Arizona Hunting Club & Outdoor Adventure Group

Deer and Elk Droppings Photographs

The best way to judge droppings is by the color. Green and steaming means five minutes old. These pictures are arranged by freshest to oldest.

Pictures don't really show you the detail, but these droppings were green and still warm. We were walking up a drainage to explore a bedding area. We spoked them, but they were long gone before we found their sign.

To show you how green they were, we poked a pine needle in one of the elk droppings. They were very, very fresh. Notice that they are laying on top the pine needles, not underneath.

These elk droppings are a couple of days old. Notice that they have turned dark brown.

All the droppings on the page are elk, except for these. These are white tail droppings which look kind of like extra large rat droppings.

In several months, the weather dries out the droppings and they begin to fade. The more grey they are the older they are.

Pine needles also tell time. In this photograph, the droppings are about a week old. Look at the pine needles beginning to cover them up.

In a couple of weeks, there will be a thick layer that shows they may be a month or older.