Jump to content

Who dunn-it/ murder mystery


wooly
 Share

Recommended Posts

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?

 

DSC_0086_zps6ga5bgpg.jpg

 

DSC_0085_zpsccwmtuqs.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  On 4/10/2015 at 2:26 AM, grampy said:

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.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

 

  Quote

 

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 by growalot
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...