# @nationalparkservice on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C4GpFBrv181
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/21020282-nationalparkservice-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/4c0d60b59d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-03-04T19:17:56.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** National Park Service (@nationalparkservice) — https://gondola.cc/nationalparkservice

## Caption

The trail is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna step in.

True story. You’re walking along a quiet trail and something catches your eye. It looks like 💩. Hey, be nice. That’s your buddy. It’s not their fault they tripped and fell face first into a pile of mud and now look like they’ve been taking sketchy grooming tips from a Sasquatch. Do you believe?  Yes. That’s why you said it out loud. Fair enough. Looking beyond the Bigfoot impersonator/hiking partner, that is actually 💩  you’re looking out. But who dropped it? As spring brings warmer weather wildlife becomes more active. This activity may present itself in the form of well, material left behind. Nope, not just footprints. 

Identifying scat in a park can be helpful by letting you know what wildlife you could potentially encounter on the trail. It will also indicate if you should be more observant if you were to see scat from a specific species that could potentially become aggressive if approached. 

Image 1: This scat was left by a black bear and was only a few days old in the picture. Trust us. Their diets consist of nuts, berries, roots, insects, and small mammals. Black bears are shy, reclusive and are rarely seen by visitors at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas.

Image 2: Moose droppings, not the candy, found during the winter at Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska. NPS/ R Dunham

Image 3: Life, umm, finds a way. Look closely, ooh, too close, to see the small green shoots emerging from the partially digested berries and leaves in bear scat at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. NPS/A. Triest

Image 4: Scat of a ringtail cat that ate some prickly pears Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico. Ouch! 

Image 5: A bison always lets the chips fall where they may at Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. 

Image 6: For fox sake. A little privacy here? A red fox in a squatting pose at Denali National Park and Preserve.

#spring #trail #nationalparks #traillife #identification

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 74,008
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- **Comments:** 879

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| National Park Service | @nationalparkservice | https://gondola.cc/nationalparkservice | Government Organization |

## Tags

traillife, spring, nationalparks, identification, trail

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