Mystery Solved/Apology

[jnicholes]

Hi everyone,

Originally, I had a thread that I asked a moderator to lock. I did this because I was very upset about my rabbits death from an animal, and I wasn’t thinking rationally.

To everyone I have potentially offended, I am very sorry.

On a sidenote, I have solved the mystery of what killed my rabbit.

It was a feral cat.

Here’s all the evidence:

This is the scene of the crime, exactly the way it was when I discovered it. As you can see, my fence is very low, and uncovered. This was my fault, because I thought it was close enough to the house that nothing would dare try to get the rabbit.

When you think about it, a raccoon or hawk could easily get in. I doubt a dog could’ve done it, as my yard is fenced and protected from dogs. This also rules out coyotes and foxes.

A hawk could’ve easily carried away the body. But it didn’t. A raccoon may be able to get the body out, but that didn’t happen. The body was left intact except for the head and one front leg.

If it killed the rabbit, (at night, I will add,) ate only a little, then left the rest, it couldn’t have been a wild animal like a raccoon. I’ve seen raccoons kill chickens.

When I went out later that day, near dusk, I noticed something moved the body.

We do have a feral cat issue where I live, and I HAVE seen them in the run on occasion.

This leads me to conclude that a feral cat was the culprit. Which feral cat, I don’t know, we have several in the city.

Please let me know if you think this is accurate. If it is, I will close this case.

Again, I apologize if I was rude earlier.

Jared

 

[Geena]

It's understandable that you were upset, sorry you lost your rabbit. But maybe you learned two good lessons A. don't post things on the internet while you are upset and B. prey animals must always be kept well protected.
Really it could have been any of those animals, foxes and coyotes can jump and climb really well, but I think that a raccoon, fox, coyote or bobcat would have at least attempted to take it with them. It looks too clean for a dog kill. The rabbit looks much too big for a hawk or domestic cat to carry off so either of those is a possibility, or it could have been a mink or weasel.
Don't beat yourself up too much, unfortunately sometimes we have to learn things the hard way in life.

 

[jnicholes]

OK, I think there is a misunderstanding somewhere. Let me try to explain.

Do you see the light brown fence in the background? Well, that goes around the entire yard.

The run is in the yard.

If it’s that tall, I don’t see any way that a canine could get in. Maybe a raccoon could get in, but I don’t know. Honestly, my best guess is a feral cat.

 

[Reave]

Sorry about your loss; all you can do is move forward & shore up your husbandry I suppose, so good on you for being interested in finding out what it was.

Yotes can jump a 6' tall fence and climb an 8' if sufficiently motivated, foxes don't have trouble climbing either. A feral cat certainly could have done the deed, but I wouldn't stop improving any enclosure you wanted to keep a rabbit inside of until it can foil the most determined predators in your area.

Dogs, domestic and wild, are a tenacious and often clever threat that it pays to design around, whether for rabbit or any other small outdoor animal. They love to grab and yank on wire fencing if they can't go over it. Weasels can fit through almost anything and are also good to plan for, tho that is usually considerably easier by excluding any gaps larger than a half inch.

 

[Geena]

I don’t see any way that a canine could get in.

I saw the fence, they can, even a fox. They just have to jump high enough to hook their front legs on the top, then they can scrabble the rest of the way over.
They can easily dig under as well, nice fence, but it's not predator proof.

 

[jnicholes]

Sorry about your loss; all you can do is move forward & shore up your husbandry I suppose, so good on you for being interested in finding out what it was.

Yotes can jump a 6' tall fence and climb an 8' if sufficiently motivated, foxes don't have trouble climbing either. A feral cat certainly could have done the deed, but I wouldn't stop improving any enclosure you wanted to keep a rabbit inside of until it can foil the most determined predators in your area.

Dogs, domestic and wild, are a tenacious and often clever threat that it pays to design around, whether for rabbit or any other small outdoor animal. They love to grab and yank on wire fencing if they can't go over it. Weasels can fit through almost anything and are also good to plan for, tho that is usually considerably easier by excluding any gaps larger than a half inch.

I saw the fence, they can, even a fox. They just have to jump high enough to hook their front legs on the top, then they can scrabble the rest of the way over.
They can easily dig under as well, nice fence, but it's not predator proof.

I agree on the point that I need to have a better, more predator proof run.

Thanks also for telling me about how some predators could’ve gotten in the yard. That doesn’t explain why they would leave the body, though.

I’ll just say that I can’t conclude what animal did it due to lack of evidence. Whatever did this covered it’s tracks well.

I’ll build a new and safer run in summer, until then, I had an idea on how to cope with the rabbits death. Give me a while to write it.

Jared

 

[jnicholes]

Hey guys, I got a quick question for you all.

When I first saw the body, I immediately thought that it was a struggle, that something was trying to kill Sophie. After reviewing the photos, I had a sudden burst of inspiration that might explain what happened.

What if Sophie died naturally, and something came along and just feasted on her dead body?

There are a lot of pieces of evidence that support this. First off, Sophie was nine years old. Very old for a rabbit.

Second, I’ve seen it when rabbits die struggling. There is fur all over the place, there are cuts on the body, a lot of damage to the body, that type of stuff. When I found Sophie dead, very little of her fur was pulled out. I have photographic evidence of this. There is also no body trauma in any place, except for the head, which was torn apart

To me, it all fits. Sophie has killed a cat once before, I knew she could stand up to a cat again, or any other predator if she had to do so.

If she died fighting, I would easily know it. The evidence doesn’t support this, though.

This leads me to believe that she died naturally, and something like a feral cat came along and feasted on the free carcass, starting with the head.

Is this possible?

If you need the photos again, I will post them. Fair warning, they are graphic.

 

[Geena]

Is this possible?

It is quite possible. If it's not you that's been leaning over that fence, it looks like something fairly heavy has been going in and out of there. Maybe a raccoon eating the rabbit food at night? It or a feral cat could have found her already deceased.
I think that's about as far as you are going to be able to narrow it down without more telling evidence.

 

[jnicholes]

It is quite possible. If it's not you that's been leaning over that fence, it looks like something fairly heavy has been going in and out of there. Maybe a raccoon eating the rabbit food at night? It or a feral cat could have found her already deceased.
I think that's about as far as you are going to be able to narrow it down without more telling evidence.

I agree. I think I’ll just call it what I said. She died naturally, and a cat found the body.

 

[BuckBuckCluck]

Hey guys, I got a quick question for you all.

When I first saw the body, I immediately thought that it was a struggle, that something was trying to kill Sophie. After reviewing the photos, I had a sudden burst of inspiration that might explain what happened.

What if Sophie died naturally, and something came along and just feasted on her dead body?

There are a lot of pieces of evidence that support this. First off, Sophie was nine years old. Very old for a rabbit.

Second, I’ve seen it when rabbits die struggling. There is fur all over the place, there are cuts on the body, a lot of damage to the body, that type of stuff. When I found Sophie dead, very little of her fur was pulled out. I have photographic evidence of this. There is also no body trauma in any place, except for the head, which was torn apart

To me, it all fits. Sophie has killed a cat once before, I knew she could stand up to a cat again, or any other predator if she had to do so.

If she died fighting, I would easily know it. The evidence doesn’t support this, though.

This leads me to believe that she died naturally, and something like a feral cat came along and feasted on the free carcass, starting with the head.

Is this possible?

If you need the photos again, I will post them. Fair warning, they are graphic.

I’m so sorry for your loss. It looks like it was quite cold outside. Is it possible she wasn’t able to keep warm and perished from the cold, and then partially eaten? Would you consider a hard sided enclosure for future rabbits? Maybe something like a mini dog house?