miz molly 1,800 Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 I just heard from a friend of mine in Aspen Colorado.....I know it's really early, but they have already had BEAR sightings in town. Looks like the winter we got is the one were going to get. Keep your eyes peeled and your dogs safe. The wild things are awakening...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sherab 2,337 Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 Fortunately here in the East-Nort-West (Michigan) we only have "Jane's Bear". Jane is my neighbor. We think the bear is a raccoon with a thyroid problem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Karen 41 Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 Here, the bears don't go away for long. They are most active in the fall, when the berries are gone and they are trying to fatten up. That's when we have trouble with them. We do have year-round coyotes, bobcats and Canadian Lynx. Danza is really too big for one of them to mess with, but a pack of coyotes or unpredictable cat can still be a danger. I always go into the woods with them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CFalcon 1 Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 it's not the bears im worried about in my area (unless they're mommas), it's the cougars and the moose. I think the cougars over here had a rough winter because they're being seen near town in the day time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chinatola 927 Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 There's a rumor in the neighborhood that there was once an owl that used to scoop up small kittens & little puppies. I don't believe it but I suppose anything is possible. A buddy of mine that lives in a neighborhood very similar to mine but on the northern end of the suburban metropolitan area claimed he saw a Hawk swoop down & grab a bunny from his yard! I'd have to see that but he swears that it happened. We've got Raccoon's & White Tail Deer that wander around the local wooded areas but not too much on the predatory scale except coyotes...mainly out west of us in the wide open spaces & farmland....they live on varmint. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Karen 41 Posted March 10, 2012 Report Share Posted March 10, 2012 We have barred owls in the woods around our house - sometimes they stop by to watch us if we're on the deck. They look big, but they weigh about a pound full-grown. It's hard to imagine them having the strength to carry something that weighs more than 10X what they do. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gramtot 8 Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 We have coyote. I know they are just about everywhere. With Denakka always being "accused" of looking so coyote-like, I'd sure worry if he got loose. I wouldn't want anyone to mistake him for a wild thing. Oh wait--he is pretty wild sometimes! I guess I mean I wouldn't want him mistaken for a non-domesticated wild thing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sherab 2,337 Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 I have a friend who saw an owl take a stray cat (this was in Texas). We also had a neighbor with a net walk and play area for their chihuahuas because of the hawks. Don't know what type of owl or hawk. I have also heard that golden eagles are not to be trusted, but we don't have those. I have not heard or seen coyote here in over a year. My Big Boy doesn't like them, although he thinks the fox is sexy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CFalcon 1 Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 Oh yeah owls can swoop up cats puppies and small dogs. Some owls can get as tall as a full grown German Shepherd. Most owls people see aren't that big though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Allison 2,369 Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 Andrea was telling us about herding the pups back inside, when eagles were about. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
miz molly 1,800 Posted March 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 Coyotes, bob cat, mountain lion, owls and hawks are what I look out for. I know this year is going to be a bit different. With the lack of rain, and the smell of my chickens waifting through the air, I have a feeling I will have more visitors than usual coming down to the river for a drink. I have already spotted mountain lion tracks just on the outside of the fence. I'm sure glad I have a deterring fence around the property. Not saying it is full proof, but at least a deterrant. When I picked up Two Step at Kim's this last January, Arlene was telling me of when she saw one of her cats be picked off by a hawk. The cat put up such a fight with the hawk, that that ol bird decided his catch wasn't worth the trouble and dropped it. NOt sure how high the bird was flying, but the cat of course, landed on its feet and was fine....survival of the fittest! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
woodrat 399 Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 Mountain lion... now that is scary. At least with everything else a human presence with the pup is a pretty reliable deterrent. I, too, know someone whose cat was taken by a bird of prey - a great horned owl. Sadly the cat didn't make it. I suspect there aren't too many other birds large enough to take pups or cats here in New England though. Bald eagles probably would, but we see those only on very rare occasions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sherab 2,337 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 We have a summer resident bald eagle. They are fish eaters so would be surprised, though I did see one try and fail to take a turtle. It couldn't lift it off the bank and sunk into the river, did the austrailan crawl (very inellegant for an eagle) and clambored out onto the opposite bank. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gib 291 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Oh yeah owls can swoop up cats puppies and small dogs. Some owls can get as tall as a full grown German Shepherd. Most owls people see aren't that big though. There's an owl living in the "wild" space in our back yard. I haven't got 100% I.D. on it, but by the size it is either a Great Horned or a Barred Owl. We think it was "eyeing" Wicca when she was younger. Now, with Wicca bigger and able to take care of herself (learning all the really good wrestling escape moves and biting techniques from Draco in their ritual play), we let her & Draco out by themselves at night. The owl was around a lot Wicca's first few months with us so we were always out at night with her, which is when I heard/saw the owl fly low overhead -- awesome. Wingspread 4 feet or more. Even now, if we hear its call close by, we keep and ear & eye out. Both dogs are so alert to things in the air, that we know they have their own "radar" out for it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
maria 182 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 We have coyote. I know they are just about everywhere. With Denakka always being "accused" of looking so coyote-like, I'd sure worry if he got loose. I wouldn't want anyone to mistake him for a wild thing. Oh wait--he is pretty wild sometimes! I guess I mean I wouldn't want him mistaken for a non-domesticated wild thing! we have the coyotes....in fact about a month ago the coyotes were yipping and barking and howling....Chhaya and Koda went into their full blown howls....first time for Koda....she barks some and it's a very quiet bark and I have yet for her to sing....Chhaya sings and howls if not on a daily basis, at least weekly! Gramtot I too worry about people mistaking Koda and Chhaya for coyotes.....I wear wide orange colors on them now when I'm up in the woods and also have orange hunting vests.....so far so good! I also had an incident with Chhaya at probably a year old and a hawk.....she was laying in the front yard very still watching something in the woods and a red tailed hawk flew down within six inches of her....we both moved at the same time because Ken was coming up the lane....I wonder what that hawk would have done had we not moved. My sister has little Rat Terriers and the breeder warned her of hawks picking the up and taking them.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
maria 182 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 I also heard the snakes are out in our area....PA Quote Link to post Share on other sites
linda 19 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 The only thing we have to careful of is the human we only have deer fox redtail hawk wich if your over 10lbs ur safe , voltures they only eat the dead , nothing exciting on this part of PA Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Karen 41 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 There's an owl living in the "wild" space in our back yard. I haven't got 100% I.D. on it, but by the size it is either a Great Horned or a Barred Owl. Gib, if that owl sounds like a pack of coyotes at night, it's a barred owl. Their cries are unearthly. There is the coyote-pack cry that gets all of the valley coyotes going, and then the dogs; and there is their midnight screeching. I haven't been able to figure out why they do it, but it sounds like fledgelings wanting to go home, or juveniles looking for a mate. They don't do that one every year. It's always thrilling to hear them and their dramatic lives. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Allison 2,369 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 The screeching is to scare the mice. They go running, and then the owl can swoop down and grab them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
liz 9 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 (edited) Don't have nay large predators at all! The only poisonous snake is more lke a nasty bee sting! When Katy was very small I made sure she was with us when there were buzzards about, they can easily take a rabbit, but don't think they would bother a grown cat. A grown cat can out do a grown red fox too, and our badgers are not a problem. At the moment i am more worried about the stray guinea-pig that has arrived in my garden, no idea where it is from, i am afraid Sasqui (our larger black and white cat) will decide it will make a good dinner. Can't catch the little thing at present, but I need to for it's own safey! Edited March 13, 2012 by liz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
winslow 1 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 in northwestern PA we have the black bear on rare occasion, but the coyotes are always around. I have heard of coyotes bothering the neighbors dog at night. Their dog is in an outdoor pen. I have heard them several morning. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Karen 41 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 The screeching is to scare the mice. They go running, and then the owl can swoop down and grab them. That certainly sounds plausable. I wonder why they don't do it every summer, though. One reason why I don't hear it as often as I used to is that our stupid neighbor has what everyone else on the street disparagingly calls the "streetlight" right in the middle of the woods, and it is on 24/7. There was a nesting pair of owls in a nearby tree, and I could watch them, but he chased them away. This is the same douchbag who owned the attack dog, threatened to shoot my dogs, etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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