Yep, deer poop. I got a recipe for a mix that works great at keeping deer and everything else away from my plants. Take a few crushed garlic cloves, 1/4 cup veg. oil, 3 eggs and mix them in a gallon jug of water. Let it sit in the sun for a few days to rot then strain it into a sprayer. It needs to be reapplied about every 10 days. It stinks to high heaven and you can smell it for a few hours after spraying the plants but it's the only thing that's worked for me so far. Karyn

First, thanks to bluebloom for scat photos very informative even if I was trying to eat my dinner at the time :P tomatovator, from reading the various source material provided by Dr. Carolyn & digdirt I'm left with the impression that it is safe to consume these tomatoes however if buds/flowers get contaminated then you might not want to eat those particular fruits. Windclimber, I have not ID the animal that treated my Earth Box as new form of outdoor plumbing but I doubt very much it could be a bear I really believe I'd see much more damage if that were the case. My fiance discouraged me from buying liquid fence saying it was not very practical and that I'm not being overrun with various animals which is true (we'll see). It's interesting to note that whatever it was has very strong smelling scat because it's been a few days since I scooped this out of the Earth Box (including surrounding soil) and yet still catch a whiff now and then but slowly it is dissipating. I too think maybe it was a raccoon as I've seen one or two in the area plus fox and coyote. The good news is it has not returned that I know of so all's quiet on the eastern front and I wait patiently for these little ones to ripen (photo linked below) I have lost the ID tag for this plant but I'm sure it's a hybrid and it has rugosa type leaves I bought it to hold me over till my heirlooms come on :) Here is a link that might be useful:

Could be a "sick" animal...most often with some pathogen like GIARDIA which can be transferred to humans or pets through contact. Obviously you aren't going to touch it on purpose but just be wary that sickness is a distinct possibility esp. if you have any pets that also access this area. Our dog had Giardia and it's something you don't wish on your WORST enemy. If pets are sniffing around or even eating animal excrement they are in a position to get diseases carried in the intestinal tract of wild animals. I would be inclined to take a shovel out there and cover over it with fresh soil IF you have a pet who roams in the area. Barb

Thank you. That confirms the conclusion my friend came to after her cat caught a mouse and brought it in the house.