Who dunn-it/ murder mystery

[wooly]

Nothing fancy about these pics, I just found it to be an interesting "who dunnit?".

I cruised by the fox den today and noticed a couple fresh pup lower jawbones had been laying at the entrance. Obviously from this years litter of pups.
Later in my hike I went past another den about a mile away and found more of the exact same thing. Something is eating the pups and leaving just the bottom jawbones laying around and not a crumb more.
Anyone got any ideas what would be doing that? Would the mother eat her own young if they weren't healthy, or is this the work of another critter?

I just found it odd to see the same thing at two separate dens with that much distance between them. I've been trying to find an answer online but I can't seem to come up with anything that explains it. Any ideas?

 

 

[MACHINIST]

weird!!

[grampy]

Yotes maybe?

[stoneam2006]

Hawks? Or similar birds

[wooly]

Yotes maybe?

 

I don't understand why they would leave the jawbones behind and not just drag the whole pup away?

It was almost a methodical approach to how the little ones would meet their demise which was part of the reason I suspected the mother...

I've seen the little ones play fighting before and they'll grab each other by the jaws, but I don't know if that's of any importance or means anything in these situations.

[wooly]

Hawks? Or similar birds

 

I thought about hawks or owls, but the bone looks like it was crushed and shattered, not torn apart by a beak.

[Pygmy]

Those teeth look too well developed for puppy teeth. Could they be from some other critter that that the parents brought back to the den ? Road killed coons, perhaps ?

[wooly]

I'm pretty confident they are fox teeth..., but I could be wrong.

They don't seem to waste any time growing them.

Shot this little guy two years ago opening week of turkey season at the same den.

 

[Doc]

I think a good guess would be coyotes. They will not hesitate knocking off even a full-grown fox if they get the chance just like they will eat the family pooch. A den of fox pups would be like stopping off at Dunkin Doughnuts for a snack.

 

The lower jaw bones are a bit of a mystery. There's not much real meat on the lower jaw. In fact probably more fur and bone than meat, so I can see it being left behind.

 

 

[sampotter]

I'm with Pygmy- those canines look heavier than the pup's in the picture. The bones of young animals are usually pretty soft, so you'd think they would crumble if something like a coyote had eaten a fox pup. I can't think of any predator that would eat a fox pup at the den entrance and leave a lower jaw. The most likely scenario is those are raccoon jaws left by foxes that aren't strong enough to break the jaw bones.

[Pygmy]

I t hink you should do a DNA test, Inspector Wooly  !

[growalot]

You have a trapper in the area that dropped his carcasses IMO...

 

http://www.hideandfur.com/inventory/5461.html

[growalot]

Though raccoons aside you all should find this interesting...for if they can kill and eat a bobcat...I'd think a fox pup would not be too difficult....This is from our DEC

 

 

Fisher are a dietary generalist. They eat a wide variety of small to medium sized mammals and birds, and a variety of hard and soft mast such as beechnuts, acorns, apples and berries. However, they have been considered a specialist in that they are the only known North American mammal that succeeds in killing and consuming porcupines. They will consume the entire animal, leaving nothing but a quilled hide and a few of the larger bones.

Other prey items include rabbits, squirrels, mice, shrews, and carrion from large mammals such as whitetailed deer.

 

Carnivores such as bobcat, coyote, red and grey fox and some raptors serve as competition for prey items, and fisher have been documented to travel over a hundred miles over the course of a few weeks in order to meet the demands of their dietary requirements.

 

OK I read that wrong? Holy crud Mr B needs to get a big job...he's driving me nuts...lol Where did my uninterrupted quiet morning time go??...Sorry,still interesting ...

Edited April 10, 2015 by growalot

[G-Man]

Prolly a coyote ripping off lower jar as its easy to grab to expose the neck

[Bone Seeker]

Im with Pygmy. I think these bones are leftovers from the meals brought back.  ??