This is a serious question.

I walk the dogs every morning down our 1/4 mile driveway.

This morning just at the start of the walk saw a round ( 4 or 5 inch diameter) disc of pure black smooth viscous featureless “pudding “.

It looked exactly like a puddle of heated molten roofing tar.

I did the google thing and looked through multiple tutorials on ID’ing animal poop and didn’t find anything remotely close.

I have seen this several times before. My concern is it might be scat from a bear that has been gorging on apples or sum such.

Does anybody here know what animal could have done this?

Probably just a homeless person.

Where you at?

What critters you got around there?

Pic?

Need clues man!

Northeast New Mexico, we’ve got elk, mule deer, white tails, antelope, bear, mountain lion, coyotes, fox, bobcats, beavers, skunks, turkeys, cattle at our place at one time or another or periodically. I’m worried about it being a predator.

I went to post office later and drove over the scat. Will take pic next time.

Did it look like this....

No, that scat is textured, rough, and I would guess it is bear scat. What I saw was absolutely black, smooth, shiny. Like a ladle of molten roofing tar had been poured on the ground.

Bear!

Have to remember that last few meals can certainly change physical appearance, but the description you wrote says beat to me.

Yah. I've been hoping it was something other than bear, but it's probably a bear with the trots. If (when) I see this again, I'll take a photo and post it here.

Have you tasted it to get a sense of what was eaten? I am sure that that is what some of our real outdoorsmen would do.

Oh, you mean the ones with bad breath?

Large raptors can excrete tar looking droppings.

Oldtrapper, that's interesting, I had not considered it! We do have hawks, eagles, and vultures around here.

I'm still waiting for a fresh black tar poop, will take picture and post it here.

P.S. Im not real enthusiastic about trying the taste test that 5sdad suggested!

Perhaps wrap up some and mail it to him! 😳

Some birds like, sage grouse, will from time to time have scat that we call "black tar" so I agree will old trapper, maybe a raptor of some type.