Anyone familiar with Black Bears (poop pic)...

[Sue Gremlin]

Looks like ruminant poop to me.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

That is deer poop. Deer make pellets and small patties kind of like cows especially if they've been eating really rich fodder.

And given the recent rains and subsequent blooms, this makes sense.

 

[KathieMc]

I'm going to say it's deer also...we have a lot of deer around our home and meadow and the bucks tend to have this type/size of droppings. I first learned about this from a hunter. If you do a search on "male deer droppings" you'll see similar images.

 

[PattyNH]

Looks like black bear scat to me...

 

[ThracianHorse]

Looks like black bear scat to me...

I do not know where you got those pictures, but that is not black bear poop. That is deer poop.

 

[PattyNH]

I do not know where you got those pictures, but that is not black bear poop. That is deer poop.

It is from http://icwdm.org/Inspection/BlackBrownDroppings.aspx
From the
Internet Center for
Wildlife Damage Management

 

[The Dapper Duck]

No elk in Northern California. We have a lot of deer but their droppings look more like pellets.

There are definitely elk in Northern California. Several herds actually have radio collared individuals in them. Look up the Big Game Management plan at the CDFW website to see some elk stats in your management area.

And this looks more like elk to me. Depending on your elevation and how far from the coast you are, black bears might not even be out and about right now. If they were the poop would be mostly grass/sedges and maybe berries that overwinter like rose hips. It’s a little difficult to make out, but this poop looks like pellets in a slurry. That happens with cervids (deer, elk, moose) depending on their diet.

That’s not to say you aren’t in black bear territory. I have relatives in Quincy and they have noticed more black bear encounters with garbage cans, etc. since the ban on hunting with dogs. Humans stopped letting bears know we were bad news for them and they forgot. So if you’re in rural Siskiyou or something, having a hot wire on your coop and feed wouldn’t be a bad idea.

 

[Norcal527]

There are definitely elk in Northern California. Several herds actually have radio collared individuals in them. Look up the Big Game Management plan at the CDFW website to see some elk stats in your management area.

And this looks more like elk to me. Depending on your elevation and how far from the coast you are, black bears might not even be out and about right now. If they were the poop would be mostly grass/sedges and maybe berries that overwinter like rose hips. It’s a little difficult to make out, but this poop looks like pellets in a slurry. That happens with cervids (deer, elk, moose) depending on their diet.

That’s not to say you aren’t in black bear territory. I have relatives in Quincy and they have noticed more black bear encounters with garbage cans, etc. since the ban on hunting with dogs. Humans stopped letting bears know we were bad news for them and they forgot. So if you’re in rural Siskiyou or something, having a hot wire on your coop and feed wouldn’t be a bad idea.

There are no elk in Placer or El Dorado counties where i live. The map does show some living far north near Oregon but thats far from me. Im in the Sierras not near the coast. We only have small white tail deer. And we are definitely in bear country i have encountered one on my porch at my prior property.

 

[The Dapper Duck]

Oh yea, my bad, you are most certainly not around any elk. I live in Humboldt and do work out in Modoc, hence my different perspective on what "Northern California" is, haha. And I don't mean to be "that guy" but being a biologist compels me to mention that there are no white-tailed deer in California. You likely have California mule deer and/or Columbian blacktail subspecies. Both of which could make the poop in question.
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=23228