A long time on the water after a few cups of coffee meant I needed to answer nature's call ... I chose a small, wooded island in the middle of nowhere, and was thrilled to feel the spongey cushion of the deep pine needle floor as I stepped onto land.
I was struck by how many poops were around me once I scanned about - obviously another creature favored these facilities, and frequently, too.
So, of course, I had to get a closer look,
a MUCH closer look ...
How amazing! The scat was mostly fish scales, clean and glistening, with small bones as well. This is old scat since all the other solids have disintegrated. There was no smell to have warned me that this was a latrine. I placed a few in my sample bottle and brought them home to show off my find!
Online searching led us to believe that these droppings must be from otters, which was very exciting. I've personally not seen them in our lake, nor evidence of them myself until now. Otters defecate in an area near water designated by them as their latrine, and their droppings are known as spraint.
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