How to ID Possum Poop

Possums, sometimes called opossums, are omnivorous, scavenging animals that are highly adept at making use of their environment. The possum's varied diet makes identifying its scat more difficult than identifying the droppings of other animals.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Consider the size. Generally, possum droppings are the same size as the scat of house cats or small canines. At about 1- to 3-inches long, possum droppings taper to a pointed end.

2. Look for location. Visible possum droppings are usually left on paths or near feeding area. If you think you have a possum around your home or garden, check to see if the droppings are located near a trash bin or a berry or fruit tree in the garden. Check for possum tracks around the dropping to confirm that the scat is from a possum.

3. Check out the appearance. If you find fresh scat, look closely to see if it has a slightly shiny, filmy appearance. Few animals in possum habitat areas produce scat with a similar film, making this aspect of the scat's appearance a good indicator that it belongs to a possum.

4. Inspect multiple samples to see if the scat is similar in size, shape and location, but different in composition. Possum scat generally stays the same size and shape, but often differs in composition and color, from dark browns to red. While the possum mostly eats vegetation, it is known to feed on whatever it finds, giving the animal's scat a different composition.

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[sandikb55]

on 7/9/2008 The suspect poop is on our front porch we find it nearly every morning there is no open or exposed food source and no way to enter the house from this area.It does not look like cat or dog poop what else could it be?small tapered poop thanks skb