Discover the Flyway from Home – Resources for Teachers, Parents & Students

I See Scat!

Check out the photo below. We don’t always see the wildlife out in the wetlands, but they do leave evidence behind that they are there moving around. They can leave many types of signs – scat, tracks, skin sheds, feathers, fur, and more!

Look at this pile of scat!

Now which animal left that in the wetlands? Let’s figure it out!

1. What color is the scat?
2. Why might it be this color?
3. What shape is the scat?
4. What food items can you find in the scat pile?
5. Which animal left this scat behind?

Use these resources to compare and contrast some tracks, using the pdf resource pages below.

Tracks & Scat- Mallard & Great Blue Heron

Tracks & Scat- Bobcat & Beaver

Tracks & Scat- River Otter

Tracks & Scat- Racoon & Muskrat

Tracks & Scat- Deer Mouse & Toads and Frogs

 

 

 

Answers:

1. The color of the scat is white.
2. The scat might be white because the food it eats is white and/or the sun has bleached it white.
3. This scat shape is scattered or a flat mass of materials or oval shaped.
4. One can identify a crayfish claw, crayfish exoskeleton pieces, and bones.
5. This is river otter scat!