Scat
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Get down on the ground and look closely at the scat. Is it long and skinny? Short and fat? Made up of sections? Many little pellets?
Measure the length and diameter of it. Look at the ground around it. Are there scratches in the dirt? Scat from another animal nearby? See if you can tell what the animal ate (you may have to poke at it a bit, but try not to damage it too much so other groups can look at it too). Is there fur and bones in the scat? Berries and seeds? Plant matter? Is the animal a carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore? How big is the animal? Sculpt the air with your hands to show how big you think the animal is. Look at the color and texture. If it is dark and moist, it is fresh; the animal was here not too long ago. If it is brittle and moldy, it is very old. Draw the scat in your field notebook. Are there animal tracks nearby? Look it up to see from which animal it came. |
If you find any scat, make sure you spend some time with it. Looking closely at animal poop is not something most students get to do on a regular basis.
Get down close to the scat. Kneel or sit next to it, and encourage your students to do the same. Be dramatic about it. Get your face close to it and take a big whiff—your students will want to know what you're going to do next. Speculate about the past and future of your particular pile of scat. Clearly mark the scat with red tape, so other groups will find it with their eyes before they find it with their shoes. |
Additional Resources
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