YNP Scat Post

For those of you who aren’t in the know, “scat” means poop.  Usually it’s used by people who don’t really want to sound like they’re talking about poop, like biologists or zoologists.  Just think how embarrassing it would be to have to talk about your job, “I spend my time looking for signs of omniverous activity among the fauna of Yellowstone by analyzing their poop.”  Yeah, just replace “poop” with “scat” and you no longer sound like you’re poking through poop for a job, but doing something really scientific.  Parents, on the other hand, wouldn’t say things like, “Check that baby’s diaper to see if there’s scat in it.”  Or, “Honey, if you have to scat, be sure to do it now, because we’re going to be in the car for a long time.”Studying the scat beside the trail.

When I started research for this trip, I came across the book Who Pooped in the Park, by Gary D. Robson (It’s important, if you’re going to write a book with the word “pooped” in the title, to be sure your name sounds official.  That’s why he put the D. in there. Because otherwise, he’s just that guy Gary who wrote a book about poop.)   The kids, not surprisingly, LOVED this book.  Really, how can you go wrong?  A book about poop for kids.  But, in a surprise twist that nobody saw coming, Michael and I liked it, too, because it helped us learn to identify the scat – and tracks (but who would be charmed by a book called Who Walked in the Park?  BORING.) – of lots of animals that we’d see in Yellowstone.  All agreed:  this could only be the work of a bison.

This meant that, even on hikes on which we didn’t see any animals, we could tell that the animals had been there by the scat they left behind.  And we could wonder why they hadn’t fallen through the thin crust in the geyser basins, because they were always walking around pooping – wait! – scatting on parts that had signs that there was dangerous thin crust.Spring or summer elk scat.  Not everyone agreed on each pile.  Some had different theories.

Hannah had taken the scat study further.  She and I found some deer scat one morning, and she said, “Oh, this is female deer scat, because of the shape.  Male deer scat would have a pointy end on each one.”  Just to be clear, this wasn’t covered in the book mentioned above, but it was covered in the scat and tracks book she got last year at her wilderness awareness camp.  This was looking at tracks in the mud.  I’m pointing to a deer track with my foot. 

Despite the weirdness of studying poop, we did really enjoy having the knowledge to figure out which animal had left the piles we came upon on our adventures.  I highly recommend the book.  There are others for other national parks, too, so you can see who pooped other places.

On our way back, when we were visiting our friends, we related some of the stories of scat study.  Impressed by Hannah’s scat knowledge, I mentioned, “Hannah really knows her scat!” 

To which she replied, “Not my scat, Mama!”