Rise of the Super Predator

[cephalopod]

I have been very fortunate to have lived in the country all my life, and for as long as I can remember have had a very keen interest in our wildlife. The eco system in this country is very fragile and very reliant on things not getting out of hand so I have been very disturbed at the way things are going.
As a preppy who keeps livestock I have to do everything I can to protect them from predators, crows that steal eggs and chicks, badgers that when gone rogue will rip a bird pen apart to get at the occupants and Mr Fox. (This is not a complete list just to give some idea, think ourselves lucky we do not have to cope with anything larger Yet!)
This started a few weeks ago when one of my much loved cows started to calve, I knew straight away all was not well they usually faf about a bit but once the bag shows get on with it, I never ever leave them and have been know to place a deck chair in a good spot for the best view. If everything goes alright I do not interfere and generally all ends well. This time it did not needless to say the vet had to be called and it was touch and go if we saved anyone she lived but the calf was not so lucky. When loosing a calf always leave them with their mothers until they feel able to let them go, cows are very loving motherly creatures and will cry for days over a lost baby, it is heartbreaking, but eventually they visit them less and you are able to remove them. Off course this does not happen in "real" farms as the cows are shown no consideration.
I left them down in the bottom pasture she resting next to her calf, never force them to get up too soon after a difficult delivery they need to rest, and early next morning I went down to bring them up.
My cow was shouting her head off (she was up thankfully), but of the calf there was no sign. Now this was a full term fully developed bull calf of about 20-25kgs, I found the track where it had been dragged away and followed for a half a mile until it went onto my new neighbors land, a place I am forbidden to go they treasure all life and will not tolerate my lifestyle which of course includes shooting.
I thought initially it must have been a dog but it was something I had never seen before, put it down to experience and carried on.
Two days later I get a call from my friend at the local second hand shop someone has brought in a bag of wool (I have the most colour full knitwear on the planet, whatever colour comes out the bag is what colour it will be), we have an arrangement in return for some of my hand made milk soap, she keeps it in the back for me until I can get in and pay for it.
I was only gone for an hour so left the infant phenomenon in charge stirring the cheese and looking out the window, he came charging up as soon as I pulled in that bath turd fox had taken a laying goose, I was so pithed I was only gone an hour normal local foxes have learned to stay away as if you cross my land I will pop you and it is very rare now for me to see one.
I knew it would be back it struck in broad daylight and showed absolutely no fear from humans.
The next day there it was bold as brass walking across the drive, I shouted at it and it did not even look at me, so my trusty five shot anschultz did its duty.
When I got close I could not believe the size of this thing it was huge we weighed it, it was 32 pounds my friendly vet who I had taken it too also could not believe the size of it, he did an autopsy, not only was it not fully grown just a teenager its belly was full of cat food, some silly bugger had been feeding it!
I spoke to a few other friendlys about it warning them to keep an eye just in case it was not the only one, this thing would not only take a new born lamb, but one a couple of months old, and certainly a dead newborn calf.
So there I am this morning down to collect the post and who should pull up but my neighbours who do not approve, I got a full broad side about how they were going to sue me for killing their beloved pet, I was a blank for a bit until I realised they were reffering to the fox, it transpired they had been feeding a family of nine with cat food and other stuff letting them in the house these things are wild animals, can you imagine it the stupidity of people, this is what upsets the system. Normally a vixen will have about four babies on a good year she will raise two on a bad year none, their size and numbers was limited to the amount of food, but with idiots like these feeding them the foxes rear more young to a larger size, can you imagine a pack of these 30 pound plus animals sitting on your lawn waiting for the kite kat and the only thing in sight is your three year old!
These animals have only two enemies guns and motor vehicles there is no form of organised system to keep their number in check. They have no natural enemies and if abnormally fed the ability to become limitless killers of anything they consider prey.
So keep an eye on your stock because there is a new predator in town.

Three essentials when TSHTF, a good larder, a good library, and a good loo

[Midnitemo]

To townies and do gooders Charlie is picture postcard cute....why don,t you gift them some live poultry and let them find out the other side of Charlie themselves, it won't take long for the lesson to be delivered.

[Tartar Horde]

Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident, folk who move from the cities to the sticks seem to have this twee idea of what the countryside is supposed to be, rather than understand the realities of a rural life. A farmer friend of mine sold a cottage to such people, who were most upset that he was harvesting peas at four in the morning. When they complained about the noise his reply was simple "welcome to the country".

[CharlesHarris]

We have a similar problem here in West Virginia, but it is owners of seasonal cottages feeding the bears.

We currently have a 200kg black bear roaming our rural neighborhood, making a general nuisance of himself.

I peppered his behind with a load riot control rubber 00 buckshot from a 12-bore shotgun and he now stays out of my yard.

I noticed also that he has yellow ear tags, which means he has been trapped by DNR and relocated before as a nuisance bear, but I suppose he must be a young Democrat roaming around looking for free stuff. Obviously not a Trump supporter...

I got drawn for a bear tag this hunting season. If he is still around in October I will have a new rug in front of the fireplace.

[Ysbryd]

(20 June 2016, 12:03)cephalopod Wrote: I have been very fortunate to have lived in the country all my life, and for as long as I can remember have had a very keen interest in our wildlife. The eco system in this country is very fragile and very reliant on things not getting out of hand so I have been very disturbed at the way things are going.
As a preppy who keeps livestock I have to do everything I can to protect them from predators, crows that steal eggs and chicks, badgers that when gone rogue will rip a bird pen apart to get at the occupants and Mr Fox. (This is not a complete list just to give some idea, think ourselves lucky we do not have to cope with anything larger Yet!)
This started a few weeks ago when one of my much loved cows started to calve, I knew straight away all was not well they usually faf about a bit but once the bag shows get on with it, I never ever leave them and have been know to place a deck chair in a good spot for the best view. If everything goes alright I do not interfere and generally all ends well. This time it did not needless to say the vet had to be called and it was touch and go if we saved anyone she lived but the calf was not so lucky. When loosing a calf always leave them with their mothers until they feel able to let them go, cows are very loving motherly creatures and will cry for days over a lost baby, it is heartbreaking, but eventually they visit them less and you are able to remove them. Off course this does not happen in "real" farms as the cows are shown no consideration.
I left them down in the bottom pasture she resting next to her calf, never force them to get up too soon after a difficult delivery they need to rest, and early next morning I went down to bring them up.
My cow was shouting her head off (she was up thankfully), but of the calf there was no sign. Now this was a full term fully developed bull calf of about 20-25kgs, I found the track where it had been dragged away and followed for a half a mile until it went onto my new neighbors land, a place I am forbidden to go they treasure all life and will not tolerate my lifestyle which of course includes shooting.
I thought initially it must have been a dog but it was something I had never seen before, put it down to experience and carried on.
Two days later I get a call from my friend at the local second hand shop someone has brought in a bag of wool (I have the most colour full knitwear on the planet, whatever colour comes out the bag is what colour it will be), we have an arrangement in return for some of my hand made milk soap, she keeps it in the back for me until I can get in and pay for it.
I was only gone for an hour so left the infant phenomenon in charge stirring the cheese and looking out the window, he came charging up as soon as I pulled in that bath turd fox had taken a laying goose, I was so pithed I was only gone an hour normal local foxes have learned to stay away as if you cross my land I will pop you and it is very rare now for me to see one.
I knew it would be back it struck in broad daylight and showed absolutely no fear from humans.
The next day there it was bold as brass walking across the drive, I shouted at it and it did not even look at me, so my trusty five shot anschultz did its duty.
When I got close I could not believe the size of this thing it was huge we weighed it, it was 32 pounds my friendly vet who I had taken it too also could not believe the size of it, he did an autopsy, not only was it not fully grown just a teenager its belly was full of cat food, some silly bugger had been feeding it!
I spoke to a few other friendlys about it warning them to keep an eye just in case it was not the only one, this thing would not only take a new born lamb, but one a couple of months old, and certainly a dead newborn calf.
So there I am this morning down to collect the post and who should pull up but my neighbours who do not approve, I got a full broad side about how they were going to sue me for killing their beloved pet, I was a blank for a bit until I realised they were reffering to the fox, it transpired they had been feeding a family of nine with cat food and other stuff letting them in the house these things are wild animals, can you imagine it the stupidity of people, this is what upsets the system. Normally a vixen will have about four babies on a good year she will raise two on a bad year none, their size and numbers was limited to the amount of food, but with idiots like these feeding them the foxes rear more young to a larger size, can you imagine a pack of these 30 pound plus animals sitting on your lawn waiting for the kite kat and the only thing in sight is your three year old!
These animals have only two enemies guns and motor vehicles there is no form of organised system to keep their number in check. They have no natural enemies and if abnormally fed the ability to become limitless killers of anything they consider prey.
So keep an eye on your stock because there is a new predator in town.

Three essentials when TSHTF, a good larder, a good library, and a good loo

[Ysbryd]

I've had similar experiences with urban foxes that had been trapped in Birmingham and illegally released back into the Welsh countryside. Since they have no fear of humans they head straight for the nearest smallholding and start raiding bins or killing chickens.Obviously this can't be tolerated and there is a direct conflict of interests between an urban fox and a really peeved man with a gun.
Both times I've had fox trouble it was with urban foxes, the wild foxes know enough to stay clear unless it's a really hard winter.

[harrypalmer]

Its happening all over, the last holiday I had with the wife was to Cyprus and the apartment complex was overrun with cats and the bloody tourists were feeding them !

I live in the West Midlands and you get reports of Fox problems in brum popping up on the news from time to time.