Scat collection in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Volunteers collecting scat in the Santa Cruz mountains. Photo courtesy conservationscats.com. Copyright Conservation Scats.

The Conservation Scats program run by the University of California, Santa Cruz is looking for volunteers to collect carnivore scat samples for research. The purpose of the citizen science project is to understand how human development and activity impacts how carnivores compete with each other for prey.

Scat collection days are on December 7 and 14. Volunteers can look forward to a short introductory training session, starting at 7:30 AM followed by hiking for 3 to 5 hours and collecting scat samples.

For more information go to conservationscats.com or contact its Project Leader, Justine Smith.