Jelly secretion..? Help

[badgeringtim]

I'll add a photo as soon as i work out how.

But while out and about we found several piles of thck white creamy (looks like wallpaper paste) which had been erm squeezed into small piles about 2.5 long and about 2" tall. The locations are similar to where you might expect to find otter spraint or anal secretions but are uniform this white paisty ouderless excretion.

I found this which has some photos although those look likea lump of jelly wheras there were clearly forced through a small aperature in a mr whippy style;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/outdoors/articles/jelly/


http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr278/timbadger/secretion.jpg

Some of the suggestions are interesting though.

One suggestion is an otter which has been eating eel and the coagulation from that having an effect.
Ideas welcomed cos its got me a bit stumped...

[British Red]

Sounds like slime mould to me

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3333/3414214849_8853687e71.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/british_red/3414214849/)
Slime Mould (http://www.flickr.com/photos/british_red/3414214849/) by British Red (http://www.flickr.com/people/british_red/), on Flickr

[badgeringtim]

Nope definately not mould slime - entirely the wrong kettle of octupi!
As i say its not quite likethe pictur shown adn was clearly deposited - you can see the swirls.. lemme try to work out photos..

[British Red]

Fair enough - there are all sorts and they do form on grass in wet conditions

http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Slime-mould

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/43/Slime_Mold_DP2.jpg/180px-Slime_Mold_DP2.jpg

[lannyman8]

if it is that Newzeland stuff we could be in a world or the brown stuff..................

[naefearjustbeer]

I found a blocked drain in my old garden full of dead and dying frogs Some of the jelly stuff had skeletal parts inside it.

[Snowfire]

Just spotted this thread.

Here's some jelly I found in Austria this September. We were hiking above Trins, about 1400m above sea level if I remember correctly.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5706/p1020480p.jpg

[Trev]

Hey ,
There was a program on Radio four yesterday The star jelly mystery (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hl8n6) Not all the questions were answered but a good starting place for info .
Cheers , Trev .

[redandshane]

I saw loads f that on Exmoor late Oct early Nov
I took some pics and meant to investigate but forgot till I saw this post
We noted it was on tracks and in wet conditions

[Snowfire]

Trev - thanks for the program link, interesting.

The stuff I found was in full sun on a south facing hillside. Seemed pretty well drained certainly not squealchy, no ponds or streams nearby. Didn't strike me as the first place I'd start looking for frogs, but maybe I saw it in a particularly dry spell. Or some predator had sicked up part of it's lunch :yuck:

Something to do with deer would have made sense, the hillside was littered with their droppings.