The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently shared interesting trail-cam footage showing a Florida panther, an endangered subspecies of mountain lion, making something called a “scrape.” According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), scrapes are piles of soil, leaves or pine needles marked on top with urine or occasionally scat. To make the scrape, the animal kind of scoots around to create a pile of debris.
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“Florida panther scrape or the next viral dance move? Maybe both,” jokes USFWS in an Instagram post sharing the footage. “Panthers make these ‘scrapes’ by digging their hind feet through soil and leaves, leaving a pile of debris. Then they’ll urinate (or leave scat) to let other panthers know they are in the area. It helps them avoid unnecessary run-ons with each other. Females also scrapes to signal to males that they are ready to breed.”
Watch a Florida panther make a “scrape” in front of a trail cam below (or see it here).
Header stock image by Stuart Westmorland/Getty Images
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