Perplexing Porcupine Poo Pile :)

I am stumped as to what critter made this pile on our land. [See attached pic - hopefully it works, I haven't tried attaching media before...]

They are tubular, about 1 to 1 1/2 inches long and about 3/8 inch in diameter. I don't think they could be skunk, raccoon or porcupine (which we have a lot of). All kinds of things run around here. I've not seen anything like this before.

Any thoughts?

My guess porcupine. Note also  heavy with fibre.

Mark Deichmann wrote:My guess porcupine. Note also  heavy with fibre.

I was wondering about the fibrous look. Definitely SOUNDS like something a porcupine could do. But I've had LOTS of porcupine to deal with around here. Up until now all porcupine scat I've found looks (more or less) like black licorice jelly beans. Well it starts out green then turns black. But their diet changes with the seasons, so maybe the scat does, too? This stuff is about three times longer than the porcupine "jelly beans" I usually find around here.

Hmmm...

I have a porcupine that leaves piles just like that

Right Bobby,

Seasonal dietary variations effect how it looks. I have caves where they(porkies) hide from the cold, and there is alot of that stuff.

Also worth noting age and gender can give different looking droppings. The black ones you have seen are likely a younger possibly female individual.

Cheers , and remember the "porc of the pine" is a very good food source if they are plentiful and you are so inclined.

Mark Deichmann wrote:Right Bobby,

Seasonal dietary variations effect how it looks. I have caves where they(porkies) hide from the cold, and there is alot of that stuff.

Also worth noting age and gender can give different looking droppings. The black ones you have seen are likely a younger possibly female individual.

Cheers , and remember the "porc of the pine" is a very good food source if they are plentiful and you are so inclined.

Thanks, everyone! That clears it up!

Porcupine good eating? I had no idea, Mark! I wouldn't have guessed it because they can be rather stinky. You learn something everyday!

Hey, I know this post is super old but I recently found a very similar pile of poop and I'm pretty sure it's grouse poop (ruffed grouse specifically in my case)! I hope this helps

Hi Mark,

Welcome to Permies.

Agreed with Mark. That's ruffed grouse poop.