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Got a budding wildlife biologist? Here is a handy dandy predator track and scat pocket guide and easy to make measuring stick. This information is a compilation of information from various sources and adapted from a guide received from Starr Ranch. The information is specific to the Santa Ana Mountain Region in Orange County California. The predators in your area may be slightly different in size.

It covers our local predators: Cougar (Mountain Lion), Bobcat, Coyote, Gray Fox, Raccoon, Skunk, and Opposum. (I believe the Opossums are not native though). It provides helpful clues in figuring out what track or scat belongs to which animal.

There are four sheets. Track guide 2 is the back side of Track guide 1. Track guide 4 is the back side of Track guide 3. Print guide 1, then turn it over to print the other side using guide 2. Then print guide 3 and turn it over to print guide 4 on the back side.

Then cut at the halfway mark of the page (5.5"). You will then have a total of 3 half sheets with 4 pages on each sheet. The first sheet is the top of guide 1.

We also made a track/scat field tool based on one used at Starr Ranch. We made ours compact and combined it. Starr Ranch used a paint stick that you would usually get free at your local paint or building supply store when you buy paint. They used one for tracks and one for scat.

We had a long flat piece of balsa wood we got at the local craft store and permanent marker. If you don't have a local craft store, you can buy them at Amazon.com. We used a special cutting tool to easily cut into 5" strips and then we painted over the writing with clear nail polish to protect it. Varnish, modge podge and other sealants work too.

We made ours 5" long by 1" wide. We put dog (coyote and gray fox) track and scat sizes on one side and cat (cougar and bobcat) track and scat sizes on the other. The tracks you measure length from the very tip of the tallest toe to the very bottom of the pad. For scat you measure the width of the scat (poop).

If you are measuring a suspected coyote or gray fox track and the measurement is less than 2", then it is a gray fox track. If it is greater than 2" it is a coyote. Bobcat would be less than 2.5" while Cougar is greater than 2.5".

Here are some pictures of bobcat scat. We should have taken the picture with the scat stick measuring it, but we were in a hurry when we saw this.



Notice the hair and the right angle segments. Blunt on one end and slightly tapered on the other. This was very fresh scat less than an hour old as we had just passed that way and it wasn't there when we passed the first time. What is interesting to me is the little rocks on the top. Either the scat rolled when it hit the ground, or the bobcat made a half-hearted attempt at covering it.



[Note: Click the image to view a larger image]

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