stercoraceous
Pronunciation: /ˌstərkəˈrāSHəs/
adjective
technical
consisting of or resembling dung or feces.
(of an insect) living in dung.
Origin:
mid 18th century: from Latin stercus, stercor- 'dung' + -aceous
Derived from photo by
Anne
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Stanley Stercus stood by the side of the forest path. He looked both ways and listened intently. This time of year, there were few people on the trail. The bare trees and cold wind moving easily through the empty branches discouraged the casual hiker. Stanley wasn't a casual hiker, of course. He had a serious purpose this day. The forecast for heavy snow tomorrow had pushed the planned excursion ahead, but only slightly.
Stanley finally turned and headed off the trail, into the tangle of undergrowth. He was careful to push the thin branches and vines aside. He didn't want anyone to trace his path. Tomorrow's snow would cover any disturbance his boots made in the leaves and twigs on the forest floor.
After two long hours, Stanley paused once last time. He listened once more and heard no trace of other human activity nearby. He was more than three hours from the nearest back road and hunting season was over. There had been no parked cars or pickups along the road as he had traveled to the trailhead.
He knew his way to his goal. He'd been here before, not always by the same route, of course. He knew he was close without any need for a GPS unit. The creature's lair was just ahead. Stanley could see the outcrop of granite that overhung the entrance. He'd stepped carefully around the scat, the droppings of the creature which were distinctive. Earlier analysis of the droppings had confirmed the identity of the now hibernating creature.
Stercoraceous analysis was one of Stanley's skills.
The sasquatch dispatched Stanley with the swipe of one powerful arm. Stanley may have been good at studying scat, but he wasn't as good a field biologist as he had thought. He hadn't even told his lab about today's field trip. The sasquatch picked up Stanley's limp carcass as if it were no heavier than a house cat. He was not going to leave Stanley's body anywhere near the current spot, of course. There was a perfect cliff near the back road. Tossing the body over that cliff would not lead investigators anywhere near home. He was going to have to do more work with his youngsters. Until they reached a certain age, they did tend to simply take a dump and move on with their childish play. Keen sense of smell wasn't one of the traits of the sasquatch species. They were too close to their human cousins, in that regard. If you didn't come on a kid's droppings right away, they were not easy to find without a grid search, too much trouble.
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