Sunday, July 21, 2019

Scat reveals abundance of predators

Today I went for a hike around Long Lake on the Colville National Forest. Along the way, I noticed lots of scat along the lakeside trail showing how abundant a particular predator is in this area.




The weather was beautiful, but didn't expect the trail to be so treacherous. It's lose rocks much of the way and steep in a few places. The rocky trail is hard to detect in some spots. 



I spotted lots of the same kind of scat covered in bumble bees -- never seen that before. It appeared as if the poop was made largely of crushed shells. There's only one predator that comes to mind -- raccoon!


Elusive during the day, these furry animals with grabbing hands, striped tails, and a bandit's mask are sometimes called "wash bears" for their habit of washing their food in open water. I didn't spot any raccoons on this trek, but I did find many scenic views. 


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