Interpreting feeding signs, scat, rubs and trails

Every group of animals feeds in its own way, and that leaves characteristic signs. Rodents have sharp incisors and leave fine tooth marks on nuts, cones or bark. Hoofed animals such as roe deer or red deer have no upper front teeth and tend to tear shoots rather than cut them cleanly – so the break looks ragged. Wild boar root up the ground with their snouts to get at roots and small creatures.

Besides feeding signs there are markings. Deer rub their antlers and foreheads on young trees, scraping off bark; these are called rubs. Some animals roll in mud holes known as wallows. Hair on fences or tree trunks shows where animals have rubbed or squeezed through.

Frequently used game trails are narrow, worn paths that often lead to water, cover or food. They sometimes cross hiking trails at right angles or run under fences. Together, all these signs give a picture of how heavily an area is used – even where the ground is too hard for footprints.

Never touch scat, pellets – balls of hair and bone coughed up by owls and other birds –, carcasses or hair with bare hands, and do not sniff them. They can contain pathogens and parasite eggs, in Central Europe for example those of the fox tapeworm. Do not poke at anything with sticks, break anything apart or take anything with you. After the outing and before eating, wash your hands thoroughly.

A fresh carcass is a warning sign. It may be guarded or revisited by a large predator – an animal that eats other animals. Leave the spot immediately and give it a wide berth. Also do not follow drag marks leading to a carcass.

And once more, because it matters so much: the fact that an animal eats a plant, berry or fungus says nothing about whether it is edible for people. Many animals tolerate things that are poisonous to us. Only eat what you know for certain – and feeding signs are never proof of that.

Look at two heights: on the ground and at eye level. Under trees you find gnawed cones and nut shells, on shrubs bitten-off shoots, on trunks stripped bark or rubs, on fences hair. Narrow, flattened paths and gaps under fences show you game trails.

Photograph every sign with an object of known size beside it. With a bitten twig it helps to photograph the break up close – cleanly cut or ragged? At home, compare with a regional field guide. Attribution to a particular species often remains uncertain, and that is fine.

Above all, pay attention to quantity and freshness. A single gnawed cone says little. Many fresh signs in one place, on the other hand, mean: there is regular activity here. Such places are exciting to watch from a distance, but not a place for your tent.

Feeding signs often remain visible much longer than footprints and also work on hard ground. On a dry summer day in the forest you may not find a single print, but under a spruce a pile of stripped cones and on a young beech bitten-off buds. That is already enough to know that animals move through here.

On the banks of streams and lakes, food remains such as opened shells, fish remains or gnawed trunks show which animals use the water. Here too: observe only, touch nothing.

With children it becomes a game: who finds the first gnawed cone, the first rub, the first game trail? It is important to make the rule clear from the start: we look with our eyes and take photos – nothing gets touched.

Tracking guides such as Mark Elbroch's standard work on North American mammal tracks cover feeding signs, scat, markings and trails in detail, because they are often found more often than clear footprints.

In this knowledge base these signs serve awareness and nature experience. You will deliberately not find identification keys for scat or feeding signs here. For exact identification, regional field guides, conservation organisations or wildlife authorities are the right contacts.