First sign of bear on the Canon City Riverwalk-scat

Though the Canon City Riverwalk runs down the center of Canon City, it is frequented by Black Bears every year. Today I found the first sign I have seen this year of this species, in the form of scat.

If you double-click on this pic, you can see that there is hair in the scat which would be from some mammal that the bear ate (maybe a squirrel). There are also some kind of fruit skins that I couldn't identify. Though they look a bit like plum skins, it is too early for wild plums (the wild fruit trees are just setting their blossoms). There are also several kinds of seeds in the scat.

For those who have never experienced it, bear scat tends to smell fairly earthy and sometimes even sweet when they have been eating a lot of wild plums. Yes, I smell it. I don't find this scat offensive. It is an important way to learn about a species that you have little contact with. For most folks, that's a good thing. I have seen close to 10 bears in Colorado, all in the past 10 years, and I have thoroughly enjoyed each sighting (fortunately,none was too close for comfort)
SeEtta