Big Bear = Very Big Bear Scat
clever...@gmail.com
Our repeat Very Big Black Bear visitor came by in the middle of the night last night, even though we’ve taken in all our bird feeders and there was nothing else for him to scrounge. Lest anyone doubt my description of his heft, I provide indirect evidence in the form of its scat, found this morning just down the road. If not the biggest of the 1000+ bear scats I’ve examined, it is definitely the tallest - and the only one including an orb the size of a softball that could be mistaken for Kermit the Frog a week or so after he died.
Curious about how a bear scat could form a sphere the size of a softball, I turned to AI and learned that:
“While it’s rare, it’s not completely out of the question for a black bear to produce a nearly perfectly round, softball-sized scat. Conditions that would allow a black bear to pass a nearly spherical piece of scat roughly the size of a softball would require an almost exclusive diet of soft, pulpy fruits (like berries, apples, or plums), with minimal fibrous material, and could be further influenced by the position the bear squatted in and how much pressure was exerted. These factors could compress soft scat into a ball as it exits.”
There you have it. I guess building all those electricity-gobbling, climate-destroying data centers has been worth it.
Steve Wilson
Isabella
clever...@gmail.com
This is a bit “out there,” but in my continuing quest to break AI, I asked a follow-up question about Kermit the Bear Scat:
“Could a bear’s bunghole intentionally create a scat shaped like Kermit the Frog?”
AI’s answer:
“Nope — a bear’s bunghole does not have the artistic intent, control, or anatomical finesse to intentionally shape its scat like Kermit the Frog (or anything recognizable, really). Bears poop in the general shape nature allows: blunt, tubular, and... well, bear-like. If you ever saw bear scat that resembled Kermit, it would be pure coincidence — or more likely, a case of pareidolia (the human brain seeing patterns where none were intended).”
Obviously this AI program’s data mining technique needs honing, because if it had seen my picture it would have to agree the scat was pretty much a dead ringer for Kermit, had died the week before. But just to make sure that AI is the one hallucinating the wrong answer and not me, I’m going to ask my doctor to test me for pareidolia.
Steve Wilson
Isabella
Carl Karasti
What is this?
This object appears to be animal scat (feces) containing seeds. Based on the color, texture, and the presence of undigested seeds or berries, it’s most likely from a wild mammal—potentially a black bear or raccoon, which both produce dark, seed-filled scat, especially in late summer when fruit is abundant. The shape and size can vary based on the animal’s diet and species, but seed-filled droppings are common among animals that forage berries in Minnesota.
Does it have anything to do with Kermit?
No, this has no connection to Kermit the Frog. Kermit is a fictional frog character made famous by "The Muppet Movie" and the song “Rainbow Connection”. The object in the image is definitely real scat and not related to Kermit or any frog symbolism.
If you encounter scat in nature, use it as an opportunity to learn about the presence and diet of local wildlife—but avoid touching it with with bare hands!
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