fruit.[/quote]

Hmmm, what animal spends time grooming itself each day, and eats fruit - still doesn't exclude human.

[michael_p]

That is one big scat.

A quick flick through Barbara Triggs' book and the closest I can find that looks similar is for types of Wallaby (best bet here is Red Neck Wallaby) or Common Wallaroo (bit far south for Wallaroo). The scat does have similarities to Emu scat but looks to be the wrong shape. The high seed content and lack of hair and bone fragments would indicate a herbivore but it is hard to tell from just a photo.

I'd be interested to read what the museum says.

Michael.

[Giddy_up]

Pig.


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[bernieq]

Keep in mind that the diameter is approx. 5cm – it's been extruded from a very big ……

As well, in the original post, I said “it was everywhere” – along a 1km line there would have been a deposit like this every five to ten metres.

Strider, yes - the coyote scat is quite similar. However, it looks to have hairs – the unidentified scat has grass and seed pod bits (wider and shorter that the hair but similar colour). There was no evidence of any hair, bone or meat residue (of course, I’m not an expert in scats – otherwise I’d know what this one was!).

I don’t think it’s pig – no evidence of any pig-rooting in the area. Also, even with a high seed diet, pig scats are more processed/homogenous and the material between the seeds should be green/grey.

It’s certainly not human – way too big (diameter and volume).

Of course, I’ll post any response I receive from Museum Victoria.

[Swampy460]

Whatever it is , it must be well organised to LAY them side by side like that....

I do have a book on scats as well, not sure if its the same one as mention, but will check when I get home tonight.

Swampy

[Strider]

It’s certainly not human – way too big (diameter and volume).

Does this suggest the depositor was larger than a human?

[bernieq]

Does this suggest the depositor was larger than a human?

Yeah - when I saw it I admit I was relieved to note that it came from a herbivore - tents don't provide much protection from a carnivore that size !

I don't know for sure but I suspect that carnivore/omnivore bums are smaller that herbivore bums (for animals of comensurate size) - so a carnivore scat that size would be from something biger that human (just speculation, though)

Whatever it is , it must be well organised to LAY them side by side like that

True - it's odd but ALL of the deposits were like that - two, three or four neat rows.

[Onestepmore]

Gotta be a drop bear

[pazzar]

Google revealed this - Coyote scat with berry seeds. Could yours be from a fox?

I'm amused by the thought of Googling such a thing.....

[Strider]

You should have seen what came up when I googled "Pig scat"

[michael_p]

Pig.

Reading the description for Pigs in Triggs' book she states that when pigs are eating mainly plant material they produce long cylindrical scats that are composed of joined together cake shaped pieces. Good chance it is pigs.

[Giddy_up]

Given the timing of the find, I would suspect that there would be quite a bit of winter cereal grains and pulse crops being planted now. Those seeds look very much like canola or mustard which are both commercial crops that would be sown in the area. Pig can travel up to 20km to feed and then they will travel back along the same path for weeks on end if the food source is good. That may also explain why there is no other sign as they are just using the track as a highway to and from their camp.


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[Happy Pirate]

Yeah I would have said pig too.
Definitely not human.
But since you're in Vic I'd suggest Deer as an alternative.
[Ed] And since I just noticed you said Northern Gramps. - Definitely Deer not pig.

+1 For Barbara Triggs' book

cheers
Steve

[puredingo]

Yeah, I'd go with deer over pig. Doesn't look like any pig poo I've seen, although they are usually full of seed and grain most of the time the poo is one big steaming heap like it was dropped from a 3 story window....More of a pile.

And as for Wallaby/Roo...Possible but you will mostly find these scats in an evelated position, upon a logs, rocks etc.

[Happy Pirate]

Yeah, I'd go with deer over pig. Doesn't look like any pig poo I've seen, although they are usually full of seed and grain most of the time the poo is one big steaming heap like it was dropped from a 3 story window....More of a pile.

And as for Wallaby/Roo...Possible but you will mostly find these scats in an evelated position, upon a logs, rocks etc.

The nature of any scat will depend, of course, on the local vegetation and so will vary in content from place to place.

puredingo is right, most of the pig scat I've seen too is messy and heaped and usually near some ground disturbance. (Only steamy if it's recent).

Deer are rife in the Gramps; more so in the south but they are still the main pest in the Nth Gramps. Definitely more common than pigs.

If you need a more local contact than museum Vic, PM me as I worked for the Wimmera CMA up until Jan and know a couple of zoologists in the region.

cheers
Steve

[roodeny]

Deer Sambar probably escaped from one of the farms .

[Tortoise]

http://icwdm.org/inspection/scat1.asp looked helpful

maybe Sambar deer are different, but possibly not that different.

[Happy Pirate]

Deer Sambar probably escaped from one of the farms .

Actually, like most game, I think Deer were introduced deliberately as a hunting animal quite early. They have been rife in 'The Gramps' for a very long time.

It would be nice to think that, at least in this enlightened era of known pest issues, that we would be actively trying to, if not eradicate all pests, at least acknowledge their existence.
But NO! Deer and European Trout are a protected species in Tas and Vic with greater protection measures than native species.
It's the strength of the hunting lobby - and a telling reason why the same lobby CAN'T be used to justify hunting in National Parks.

Read this now and spread the idea - the hunting lobby PROMOTES feral animal intrusion into National Parks.
Hunters (amateur) tend to target non female, non-juvenile animals in order to maintain a viable target population and are shown to benefit rather than impact pest species (as opposed to professional hunters)

Steve

[bernieq]

I've had a reply from Museum Victoria (and an apology for the tardy reply - no problem, Simon).

Does anyone want a final guess before I post the answer?

[Swampy460]

Wild dog / dingo

What's the prize ?

Swampy