Prickly pear thief?

[RosemaryDuck]

Got an interesting one for you guys this afternoon .

Went out earlier to feed everyone and noticed something had dug under the fence line. We have an absolutely massive monster of a prickly pear cactus that's fenced in in the duck yard, as it's basically a tree at this point and can't be moved.

Something dug into the duck yard, then dug into the prickly pear area and ate a bunch of cactus pads. They were all over around the yard with bites out of them. Any ideas who the culprit is?

 

[sourland]

What state are you in?

 

[RosemaryDuck]

What state are you in?

Florida

 

[MTKitty]

... Any ideas who the culprit is?

Whatever would eat those is not something I’d want to tangle with. Just trying to get them out of my yard to protect my dog’s feet has been ... a learning experience.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Whatever would eat those is not something I’d want to tangle with. Just trying to get them out of my yard to protect my dog’s feet has been ... a learning experience.

View attachment 2898408

Ours is actually spineless! It's completely smooth all over. The little fruits do get some very small hairs though that can be painful.

 

[MTKitty]

Ours is actually spineless! It's completely smooth all over. The little fruits do get some very small hairs though that can be painful.

Oh, cool. I had no idea spineless ones existed. I’ve learned, when walking in the pasture where prickly pears might be, to wear leather shoes, preferably covering the ankles. Those spines are ouchy, but the hairier ones at the base of those spines are the worst.

I do love them, though, for the three or four weeks they bloom in summer.

 

[sourland]

Would an armadillo do that? Feral pigs would, but they would leave plenty of sign.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Would an armadillo do that? Feral pigs would, but they would leave plenty of sign.

Oh, huh. I never even thought of an armadillo. They do like fruit and some plants so they'd probably go after a cactus.

Good thing they don't like meat! Or duck...

 

[cmom]

I'm from Florida too, near Ocala. Put up a camera and most likely whatever it is will be back. I have seen armadillo here and gopher tortoise. They are diggers and eat cactus. Armadillos mostly go after grubs. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

We have a depression on our property that was used for water for cattle. We have been using it for years to put our brush and an armadillo lives in it. Every now and then I see it but it pretty much stays in there. There are plenty of grubs. We had a couple of trees we took down that were next to our house. They were dying and grub infested. We put the tree debris in the depression.
Wikipedia:
The diets of different armadillo species vary, but consist mainly of insects, grubs, and other invertebrates. Some species, however, feed almost entirely on ants and termites.

They are prolific diggers. Many species use their sharp claws to dig for food, such as grubs, and to dig dens. The nine-banded armadillo prefers to build burrows in moist soil near the creeks, streams, and arroyos around which it lives and feeds.
Paws of a hairy and a giant armadillo

Armadillos have very poor eyesight, and use their keen sense of smell to hunt for food.[9] They use their claws for digging and finding food, as well as for making their homes in burrows. They dig their burrows with their claws, making only a single corridor the width of the animal's body. They have five clawed toes on their hind feet, and three to five toes with heavy digging claws on their fore feet. Armadillos have numerous cheek teeth which are not divided into premolars and molars, but usually have no incisors or canines.