Animals like hedgehogs, badgers and foxes are very secretive. We’re more likely to spot the clues they leave behind than the animals themselves, which is where their poo comes in.
Wild animal poo is a great way to identify the creatures that have been creeping around your garden or travelling through your local wood. Some droppings can be identified by sight alone, while others may need closer examination to find characteristic signs like bones or feathers.
Here is a quick guide to identifying some of the more common animal poo you might find.
That Hilarious Yet Cringy Moment When a Fox Poops Right in Front of the Camera
We’ve all seen those viral videos of animals doing funny or bizarre things on camera. Cats jumping into boxes, dogs chasing their own tails, baby elephants playing in the mud. Most of the time it’s cute, heartwarming stuff that makes you chuckle or say “Aww!” But every so often an animal decides to do something totally gross and embarrassing on film, leaving us torn between laughing and looking away in horror. Like that one time a fox pooped right in front of the camera in a clip that quickly went viral.
The short video starts innocently enough. A wild red fox is wandering through some bushes and trees, minding its own business, when it pauses and glances back at the camera. Up to this point it’s just a typical cute fox video. But things are about to take a turn.
The fox starts lowering its hindquarters toward the ground tail raised and before you can even process what’s about to happen – PLOP! – a big round mass of poop drops onto the forest floor as the fox stares directly into the camera lens.
I have to admit, when I first saw this video I burst out laughing. The comedic timing is just too perfect. The way the fox makes eye contact right before popping a squat is priceless. It’s like the fox is playing a prank and deliberately pooping on camera just to mess with the humans. A true troll move.
But after the initial shock and laughter wore off, I felt kind of bad for the fox. I mean, he was just going about his business, being a fox, and doing normal bodily functions. Then these humans come along with a camera and spotlight his private potty time for the whole world to see.
If that happened to me, I’d be mortified! Could you imagine a video catching you taking a dump in the woods and then going viral for millions to laugh at? Talk about an invasion of privacy and humiliation!
Still, I can’t deny there’s something inherently funny about animals pooping, especially when it’s caught on camera. Maybe it’s the absurdity of nature colliding with technology. Or perhaps poop humor just appeals to our inner child.
Scientists actually think our tendency to laugh at poop and farts stems from an evolutionary need to discourage spreading disease. Laughter helps make us avoid disgusting things that could make us sick. Of course, that doesn’t really apply to laughing at animal poop on a screen. But it does suggest the humor is baked into our biology.
In any case, the fox poop video sparked a lot of hilarity and horror on social media. Here are just a few of the reactions:
“Once you see it, you can’t unsee it!”
“Now I know where the phrase ‘sly as a fox’ comes from,”
“Revenge for all those times humans have taken foxes’ pictures!”
“Caught brown-pawed!”
“When you gotta go, you gotta go.”
“He said it was just us foxes out here.”
“This is why I don’t use public bathrooms.”
“Majestic creature ruins majestic moment.”
No matter your reaction to the viral clip, you have to give it up for the fox for gifting us with such a timelessly funny and cringy moment. Sly little stinker! But I do feel bad for him too. Nobody wants videos of their bathroom breaks spread across the internet.
So remember: next time you’re camping and see a fox, don’t forget they need their privacy too! No filming during potty time. Let’s try to preserve some mystery and magic about these marvelous creatures in the wild. The world doesn’t need to know everything nature has to offer, especially from that end.
Some moments are better left uncaptured. But at least we already have this hilarious fox poop scene immortalized on the internet forever. Just another reason to love and hate how random and weird the online world can be.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go scrub my brain after over-thinking and writing way too much about a fox pooping on camera. The internet has officially ruined me. But hopefully this gave you a laugh, or at least a fresh look at humanity’s fascination with potty humor. We all poop, even majestic foxes!
What does badger poo look like?
Badgers often dig a latrine when they need the loo. Members of the same family may all use the same latrine.
Credit: Mark Yates / naturepl.com ID tips
Size: about 10cm long.
What’s inside: seeds and berries.
Where to find it: shallow pits or latrines on the edge of badger territory.
Like us, badgers prefer to use a toilet. Theirs is known as a latrine: a small pit dug into the ground, usually around 10cm – 15cm deep.
Badger poo is normally sloppy and wet, but the texture can change depending on what they eat, with other droppings appearing firmer and sausage shaped. Badgers have a diverse diet including seeds, berries, worms and carrion which can colour their droppings purple, black or brown. The smell can differ too, with some people reporting foul, oily-smelling droppings and others describing the scent as sweetly musky.
What does rabbit poo look like?
Rabbit poo is pea-sized, round, and left as a collection of pellets.
Credit: Laurie Campbell / naturepl.com ID tips
Size: 1cm or less.
What’s inside: plants and grasses.
Where to find it: grassland, field edges and hedgerows.
Rabbit droppings are some of the easiest wild animal poo to recognise. They’re pea-sized and round, brown-green in colour and deposited in a dense collection of pellets. They’re made up of plants and grasses that give rabbit poo a sweet smell with a hint of mown hay.
Foxes Pooping Multiple Times Caught on Trail Camera
FAQ
How do I stop foxes pooping on my doorstep?
Make sure you keep your garden as clean as you possibly can, remove any rubbish that might be blowing around, and just generally keep it tidy – Foxes won’t come back if they have no reason too. If you have a fox issue, unfortunately they will leave faeces.
Why does a fox poop on my porch?
Fox scat might signal other wildlife problems. If you find fox poop on your property, the fox might be hunting animals like rodents, birds, or rabbits.
Do foxes poop in the same spot?
How to dispose of fox poo?
- Remove the droppings using a plastic bag to be knotted and collected with household rubbish.
- Since disease-causing agents often survive for a long time in a humid environment, the droppings should not be thrown on the compost heap or be buried.