We speed-hiked through the woods, determined to make it to the high-mountain lake before lunchtime. On that spring morning in Montana’s Swan Valley, nothing sounded better than an afternoon of fishing ...

Feces are a valuable tool in the world of animal identification. It might sound gross, but it’s one of the best ways to determine an animal’s behavior. An animal’s poop, known as scat, tells you where ...

Scientists from the Smithsonian have successfully used swift fox droppings to identify individual animals and collect other data vital to monitoring a reintroduced population in Montana. Ellie ...

Here's how to tell whether those pellets on the ground came from a deer. If you live or recreate anywhere in the United States, odds are you’ve walked past (or stepped in) deer poop. Whether you spend ...

Smithsonian researchers used fecal samples to identify specific wild swift foxes. This method allows for non-invasive monitoring, which reduces stress for the animals. Wes Overvold, Smithsonian’s ...

Even the stealthiest wild animals leave evidence of their passage through the woods and fields, and one of the most telltale calling cards is the humble turd. Call it scat, droppings, sign, or just ...

of cars. The short answer: A bear poops wherever it dang well pleases. The more relevant query, though, for anyone who spends time in the outdoors: When a bear does poop in the woods, can you identify ...