to know the land

Ep. 256 : Apple Scat of Coyotes and Red Fox


Listen Later

In the later part of the Summer, I was walking with my friend and colleague Tamara when we came across some scat with Apples (Malus domestica) in it. I can’t remember what brought it up but she mentioned that she has seen more scats composed mostly of Apple left by Coyotes (Canis latrans) rather than by Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes). This got me wondering.. who eats more Apples, Coyotes or Red Foxes? This question began a weird hook in my mind, and everytime I noticed Apples, Apple based scat, Coyote scat or Red Fox scat, the question would come to mind.

I decided I would go for a walk and try and measure a ton of scats, look for evidence one way or another and see if I could get any closer to an answer. Ended up making the show about this question.
Correction: 3 ft is equal to 91.44 cm. A yard is longer than a meter.

To learn more :
Mammal Tracks and Sign by Mark Elbroch and Casey McFarland. Stackpole Books, 2nd ed., 2019.
Tracking and the Art of Seeing by Paul Rezendes. Harper Perennial, 1999.
American Wildlife and Plants : A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits by Alexander C. Martin, Herbert S. Zim, Arnold L. Nelson. Dover Publications, 1951.
Behaviour of North American Mammals by Mark Elbroch and Kurt Rinehart. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

to know the landBy byron

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

3 ratings


More shows like to know the land

View all
The Penguin Podcast by Penguin Books UK

The Penguin Podcast

148 Listeners

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,718 Listeners

The Moth by The Moth

The Moth

27,275 Listeners

Snap Judgment by Snap Judgment and PRX

Snap Judgment

11,517 Listeners

Planet Money by NPR

Planet Money

30,821 Listeners

MARGARET ROACH A WAY TO GARDEN by Margaret Roach

MARGARET ROACH A WAY TO GARDEN

673 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,137 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,396 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,562 Listeners

In Defense of Plants Podcast by In Defense of Plants

In Defense of Plants Podcast

1,217 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

15,949 Listeners

Native Plants, Healthy Planet by Pinelands Nursery, Bleav

Native Plants, Healthy Planet

293 Listeners

The Science of Birds by Ivan Phillipsen

The Science of Birds

784 Listeners

Tracking Connections by 512 Natural Pathways, LLC

Tracking Connections

21 Listeners