VIEWPOINT: Mystery pond pooper prompts probe at Salmon Arm home
Published 5:00 am Thursday, July 2, 2026
After a brief investigation I believe I’ve figured out what was responsible for a recent series of natural yet unpleasant occurrences at the Labere household.
Using the word “investigation,” I am by no means likening myself to any of the brilliant sleuths of popular fiction – at least not those with sharp eyesight. I’m thinking more of the little mole in Werner Holzwarth’s book, The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew it was None of His Business.
For those unfamiliar with this scatological mystery for children, the story begins with the little mole poking his head out of the ground to see if the sun has risen, only to have something that “looked like a little sausage” land on his head. Offended, the little mole, with swirly brown cap on head, proceeds with an investigation of his own, speaking with other animal species to see if they were responsible. This is where the education piece comes in, as the mole learns what the poops of those animals look like.
Though my investigation did not begin with a mystery “sausage” landing on my head, it too was prompted by animal poop.
We have in our front yard two ponds, one above the other, that form a waterfall. We drained them in the spring to make repairs. During that time, something started using the lower pond overnight as a toilet. We had ideas of what was responsible, but didn’t give it too much thought.
Not long after fixing and refilling the ponds, the water went from clear to an opaque green. I’d assumed the recent heat and not enough water movement were to blame. As it turned out, that wasn’t entirely true.
I should note that wildlife sightings have been plentiful in and around our neighbourhood this spring/summer. Some are common, such as visiting deer or the odd bear. This year, though, we’ve been visited by critters we don’t usually see. For a short while a marmot had taken residence near our home – and had been a suspect in the pond pooping.
More recently, a bear was spotted walking by the front of our driveway. Not long after that, we found a small bag of garbage in our backyard. Nearby was a substantial pile of seed and pit-filled scat. Based on the latter, I’d assumed a bear was responsible for both.
Last weekend, I drained the ponds again thinking I’d just refill them and problem solved. Instead, I found at the bottom of the lower pond another large pile of pit-filled scat.
Like the little mole, my knowledge of wildlife droppings was fairly limited, and I again blamed a bear. I hadn’t considered another possibility.
The weekend prior I’d been informed a raccoon or raccoons had taken up residence somewhere behind our homes. However, I didn’t think a raccoon was large enough to be responsible for the scat I’d found.
Then, the culprit struck again. Before leaving for work yesterday morning I checked the still drained ponds and found in the lower one another foul deposit.
Like the little mole, I was determined to get to the bottom of things – without actually visiting the bottoms of things. Instead, I used the internet and, after a brief search – scrolling between animal poop pictures like a game of musical stools – I arrived at a conclusion. It was the raccoon, or raccoons, all along.
There isn’t really a point to any of this except maybe to serve as a reminder that we share Salmon Arm with with a great many species, each with its own unique prerogative – which may or may not involve pooping in your pond.