Predator or Pest?

[Summerlin]

We were working on our coop/run this weekend and found that there's an entrance to a den..right smack in the middle of the area we're fencing for the run.

We hadn't noticed it before, because of the thick cover of tall flowers (okay, and weeds..

) that were/are growing in front of it. The opening is large enough that a full roll of duct tape would drop right down into it, and the tunnel runs underneath of a soon-to-be-demolished shed. We live in a very rural area, so there's no shortage of possums, raccoons, coyotes, etc..
We brought home a trap and hope to catch whatever it is tonight, so that we can make some more forward progress with our construction. Anybody have any guess as to what kind of animal this den belongs to? I'll be very happy if it's just a groundhog instead of a skunk.

 

[Polish Chickens]

It could be a fox den

 

[snewman]

I would bet on a woodchuck.

 

[Boyd]

put the end of your garden hose down there and turn on the water. Wait with camera and then upload to BYC so we can see what it is!

 

[flakey chick]

It's kind of hard to tell the scale- looks pretty small though. It could have originally been one type of animal, then another. Here gopher tortoises start a lot of the dens that foxes and other animals take over. I'd try to get prints before trapping it. You'll have a better chance of selecting a good bait and the right size trap. Also, what if it is a skunk? If you trap one of those, you need to be prepared to handle it afterwards.

 

[Summerlin]

Quote:
We tried the hose already, and got nothing.

 

[MysticScorpio82]

Quote:
We tried the hose already, and got nothing.

It may be an abandoned den. Where do you live summerlin?

 

[Summerlin]

Quote:
Scale is why I made the duct tape comparison, but I went ahead and measured for accuracy. The hole is basically 8 inches across.
We've been watching the hole, haven't seen any kind of movement, and also haven't been able to get any tracks..but, the fact that it won't stop raining here isn't helping.
We're planning to tarp the trap in case it's a skunk that has to be moved from that location.

 

[Summerlin]

Quote:
We tried the hose already, and got nothing.

It may be an abandoned den. Where do you live summerlin?

That's my best case scenario-an abandoned den. Unless the animal that dug is has since expired, I'd be surprised, though... because the thing wasn't there at Easter.

I'm in Virginia; middle peninsula.