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| They know, they know. |
Last year one of my blog's subject was the diet of Urban Coyotes, it was enlightening to me mostly because I halfway believed the suspicions they hunted Domestic Pets, Cats and Dogs mostly. I discovered my initial ideas when I wrote that article was, in fact, incorrect, which lead me to another question. " How much of an impact on domestic animals do Raccoons, Fox, and Bobcats have on domestic pets?" The answer may be zero or it could be a tremendous amount, let's take a look at it.
My number rule of life is "Don't mess with the Raccoons." I have expanded that to include all of life, due to the fact they are everywhere, living in close proximity to us whether we live in the country or the city. When I was young my family was spending time in the North Woods of Minnesota, tent camping, we did that a lot, it was fun. I forget now where we were, my brothers and I caught a lot of Walleyes from our canoe and would lead people to where the fish were. We were happy to share our spot with anyone, we thought there was an endless supply of fish. One day we came back to camp to find my Mom feeding popcorn to two small furry cute engaging baby Raccoons, we heard Dad telling Mom, "Don't feed them, you will be sorry." Not only would she be sorry, all of us would be, but thankful for learning a life lesson about "Messin with the Racoons." Those two furry little ones turned into six small ones, then twelve larger ones showed up with them, pretty soon we were surrounded by large Raccoons, moving steadily forward. They all came to dinner, while my family retreated to the truck, rolled up the windows and enjoyed the show, we watched them tear the camp apart looking for food. We had a dog, he was in the truck with us, right where he belonged. Raccoons pick their battles carefully, most of the time running from larger opponents, dogs chase them, they never learn, most of the time the bandits run away. They do attack dogs, and cats, when cornered they are fearless and will fight to the death for their lives, but only under extreme stressful danger.
A number of years ago a neighbor told me about two large dogs that were chasing two Raccoons on the levee, they chased them into the water, the Raccoons backed into the slough. The dogs did not hesitate to continue charging them, the Raccoons grabbed onto the dog's necks with their front paws, holding their heads close to the dog's neck so as not to be bitten. They started kicking the dogs with their razor sharp rear claws, slicing the dogs stomachs to the point of an immense loss of blood, the stomach of each dog was exposed. Both of the dogs were found the next morning dead on the slope of the waterside levee, they were big tough country dogs, it's a lesson a dog learns once. The Raccoons can easily kill cats, and dogs, it is fairly rare for them to kill a very large dog, but they do accomplish that as well.
Raccoons will also attack humans, they are defiant, most people that encounter them will most likely agree with me, they stand their ground. I saw one up against a gate right at dusk, my neighbor was with me, it was his gate. He (Bob) pointed and I looked, this raccoon was on its hind legs with the front paws on the top of the four-foot gate, easily looking over the top between his paws. "Look at the size of that one," Bob said pointing. I met the same Raccoon one other time, he was getting ready to stir up my garbage cans, I attempted to haze him, he had a different idea. The big Raccoon turned to me and squared off, his eyes were very intense like daggers that could see my soul. That guy was not about to give me any ground at all. Do you want some of this? He seemed to be saying with his eyes, my eyes were replying, "Not me, Not me, wait here I'll go get someone to take you on." (Link to information on how to deal with them) They are tough, vicious animals, they can and will kill or injure pets and humans, however, they do not have a taste for either, we all are a bit too large, and not to there liking for a tasty dinner. In the event you are ever attacked and bitten by a Raccoon it's nothing to mess around with, they can carry numerous deadly diseases, one of which is rabies. If a Raccoon attacks you there is a very good possibility it has rabies, seek medical help immediately if you suffer a bite; assume it had rabies. The story I related to you is the only time I have heard of Raccoons attacking and killing large dogs, all of the requirements for a battle with a Raccoon were present. They were being pursued, they backed into the water for defense, and they felt cornered with no way out, a Raccoon will attack under those circumstances, and they did. No, they do not kill pets to eat them, they only fight in self-defense, preferring to run fast, far, and long before risking their lives.
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| Foxes, the original introverts. |
What about the Fox, how do they affect our domesticated pets? There are a lot of people that have concerns about Foxes, the three most common are:
1) Does a Fox pose a threat to my pets?
2) Are they a threat to my small children?
3) Do they carry dangerous diseases?
These questions are the reasons most people want the Fox removed after sighting them around their property. Generally, a Fox is not a threat to humans or some pets, but when cornered they will become very aggressive, people have a tendency to catch them with their bare hands. I have some experience with catching a Fox with bare hands, it happened when I was around 10 years old.
A neighborhood chum and I spotted a small Fox, I don't know if it was a Red Fox or a Kit Fox, I was too young to know the difference, we cornered the poor little animal, picked him up and put a leash and collar on him, we then took him to my friends house and tied him up. The small Fox was tethered to a tree with a rope and restricted to a space on his driveway, later in the day we started feeling sorry for him and decided to let him go. Somehow the decision was made that I was going to remove the collar, after all, it was fairly uneventful putting it on the little animal. My first mistake was backing him into a corner to make it easier to grab him, my second was grabbing him. That Fox tore me up, it was like an extremely mad cat, he wrapped all four of his limbs around my arm and began to chew, scratch, and bite me every spot he could reach. On my arm as he was it became harder and harder to get him off, my friend was no help standing with his mouth open watching as I was being mangled. Finally, somehow I worked the critter off and ran away from it until he could go no further due to the rope holding him back, I was scratched up pretty bad, not much blood though and no stitches were needed. His dad came home from work, he was totally bewildered, "what in the Sam Hill are you guy's up to?" he said, We told him we caught a Fox and intended to make him a pet but our plan kind of went haywire when we found out how terribly mean he was. I don't recall the entire exchange but his dad got some gloves and released the poor suffering animal, as he ran away he never even looked back. I don't know why we thought we could handle the animal as we wished but I suppose it had to do with being so young and inexperienced.
(Link to What to do about Foxes, by the humane society)
Yes, a Fox will attack a human, but only if it is rabid, or forced into a corner with no way out other than directly towards us. They stay away from humans as much as possible, they do not see us as "prey", in fact, they don't see us as anything other as something to be avoided. They co-exist with domestic and feral cats, both are nocturnal and cross each other's paths continuously all night long. Foxes do not see cats as prey, they are accepted and tolerated. It's safe to say that the threat of a Fox harming us or one of our pets is too remote to even be mentioned as a problem, as long as we don't attempt to pick them up, corner them, or otherwise abuse them they are not a threat.
A neighbor had a box of apples on her porch, one day upon awakening she noticed an apple core laying in the corner; it appeared as if a human had eaten it. She could not imagine what was going on. The next morning the same thing, and the next, and the next. On the fifth day, she arose a bit early and went directly to the window to look for the apple core. Sitting in a corner was a Red Fox munching away on an apple, happy as a clam.
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| Otters are large animals. |
I've never thought of Otters as a threat to pets or humans, I've seen plenty of them in rivers, lakes, and ponds as well as some California Sea Otters. The individuals in our slough come in two different sizes, we have River Otters and Large full-size Otters.
March 8, 2018, a husband and wife were kayaking along with 8 other people on the Branden River. Thinking the Otter swimming and playing around their boats was "cute" until the cuddly animal leaped into the Kayak and began chewing, scratching, and biting the lady. This incident happened just days after a similar attack occurred in the same area. She suffered lacerations and bites needing stitches and treatment for possible rabies. This being just the most recent attack by an Otter towards a human. Once again if any wild animal attacks, we must assume they are infected with rabies and receive the treatment.
Humans are not on their menu however, the five foot long 30 pound animals seem much larger than they are, they appear much heavier. They are carnivores with their diet consist mainly of fish, crayfish, frogs, and other amphibians. Once in a while, they will attack and make a meal out of a small alligator, it takes many hours for the Otter to wear down the reptile, but it does happen. They are extremely territorial and will attack humans and animals when they feel they are being threatened, but other than that they avoid us and our pets. When encountering an Otter, they appear to be cuddly, soft, and cute, and they very well may be, however approaching one is not advisable at all. If you do approach one don't expect an uneventful encounter, it will be an introduction to a set of sharp teeth, and bone-crushing molars, it is wise to keep our distance.
I caught one once while fishing, I caught a small fish and while reeling it in I felt a very hard tug on my fishing pole, I continued to reel in. I brought the line in until I was able to make out what was on the end, the Otter and I saw one another at exactly the same time, he was about 10 feet from shore. That's when he decided I was the cause of all of his problems and he decided to rectify the situation, he came at me as fast as he could. When I realized what was happening I tossed my fishing pole at him, now about five feet away, I turned and ran to my pickup truck, the animal did not chase me, my pole was in the water when I returned and the Otter had broken the line. He didn't seem to be any worse for the wear, he was extremely aggressive and I can't say as if I blame him, I'd most likely be the same if I were in his shoes. Otters will not eat us, at least they won't attack, kill, and eat us, I'm sure more than one could cause a humans demise, but there has never been a case of a human becoming a meal for one. They don't eat or attack our pets either, I would imagine like the Raccoon's that killed the two dogs at the beginning of this blog they could injure even large dogs when cornered, but cats, no. Cats cross the paths of the large River Otters all night long, much the same as their encounters with the Fox, there is an attitude of living and let live.
Of the three, Raccoons, Fox, and Otters, it is clear to me the biggest threat of them is the Otter, they will go after a human solely due to the human crossing a territorial boundary that we have no idea exists. I'm not sure how to avoid an attack as the lady in the kayak experienced after all the aquatic animal was freely swimming and the group of people certainly did not molest or harass it in any way they knew of. The Otter did become aggressive and went after the lady, she used the only defensive weapon she had, which was a kayak paddle. That animal most likely was rabid. Otter attacks are fairly common, we must exercise extreme caution when encountering one, simply giving them space may not be enough. Keep a watchful eye on them when they are encountered, do not turn your back on them and do not approach them. There are two that live in our slough, I see them from time to time, in fact just three days ago was one encounter. They are an obnoxious animal, searching boats, docks, and patios for bits of food, if none is found they will leave a calling card, normally in the center of a chair seat.
Dogs love Otter scat, I have never been able to figure out why they have an undeniable need to roll in it, every dog I have had has done it, I've seen other dogs roll in the scat as well. It is not a pleasant odor, it must be perfume to a dog, to me it stinks.
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| The one in the middle rolled in Otter scat, the others fell in love at first sniff. |
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