# Phantom Pooper



## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

We live out in the country and have a nine foot wall around our home but I'm finding rather large droppings on our porch. This isn't a rat, we see weasel looking critters running across the road here that resemble a ferret. I just bought my wife nice wicker patio furniture for the porch, one is a small table with four square stools that pull out. The stools are hollow for storage and she fears it will gnaw on it to see what is inside. 

So I bought a large rat trap from Home Depot and baited it with cheddar cheese for two nights, no takers. We have a critter that looks like a weasel or a ferret that we see run across the roads here. It has done no harm so far so I'll build a live trap and put a dog treat on the trigger as weasels eat meat. The Sierra de los Tuxtlas ecoregion contains one of the largest moist forests in Mexico. Many plant and animal species found are unique to Mexico and cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

I'll keep you "posted" and put a picture if I catch the critter. I'm hoping it is not a chupicabra, one was caught in a fence here recently. This critter was actually found here.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

Chances are it is a long tailed weasel or a big stoat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-tailed_weasel


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Zorro2017 said:


> . . .
> 
> I'll keep you "posted" and put a picture if I catch the critter. I'm hoping it is not a chupicabra, one was caught in a fence here recently. This critter was actually found here.


Chupacabra, eh? So you have legendary critters living in your area? Very interesting! 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

What would you say that thing is Isla?


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Zorro2017 said:


> What would you say that thing is Isla?


Here are two descriptions of this creature mentioned in the link I sent:

The most common description of the chupacabra is that of a reptile-like creature, said to have leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and sharp spines or quills running down its back.[13] It is said to be approximately 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) high, and stands and hops in a fashion similar to that of a kangaroo

Another common description of the chupacabra is of a strange breed of wild dog.[14] This form is mostly hairless and has a pronounced spinal ridge, unusually pronounced eye sockets, fangs, and claws. Unlike conventional predators, the chupacabra is said to drain all of the animal's blood (and sometimes organs) usually through three holes in the shape of a downwards-pointing triangle or through one or two holes.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Zorro2017 said:


> What would you say that thing is Isla?


Where did the image come from. To me it looks like a dried out body of a dog, maybe a hairless Mexican dog.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> Where did the image come from. To me it looks like a dried out body of a dog, maybe a hairless Mexican dog.


Good question, TG. I was wondering the same thing.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

TundraGreen said:


> Where did the image come from. To me it looks like a dried out body of a dog, maybe a hairless Mexican dog.


Google search, "Wildlife Mexico image"


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Funny how this post starts out: Phantom Pooper......Then continues with words like: four square stools --The stools are hollow --Chances are it is a long tailed weasel or a big stoat.------

So lets see, a nocturnal long tailed animal could be a Zorro........lol


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

That looks like a cross between a Mexican hairless and a bat... maybe it is a chupacabra!


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

chicois8 said:


> Funny how this post starts out: Phantom Pooper......Then continues with words like: four square stools --The stools are hollow --Chances are it is a long tailed weasel or a big stoat.------
> 
> So lets see, a nocturnal long tailed animal could be a Zorro........lol



This poop snoop has been going on for a while now. My wife, in her infinite wisdom insisted on an apron or a sidewalk around our home under the eave of the roof, the logic is now clear. We have a nice, smooth, dry place to walk in the abundant rain. But this Hispanic highway reveals much and that is the evidence of something pooping on our patio. This is reason for alarm when it gets rather large.

It does not eat cheese, think about that.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Zorro2017 said:


> This poop snoop has been going on for a while now. My wife, in her infinite wisdom insisted on an apron or a sidewalk around our home under the eave of the roof, the logic is now clear. We have a nice, smooth, dry place to walk in the abundant rain. But this Hispanic highway reveals much and that is the evidence of something pooping on our patio. This is reason for alarm when it gets rather large.
> 
> It does not eat cheese, think about that.


Strange, but tell me is your wife or you cutting the cheese? 
I still think it was a Zorro.........


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

I think I have figured it out but let's have some fun with this and turn it into one of those “How well do you really know Mexico ?” threads that people here like to beat their chest about.

It doesn't eat cheese. Cheese does not naturally occur in nature here in Mexico but I have never seen a dog or even a cat that won't eat it if it is presented to them, then they love it so a scavenging carnivore will eat cheese if it is hungry and finds it. We installed one of those rubber sweepers at the bottom of the door and almost immediately a mouse chewed through it and got into the house. A small trap and a piece of cheese solved this problem. I moved my lawn mower and another ran out, the trap caught that one the next day. I got a strip of aluminum and painted it to match the door then mounted it on the bottom with no room to squeeze through and this eliminated the mouse in the house problem. But I was seeing big droppings, a lot bigger than a mouse on our sidewalk so I set a rat trap with cheese thinking it was a rat, we find these droppings daily but after days with a trap set with cheese there were no takers,

Different areas of Mexico have specialized, localized life forms only found in that area. The entire Yucatan coast of the Caribbean has a unique variety of animals. The cenotes along the coast form mangrove swamps that are home to salt water crocodiles, big, nasty and dangerous. They go to the ocean a couple of times a year to kill the parasites on their hide scaring the crap out of the tourists.

Iguanas, big black ones basking in the sun and darting across the road.

Coatimundies, those long nosed, ring tailed Mexican raccoons found in the hundreds in the local dump. Mothers with their babies and every shade of color from brown to orange.

Spider Monkeys, long tailed, long legged, long armed critters.

Sea Turtles, leaving their large trails on the beach when they crawl ashore and lay their eggs at night.


But I tend to wander, although there are specialized, localized life forms in certain areas, there are some particular ones that *are abundant all across Mexico* and that is what started this poop snoop long ago. I kept finding bigger and bigger poop right outside, so I set a rat trap but it won't eat cheese so it's not a rat, what could it be?

There is a life form that is welcome, found in the hundreds on our land and even in our houses at times no matter where we live. When we find one in our home, we don't kill it because it helps us, we take it out. I've seen them in bars and no one batted an eye. They laugh at us at night through the window screen, what critter is this? If you live in Mexico, you know.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

If it’s a chupacabra maybe you need to use a goat for bait ...

We get scat on our terrace. Pretty sure it’s either from a tejón (the word commonly used for coaties in Tepoztlán) or a tlacuache (opossum). Very similar to the droppings we find in Toronto from the numerous neighbourhood raccoons.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

ojosazules11 said:


> If it’s a chupacabra maybe you need to use a goat for bait ...
> 
> We get scat on our terrace. Pretty sure it’s either from a tejón (the word commonly used for coaties in Tepoztlán) or a tlacuache (opossum). Very similar to the droppings we find in Toronto from the numerous neighbourhood raccoons.


 I was surprised when I discovered what it was, or what I think it is. Way too large for a rat so I assumed it was a weasel due to the size, but I'll wait to see if anyone guesses the life form I spoke of, We live in a tropical rain forest area, very wet, the forests here are very thick.

I discovered the culprit while mowing the lawn, it lives in a tire that I painted and planted a plant in the center, the tire holds water.


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

Zorro2017 said:


> Cheese does not naturally occur in nature here in Mexico


Cheese is man made, the process involves precise ingredients, steps and time. It does not naturally occur anywhere. 

But cheese has been in Mexico since the 16th century, the knowledge having been brought over by the Spaniards. So, 500+ years for local creatures of all types to acquire a like of it.

Except your wildebeest.

Do you have a webcam? Set it on record all night.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

UrbanMan said:


> Cheese is man made, the process involves precise ingredients, steps and time. It does not naturally occur anywhere.
> 
> But cheese has been in Mexico since the 16th century, the knowledge having been brought over by the Spaniards. So, 500+ years for local creatures of all types to acquire a like of it.
> 
> ...


 I'm hip to the fact that cheese is man made, what I mean't was it is not a part of a rat's normal diet. A wild rat that lives in the woods here has never seen cheese but will attack it just from the smell and love it.

No guesses? Not a rat, does not eat cheese, big droppings. We have to drive our trash to the nearest village for pickup. At times we don't go anywhere for days due to the rain and we just don't need anything so we will take the plastic trash bag out of the trash can and start another. If it was a rat it would tear into the bags.

I discovered what it is, I think.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Zorro2017 said:


> I was surprised when I discovered what it was, or what I think it is. Way too large for a rat so I assumed it was a weasel due to the size, but I'll wait to see if anyone guesses the life form I spoke of, We live in a tropical rain forest area, very wet, the forests here are very thick.
> 
> I discovered the culprit while mowing the lawn, it lives in a tire that I painted and planted a plant in the center, the tire holds water.


If it is weasel like and it likes water it could be a mink.


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

Zorro2017 said:


> A wild rat that lives in the woods here has never seen cheese but will attack it just from the smell and love it.


So, like the first time I had a rum and diet coke.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

OK, I'll make a guess. Is it a _sapo_ (large toad)?


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

You got it, a big toad. I bumped the tire we planted a shrub I while I was mowing and he came out. I remembered my youth. Louisiana swamps and bayous don't suddenly stop at the Texas border. I was raised in these swamps and did go frog gigging. A big bullfrog makes a huge dropping.
https://www.google.com.mx/amp/s/morningbrayfarm.com/2010/07/15/whos-pooping-on-the-patio/amp/


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

The numerous life forms that I mentioned seeing in bars here and laughing at us through our screens at night are geckos. But also lizards, I have never seen so many lizards in my life as I have in Mexico. Big, crested ones that run on their back legs across water. Fat brown striped ones are everywhere on our ranch and around our house. This is what I first thought was rat scat but it turned out to be lizard stuff. Still, this frog has them all beat.


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

We need closure. Are you going to try and scare off the toad? Or embrace him and his feces habits? If you let him hang around, he could invite friends.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

UrbanMan said:


> We need closure. Are you going to try and scare off the toad? Or embrace him and his feces habits? If you let him hang around, he could invite friends.


I've been putting up with crap all of my life so I guess I can deal with this. As you can see from the picture, I had reason to be alarmed, now that I know it was just a toad all is good in the world, have broom, will sweep.

With cutting edge, hard hitting topics such as "Phantom Pooper" and "The cats ate my money." it is no wonder this is the number one expat forum on the net. 

Behold this behemoth.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

zorro2017 said:


> . . .
> With cutting edge, hard hitting topics such as "phantom pooper" and "the cats ate my money." it is no wonder this is the number one expat forum on the net.


*¡De acuerdo!*


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

Zorro2017 said:


> it is no wonder this is the number one expat forum on the net.


Or the expat forum known to have plenty of number 2.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

I was so looking forward to the manly art of trapping. I was going to build a live trap, I already had the trigger figured out in my mind.


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## Orfin (Sep 26, 2016)

I hope these photos come through. Ended up living around the corner from this Peruvian hairless dog in Peru. Not quite like the Mexican version but definitely hairless except for the cute tuft of ugly scruff on top of its head like a horrible cheap Tupéè.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

Orfin said:


> I hope these photos come through. Ended up living around the corner from this Peruvian hairless dog in Peru. Not quite like the Mexican version but definitely hairless except for the cute tuft of ugly scruff on top of its head like a horrible cheap Tupéè.


 Orfin, your link to the offsite picture appears in the "Reply with quote" box but not in the forum, try this forum's picture feature. 

1. Click on User CP (control panel) in the upper banner.

2. Choose "Pictures and albums" from the lower left boxes 

3. Follow the simple directions to "create album" and "choose file" to upload, navigate to the picture and click, then save your work. As usual, CC&P the "img" under the picture.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Orfin said:


> I hope these photos come through. Ended up living around the corner from this Peruvian hairless dog in Peru. Not quite like the Mexican version but definitely hairless except for the cute tuft of ugly scruff on top of its head like a horrible cheap Tupéè.


I managed to follow the link to Orfin’s photo, saved the image and then pulled it into this post. Here is Orfin’s handsome Peruvian neighbour. Click on the photo below to see a larger version.


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## ElPocho (Aug 25, 2017)

Excellent post!


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