Possible Fox droppings?

[Beekeeper]

A few days ago, i found several quite large holes have been dug around a mound of old bonfire ash, one in particular is around 1 ft across and about the same in depth, why i have no idea as there is certainly nothing edible within, then i noticed another smaller disturbance to a part of the vegetable plot close to the path with soil scattered on to the path, once again just bare soil, nothing to eat in there, by the size of the holes i would generaly rule out foxes as the holes are quite low down and almost horizontal rather than on an downward angle which they would be in the case of a fox which is of course fairly tall.

Badgers are another thought but never have any badgers been seen in my area as all the gardens border a river with a small patch of waste ground between that and mine and neighbouring gardens, the waste ground although now heavily overgrown is still accessible and i would have heard if badgers had moved in.

Today i found some droppings on the top lawn containing some seeds of one sort or another, too late for cherry and definately not plum or apple so even more confused as to what is visiting at night, could any of our resident animal waste experts identify these for me please.

BK

[Estwing]

Hmm. Looks like it
Was there any fluff or fur around the hole?
It could have been a rabbit's "nest" as they sometimes exploit the insulating properties of ash left over from bonfires. The fox probably had dug it up and eaten all the young.
Dig over the disturbed soil in the veg patch, the fox may have buried a young rabbit for later on.

The seeds in the dung could be those of Cherry Laurel. By coincidence, I've just posted to say I saw some fox faeces containing these seeds in the "Berries ID" thread.

Cheers
Al

[Beekeeper]

Originally Posted by Estwing

Hmm. Looks like it
Was there any fluff or fur around the hole?
It could have been a rabbit's "nest" as they sometimes exploit the insulating properties of ash left over from bonfires. The fox probably had dug it up and eaten all the young.
Dig over the disturbed soil in the veg patch, the fox may have buried a young rabbit for later on.

The seeds in the dung could be those of Cherry Laurel. By coincidence, I've just posted to say I saw some fox faeces containing these seeds in the "Berries ID" thread.

Cheers
Al

Thanks Al for the reply, there are no rabbits in the near vicinity, the nearest are around 1/2 mile away across the open forest so very unlikely to be due to them, Cherry Laurel i think is a strong possibility for the seeds, i never thought of that one at all.

Although i am tying the holes and dung together, maybe the holes were dug by something other than fox but i just cannot think what else it could be, i dont suppose a hedghog would dig a hole that size, would it?

It has to be an animal with short legs such as rabbit, giant mole perhaps , maybe the bonfire ash is really a giant mole hill, i really don't know.

BK

[effie39]

It is difficult to judge the size but my Animal Tracks and Signs Book under the section Droppings it looks very much like Hegehog. Average is 3-4 cm long and 8-10mm thick usually deposited during its nocturnal foraging.
Hope this helps
David

[Words]

The droppings look reasonably fox-like to me, but size is difficult to judge (tip: drop a small coin next to them when you photograph... quickest and easiest way to judge size). Foxes may have scratched over the ash. They're quite active at the moment and it could have been a half-hearted practice by a younger fox. But hen again, I could be compeltely wrong.

[Beekeeper]

Originally Posted by Words

The droppings look reasonably fox-like to me, but size is difficult to judge (tip: drop a small coin next to them when you photograph... quickest and easiest way to judge size). Foxes may have scratched over the ash. They're quite active at the moment and it could have been a half-hearted practice by a younger fox. But hen again, I could be compeltely wrong.

I did forget to mention the size, the largest was around 50-65 m/m long 2- 2 1/2 inches, a good tip re the coin, will do that next time thanks for suggestion Words.

effie39 (David) thanks for your input, i do get a lot of hedgehogs around and the droppings are rather bigger than what a hedgehog would leave, as there are dense hedges and a few wildlife patches in my garden, the hedgehogs are always clearing up the slugs etc. and they always leave me a present afterwards


I do think Words may have hit on the answer, that it was a young fox, the time of year is right and there are foxes which frequent the river bank, they also live nearby in a paddock at the end of my close so its a good possibility, un,less someone comes up with an alternate suggestion.

Thanks for your help once again folks.

BK (Ian)

[Fritillary]

I had asked a similar question in the mammal forum and nobody has replied . Here the photo is (and with a penny next to :-))100_0858a - Wild About Britain Pics

By the way, I found a little confusing where to post messages because it is classified by type of animal or plants, fungi, etc but sometimes I see the messages subjects can be in different themes . As this one of poos, I had put it in mammal forum in "we need photos of animal traces" and voila the message is more read here

[Beekeeper]

Hi Fritillary, yes i do know what you mean but i think the general section is probably the best one to use for posts such as these, unless someone tells me i am wrong, presumably no-one thought a section would be needed for things like animal waste so it was never added when the site was setup. Of course as you have said the mammal section would also fit the bill, i do find that everyone is so helpful anyway it is probably not a real issue.

As for the picture you have provided, it does look rather similar to what i have photographed so maybe there were left by the same species---Fox.

BK

[jasper4]

I found this thread searching "fox droppings". I have found heaps over the last few days surrounding my house, literally, one by the front door, one on the drive, one by the back door, one on the lawn - am beginning to feel like whatever is doing this wants to take over my home!
I removed all of them and didn't think to take a photo, but noticed what looked like cherry stones and even cherries or small plum skins, and the dung was tarry and dark coloured, it looked EXACTLY like Fritillary's photo.
If it weren't such a copious amount I would say it's hedgehog poo, but this in size is like that of a dog. I am very surprised that a fox would come so close to the house, and worried for my cats, but at the same time am excited it might be a fox. I shall keep my cats in at night and leave an egg out to see if the fox takes it. One thing though, the dung didn't smell unduly, isn't fox dung supposed to smell really strong?

[Beekeeper]

jasper, a fox will always leave a musty smell in the area they have been visiting, when i was considerably younger than i am now, i always knew where a fox had been but the sense of smell is now not so good so i no longer have the ability to detect it.

As for the droppings thinking about it yes they do smell, my dog had a a nasty habit of rolling in the stuff and he smelt putrid afterwards, but undisturbed, the droppings do not seem to me to smell very much, assuming the picture of droppings i uploaded to this site is that of a fox.

BK