Have you ever been out in the countryside and found animal droppings (known as scat), but were not sure if they were from a puma, another big cat, or the droppings of some other animal? It’s a common problem, but there are a few simple ways to distinguish puma scat from that of other animals.
Pumas leave three types of droppings: round, oval, and long. When looking at the shape of the faeces it is important to remember that foxes also leave droppings that are oval in shape!
A puma’s droppings are usually a dark or light shade of brown, with the longer pieces being more coarse and often containing small amounts of hair.
The most common type of puma scat you will see are the round droppings – this can vary in size depending on how many pumas have passed through your area.
Puma scat is also often found on the tops of trees, whereas other animals such as foxes usually leave their droppings at lower levels.
Foxes leave scat that is smaller in size than that of pumas, and would also likely contain black streaks and bits of fur. The colour will be grey-brown to white.
Dogs leave droppings that are usually smaller in size and would be a pungent odour.