Species: Coyote (Canis latrans)

What to look for

  1. Size. Individual droppings average 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) long with a diameter of about 1 inch (2.5 cm). Pieces carrying a lot of hair run larger.
  2. Shape. Twisted and ropelike, which is what separates it at a glance from the plops and pellets around it.
  3. Contents. Hair and bone are usually visible, and weathered scat eventually reduces to mostly hair.
  4. Placement. Left in conspicuous places on or near trails, often right in the middle of a path, to mark territory.
  5. Variation by diet. Pure meat leaves a semiliquid black residue. A diet of cherries, apples, blackberries, huckleberries or elderberries leaves scat that crumbles.
  6. Company it keeps. Look along draws, fence lines, game and livestock trails, the middle of dirt roads and ridge tops, which is where coyotes travel.

Easily confused with

Domestic dog droppings. Check placement and contents: coyote scat is deliberately deposited in prominent spots along trails and carries hair and bone from wild prey.

Bobcat or mountain lion scat. Cat scat is segmented and dense and will not flatten underfoot, where a coyote's is a twisted rope.

Bear scat. Much larger, with segments 2 to 3 inches long and 1.25 to 1.5 inches across, and often a loose plop rather than a rope.

Where and when

Coyotes occupy semi-open brushy country, timber edges, farmland, grassland and suburbs across nearly all of North America, so this is the wild canid sign most people will actually find. Look on trails, dirt roads and ridge tops year round. Contents follow the food supply: hair and bone from prey, or crumbling fruit-filled scat when cherries, apples and berries are ripe.

Related signs

  • Bear scat: Black bear scat is a large tubular deposit, usually left in a coil or in segments 2 to 3 inches long and 1.25 to 1.5 inches across.
  • Coyote tracks: A coyote track is a compact oval about 2.5 inches long and 2 inches wide, with four toes and toenail marks that nearly always print.
  • Deer scat: Deer scat is a scattered pile of dark oval pellets, each about 0.5 to 1 inch long and 0.2 to 0.5 inch across, shiny when fresh and holding no recognizable pieces of food.

Sources