seriously though, look for scat traces on the ground and on the leaves. Different animals leave different poop behind. Also, describe what your environment is like? woods, city, suburbs, backyard ect. Don't forget about the 2 legged thieves also.

Hi folks, I think there may be an answer for you at this website: http://www.bear-tracker.com/coon.html I think the scat is that of a racoon - see what you think!

Warning to game camera buyers..BUY INFRA-RED FLASH ONLY! It's clear that animals are avoiding the annoying flash-which always scares me when I hike up there at night-and doubtless explains why there are few repeat animal photos. I can see by their tracks that they are skirting the camera, including the Big Foot. When I took photos yesterday afternoon, the ice was just melting slightly in sunny spots, and there was no new jaguar sign. I thought he'd moved on, but this morning there were several new, now frozen, scrape marks right where I'd been photographing yesterday, meaning that the jaguar had visited and scrape-marked his territory right after I left, before the temperatures dropped again. I could see that he was giving me a warning, so I circled the pond to where he'd previously left his scat, sniffing the air to see if he'd scent-marked anywhere close, like the jaguar websites said they did. Sure enough, I became aware of a very strong, pungent odor, almost a skunk-like muskiness, so I followed the smell to a scrape-marked tree a few yards away from the scat. 3-4-09, farm pond, scent-marked tree with jaguar (?) scrape From 2-24-09, Tracks and scat paw-sized claw marks From 2-24-09, Tracks and scat First scrape photographed, 3-2-09 From 2-24-09, Tracks and scat Old frozen scrape, possibly the same one? From 2-24-09, Tracks and scat 3-4-09, new frozen jaguar (?) scrape made yesterday afternoon in the same spot I'd been photographing, before night freeze From 2-24-09, Tracks and scat Several websites said jaguars are unafraid of people, which makes them easy targets for hunters. Another website claimed that Amazon Indians are frequently followed by male jaguars to escort them off their territories. Still other websites said that jaguars seldom bother to mark territories unless there is a boundary dispute or overlapping territories. Perhaps our constant poking around "his" territory is prompting the alleged jaguar to warn us off. The meerkats in Meerkat Manor are always "furiously scent-marking" bushes and rocks to "see-off" trespassers, so he could be warning us to back off. If he is imprinted on humans from being in captivity as a cub, he might see us as rivals, but maybe all jaguars view humans that way. Of course, I was here first. Websites also say that about their second year, male jaguars move on to establish their own territories, which can be up to 500 square miles, depending on food availability, so he might be moving on soon.

Thanks, that makes sense. The grass is always matted down right near where I found the scat. It's definitely bedding for some sort of animal, and even thought its smack dab out in the open in my back yard, I've seen deer bedding a few feet away in the winter nights. A neighbor claims to have spotted a cougar behind their house. I normally wouldn't pay that any attention living in MD, but when the called the dept of natural resources, they were told that others had spotted what they thought was a "cougar" in the same area. Someone claims that they found cougar tracks, but I'm still highly doubtful. Just thought I'd check that rather large scat out with people who knew better than me. Thanks again.