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Where We Left Off:
The Winchester-Nabu detectives resorted to witchcraft in order to understand some artifacts better.
The Unsuspected:
The day had finally arrived for getting back outside to patrol the snowy grounds. Gus navigated around the patches of ice that lingered. I tried to do the same on the pavement. When we were out of choices and had to walk through the snow, Gus perched on my shoulders which I’ve been practicing with him for years. At first, he didn’t like it. It took some training. Whenever he climbed up on the truck bed’s edge, I’d turn my back and hold a treat near my shoulder. Eventually, he figured out that if he could avoid getting his feet cold, he might as well let me prop him up.
I must admit, this is an easier method when done on clear ground, but we had enough snow built up that my steps often had my legs buried up to the top of my calves, which is also as high as my boots go. I then had to crouch with Gus on my shoulders in order to swap the trailcam memory cards. This was vital to the investigation we were about to open.
On the paths that The Grumpy Old Man cleared over the grass, Gus and I counted four different droppings of large log poops. These were certainly not red fox feces. We’ve also never had confirmed bobcat scat for comparison. There are dogs specially trained for bobcat scat identification and we don’t have access to a dog with such spectacular qualifications.
I took photos of the feces. One had definitely been stepped in. I’m not sure if that was me or someone else. Color variation and a dried looking consistency (I wasn’t touching it) indicated that the poop right next to Oliver’s patio was the oldest.
With all the SD cards in my pocket and Gus back on the ground, it seemed like a good time for a break. We went inside and took the cards and photos from my phone up to the office. Oliver began reviewing the images. He was gruff about his chauffeur not having any sleigh accommodation for him to also go out in the snow like those famous felines, Fitzcapades (Fitz and Vlad).
“I would never wear such outrageous attire,” Ollie said, “but a heated blanket and some skis on my carriage seem like reasonable requests.”
“Ollie, we know you love fresh air, but this isn’t your kind of weather.” I absolutely knew Ollie was a sunshine-in-summer boy. “You get time on the balcony and that has excellent views for observations and close spots for meetings with the birds.”
Gus needed to finish his lunch and treats before getting back to work activities. “My Super Smeller tells me those logs were most likely left by coyotes.”
How Much Do You Want to Know About Poop?
Our only hesitation about confirming that this was indeed the mess of coyotes was that the logs were not tapered at the ends. Bears don’t actually hibernate and do come out of their dens for food when necessary, especially because of cubs. However, there haven’t been bears on the trailcams. There haven’t been domestic dogs on any of the security cameras or trailcams for months; those intrusions have only happened twice in nine years of our detective agency existing.
Field & Stream had this to say about bear scat:
Bear scat is usually tubular like human feces but larger (5 to 12 inches long and 1 ½ to 2 ½ inches in diameter). It is often tubular with a blunt end and a slight taper, depending on what they’re eating.
The thing is, we get a lot of bear poop piles around here. They are usually substantial enough to form a mound, like a “cow patty.” Was it was worth considering that a bear who hasn’t eaten much because of winter would have short stubby logs?
Field & Stream had an interesting observation to open their article about scat:
Coyotes are like kids who want to show you their scat. They leave it in the middle of roads, at trail crossings, and other prominent spots.
There was yet another consideration, bobcats. They’ve been on the cameras a lot because it’s mating season. From the same Field & Stream article:
Like other small felines, bobcats frequently scratch a bare spot, defecate, and then cover their scat, although not always effectively. Hiding their scat is thought to be an ancient response to the danger of predation by larger cats. Yet, as with coyotes, bobcats mark their territory by pooping in the middle of trails or at trail intersections. In other words, bobcats are nuts, trying both to hide their poop and advertise it.
We have never had a confirmed case of mountain lions in this region. Yet, some people will swear they’ve seen them. Not to mention, there’s an area in northwestern New Jersey called “Panther Valley.” Mountain lion, aka panthers and cougars, have scat described like this:
Mountain Lion scat may be up to 5 inches long and 1¼-inch in diameter—greater in diameter than a bobcat’s. When segmented with blunt ends, it shows the presence of bones and hair.
Were We on the Wrong Track?
I uploaded the photos of the snow tracks and the poop to iNaturalist. As I received input that these poop specimens were “domestic dog” from one user, I had to let out a breath to quell my impatience. The cats and I study what animals are around us. Something that is not in our yard: dogs. We really only had the one part-time dog, Rocky, before the founding of the Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency. For a dog, I don’t think Rocky’s poops were that big; not like our South Jersey consultant, Rocco (very big poops).
“Ya know what your app doesn’t have?” Gus squinted one eyebrow. I didn’t know cats could do that, but nothing about them should surprise me at this point.
“What?” I replied.
“Cryptids or monsters. The app does not have identification databases for cryptids and supernatural creatures like we have here,” Gus said.
“Are you saying that your Super Smeller could be wrong?” Ollie practically choked on a treat to speak. No one ever doubts the Super Smeller.
Gus jumped up to the desk chair behind my butt. He was not subtle in turning in circles and pushing against me. I got the hint and moved to the floor which is fine. I don’t mind sitting on the floor. He looked at the computer monitor while placing his paw on the biometric reader. It confirmed his access and opened up to our research files.
He murmured some “Ahhs” and “Yeses” and “Mhm.” Oliver and I jointly asked what the heck he was going on about.
“There’s one animal that does give off a hint of Canis latrans is the common shapeshifter, the werewolf,” Gus said. “This isn’t our first time coming across evidence of werewolves here on our little mountain.”
“No, it’s not.” I recalled an investigation involving a large dog toy and another one about a bezoar.
February 1, 2026 was a Full Moon.
Case Findings:
After studying photographs and videos from my personal camera, the security system, and the trailcams, we concluded that the mounds of poop left on the uncleared pathways through the snow were made werewolves. They were agile enough to evade the cameras with their speed and jumps that cover great distances and heights compared to coyotes and dogs.
Case Status: Closed