Ep. 275 : Once Upon a Bear Scat

Ep. 275 : Once Upon a Bear Scat

From to know the land by byron

September 22, 2025 · 45 min · Episode 275

About this episode

The episode discusses the significance of encountering bear scat during a workshop and its implications for understanding wildlife and nature.

It isn’t often that I get to see bear scat down here in Guelph, but in Parry Sound, there are many Black Bears, and while visiting the Sound for a trailing workshop, we came across some of their scat. For me, it was an event. A highlight of the weekend visit with friends and practicing our trailing together as a crew. Black Bears are pretty majestic, if that’s the right word, and carry a weight, beyond their materiality, in my imagination of what is “wild”. Even if we don’t get to see the bear, their scat was plenty enough to get me thinking about the plants their consuming, how their digestion works, and how their being themselves impacts and plays with the land they make up and inhabit. Big thanks to Diana Clements for organizing the workshop, and to Matt Nelson for teaching us. To learn more : Towards A Better Understanding of Scat Tracking the American Black Bear by Preston Taylor. Self published, 2021. Mammal Tracks and Sign by Mark Elbroch and Casey McFarland. Stackpole Books, 2019. Forest Plants of Central Ontario by Brenda Chambers, Karen Legasy, and Cathy V. Bentley. Lone Pine Publishing, 1996. Up North Again by Doug Bennet and Tim Tiner. McClelland & Stewart Inc…

People in this episode

Host: Byron

Topics covered

  • Black Bears
  • scat tracking
  • nature observation
  • trailing workshop
  • wildlife impact

Keywords

  • bear scat
  • Black Bears
  • trailing
  • nature
  • wildlife
  • scat tracking
  • Guelph
  • Parry Sound

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tracker Certification North America

Books & works: Towards A Better Understanding of Scat Tracking the American Black Bear, Mammal Tracks and Sign, Forest Plants of Central Ontario, Up North Again

Places: Guelph, Parry Sound

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