Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS => FARMING & COUNTRY LIFE => Topic started by: KONASDAD on January 25, 2007, 10:37:38 am
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I live in area where foxes are very uncommon. Nonetheless i have one living in my area and hunting in my yard. I have seen him twice. He is a very large red fox and looks great. Looks healthy, which foxes rarely do around my immediate area. I have found five of his kills. Rabbits. My question is he always leaves the entrails and some fur in a big bloody pile. Why doesn't he eat the entrails? Of course these items are now a play thing for my lab which has its own amusement factor!!! Lastly, do foxes succesfully hunt groundhogs. I have a groundhog family I would love to be hunted out of existance! Can I encourage the fox to hunt the groundhog?
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Oooh, now that is interesting, I can't wait to hear some responses from people. I know that the coyotes prefer the entrails around here. Strange eh? Great day. Cindi
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Uh, aren't groundhogs as big or bigger than foxes??
As a boy I remember 2 dogs taking almost an hour to take down one groundhog (but they weren't trained killers...well the one was the neighbors and knew how to kill our chickens...)
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This is one big red fox, but I know they are mostly fur. The groundhogs are big too. My neighbors Borzois(russian wolfhounds) kill about three per year. They cant get to my yard b/c of a fence though. I've tried havaheart type traps and even gtot one w/ bow and arrow. I could never use a gun in my area. They are killing very old trees in my yard by burrowing under the roots and they die b/c the roots are suspended.
I thought a fox would eat the entrails too b/c its ful of fats and proteins. Any way, just thinking out loud is all.......
I hate these groundhogs!!!!
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Where I live we sometimes run over Foxes in the city streets. They are as bad as coyotes.
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We have no foxes here, but coyotes galore, I hear them almost every night and they sound very scarey, I do not like their scarey sound, nor do my dogs. They wake me out of my deal sleep. C.
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I love sitting out at night listening to the coyotes.
About them ground hogs. I won't tell you what this lady didn't tell me about gophers. Stick a hose in the tail pipe and into the burrow. Remember you didn't hear that from me.
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I am very jealous. You have a fox and groundhogs. I am not sure why it leaves the entrails and fur pile. The groundhogs will probably not be food for the fox. They will fight back.
If it is a female fox that stays healthy you may end up with little foxes next year. How cool would that be.
Sincerely,
Brendhan
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That is unusual, foxes usually go for the entrails first. I would imagine that he has so much food availabel that he is just eating the meaty bits. have a look at his scat if you can, its amazing how many seeds and insects foxes eat.
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We have foxes and groundhogs (+bear, coyote, bobcat, and tourists) around here too. I think a full-grown groundhog would easily outweigh a fox and be too dangerous to go after when there's easier prey like rabbits and voles to get.
I once came across a fox den in a blackberry patch. Those fox must have been pretty regular from eating all those berries.
A shotgun is the quick fix around here, but probably not in Cherry Hill. Maybe the local police would be willing to do some target shooting one saturday.
Kev
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>Why doesn't he eat the entrails?
Because he has meat?
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I actually cannot believe how big the groundhogs sound. I always thought they were small critters kind of like a mole or something. Guess I am rather uninformed, time to change that. Great day. Cindi
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I have looked at scat. Loaded w/ mice remains, seeds and the like. Might have to agree w/ MB, he must have better sources of protein than the innards. These innards are frozen at the moment and I looked real closely. Mostly just the stomach and intestines. No heart, liver or lungs. The choice pieces have been eaten, low value innards left to rot.
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What you are finding doesn't sound like a Fox kill. It sounds more like a raptor kill like an Owl. Fox eat hide and all and birds pluck off the hide and eat the meat. The remains tend to fall below the roost in a pile.
The woodchuck is probably safe. A Fox may take a small animal but the adult woodchuck has few enemies in a suburban setting.
If the chuck is active now it can be evicted, or trapped easily.
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Not a raptor. I recognize those kills. I find them often. Most of the hawks in my area are small, and rabbits are way to big to kill. Positive its the fox. Fox also leaves scat right next to kill. As for the fur, its just lots of tuffs of hair, no skin attached. There are so few predators in my area its w/o competition. Very few owls in my area as well. Few trees that are old and few farms in area either.