2nd kill, carcass 20 feet up tree

[Tesumph]

You mentioned the bone was stripped clean. Doesn’t really sound like a raccoon. I know they are amazing climbers, but I’ve never seen or heard of them hauling a corpse up into a tree (not to say it hasn’t happened). Really sounds more like a cat, licking the bones clean and all. A bird of prey could theoretically do that too. Please let us know if you catch anything (trap or cam), these predator posts are always interesting!

 

[aart]

Might read that book sometime, though the title makes it sound like a it might be a somewhat romantic view.

Title does and there's 'affection' but not really any romance.
It almost reads like a novel but it's filled with facts, studies, data, and history.

Where are you located?

 

[Cod]

@aart: Your post on ventilation was invaluable to me a few years ago when I started. Thank you for your wisdom.

 

[BreanneRN]

I'm on the West coast in California's central valley, the big cat is doing well here, and does not seem daunted by civilization particularly. They are living in LA and have been sightings of one near the iconic Hollywood sign... Unfortunately, the many fires of last year have drastically altered the habitat of these big cats (nothing new), as does the continual series of droughts that California traditionally experiences. All these things effect a predators ability to find food and raise young. The one that killed my sheep was sighted more than once on the bike path that runs along the river about a mile from here. I think fish and game took him out. A neighbor told me that that "whatever it was' was gone and I could let my sheep out. I live just outside a city of about 350,000 population. Since a mountain lion is triggered to chase and attack moving things, its several sightings along the bike path made it a danger. I actually hope they were able to relocate it. There is still plenty of open country left in California and deer, but sometimes the young mountain lions have trouble competing and make choices that can result in their death. There have been attacks on hikers. Mostly, I wish them well, but have a great respect for them, and yeah, the "not in my backyard killing my sheep, 25ft from my house" thing. They are silent, stealthy killers. In Arizona, a ranger was trying to track one that had apparently attacked a bicyclist days before. He finally gave up and turned back, only to find that the cat had been stalking him...

 

[aart]

I'm on the West coast in California's central valley, the big cat is doing well here, and does not seem daunted by civilization particularly.

There's quite a bit about the lions in Cali in that book.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

... Last night, something got in their coop around 7pm and busted up the roost area.

• The carcass is wedged into the crotch of a tree trunk, about 20+ feet up.
• The head, neck and large portion of the body have been eaten.
• A full leg and lower part of carcass is stuck.
• A wing and pile of feathers at the bottom of tree.
• Earlier, I found a leg from the previous kill. It was stripped at the bone as if someone took a scalpel to it.
• There are no prints that we can see.

If it really was around 7pm, their dog was barking for a while and I was sitting in a chair within about 100' and heard nothing.

Any ideas? I think maybe owl or raccoon, maybe bobcat or fisher.
Thank you

My long association with things that kill and eat poultry suggest that you are dealing with an owl. Any predator with teeth would have consumed bones and all.

 

[BreanneRN]

I bet there is, they monitor them a lot here. I think they put a tracking collar on that one in the Hollywood Hills area. Lots of data... One attacked a female hiker up a river canyon, she would have died if her fellow hikers hadn't heard her scream and turned back. One had a knife and stabbed the cat until he let her go and ran off. She had to have major reconstructive facial surgery. Turned out he was a young male that was emaciated and starving, probably desperate. There are things you can do to help keep yourself safe and that girl made classic mistakes. She was the smallest of the group of hikers and let herself fall behind, probably wasn't paying much attention to what was going on around her. Our colonial ancestors put a serious dent in the number of predators in America, successfully eliminating some of them entirely. Now conservationists are bringing them back to a human population that does not understand them and often has an unrealistic view of them, thanks to television and children's documentaries. It is inevitable that their comeback, while a positive thing in many ways, will also orient us as to why our ancestors wanted them gone.

 

[lotusgirl73]

Now conservationists are bringing them back to a human population that does not understand them and often has an unrealistic view of them, thanks to television and children's documentaries. It is inevitable that their comeback, while a positive thing in many ways, will also orient us as to why our ancestors wanted them gone.

I live in Southern Cali too and folks don't understand how predominant they've become. E.g. we had a huge wild fire through here about 10 years ago. It took out EVERYTHING. But two things remained...the Coyotes and Mountain Lions. A lot of people around here are fond of taking them out with a 22. I haven't gotten to that point yet even though we have one that visits seasonally. In fact, I posted a photo in Feb or March (can't remember) on FB as it was just siting at the bottom of the 1 acre mark. (We are on 3 acres.)

Anyways, I have great respect for them, and I understand they are hungry given the encroaching demographics that us humans occupy. But then again, you gotta to protect your flock. My opinion is, if possible, to relocate them to a conservatory, like Lions, Tigers & Bears in Alpine.

 

[Sabanos]

Hi All,
This is my first time raising chickens. We have had our 10 chickens for over a year now. This past Thursday night, may 31, something must have gotten into our coop and scared/gotten our chickens. All 10 are gone and none have returned. It has been 3 days now. My 5 children and myself are very upset. We love bed these chickens so much. Has this happened to anyone else? I was hoping a few would return. We have scouted the neighborhood and we have walked our property numerous times. Is it possible for a fox to have scared, taken our chickens? I do not know what to make of this. I just didn’t thInk all 10 would disappear.

 

[Redhead Rae]

If it is a coon, putting some of the remains of the kill in the live trap should catch it.