What is killing these animals???

[Bluey]

Here, coyotes are the main predator on cats and smaller dogs.
They are very good at luring them, catching and killing them and taking off with them.
Many have seen that with their own eyes.

Native indians called coyotes The Trickster because of how they hunt.
Coyotes will act like they are playing, fake feint back and forth and when prey starts to become comfortable with the coyote obviously not being a problem right then, they pounce and before their prey knows it, is dead.

With ANY wildlife, please don’t let them become comfortable around your immediate area.
If prey, they will attract predators and if predators, they will become, sooner or later, a problem.

If we don’t keep wildlife away from where humans live, we are risking humans and their animals to the problems and that includes diseases wildlife carry.

More important, it generally doesn’t end up well for the wildlife, that gets harmed by our interference.
When problems happen, as they do regularly, the wildlife will pay with their lives for our pleasure to see those cute animals around.

As our game wardens keep telling everyone, don’t let wildlife get comfortable around where humans and their animals live.
Keep disturbing them so they move on and find a better place to live for who they are.

That will protect wildlife best.

We live in and manage a wildlife preserve, have since 1957.
We too, over the years, have had wildlife around us where we live.
We have learned the hard way that you really need to encourage them to move on, not stay around us and our animals, because eventually there end up becoming a problem.

I know, it is cute to see them around us, just be sensible about it?

Give it a second thought how we want to manage best and why and what the consequences may be.

I hope the OP will put up some wildlife cameras so it may determine what is going on there.

[mbv]

If you unfortunately happen to find another dead kit, if it hasn’t been dead long an option would be to have a necropsy done. Just a basic evaluation by a vet might help differentiate between trauma and something else. More testing likely needed to rule out toxins or secondary poisoning. Looks like the NJ vet diagnostic lab has relatively reasonable prices (around $100) or your regular vet might be willing to help. Obviously laws surrounding dead wildlife vary by state and species so make sure it’s okay before doing anything like that. It might be worth it if you can find something that helps protect your animals? And maybe the wildlife too. Although be prepared that finding answers isn’t always possible even with lots of testing. However even negative results can give you information and help rule things out.

[cutter99]

I live in a high coyote area, and I have never seen them not haul a kill off and eat it. They leave nothing behind. In fact here, farmers do not bury dead cattle. They haul them off to a back part of the pasture and leave them for the coyotes. The skeleton will be stripped clean in days.

[Bluey]

@cutter99

I live in a high coyote area, and I have never seen them not haul a kill off and eat it. They leave nothing behind. In fact here, farmers do not bury dead cattle. They haul them off to a back part of the pasture and leave them for the coyotes. The skeleton will be stripped clean in days.

True, between coyotes and feral hogs, any dead body left out there is gone, many times overnight.

That also is a reason you want to drag dead bodies far away from dwellings, so they don’t attract some undesirables to the free banquet that provides.

One other precaution, if you use chemical euthanasia, that body is a real poison.
Never leave that where other can get to it, your own pets or wildlife.
“Dispose of it properly” right away.

[cutter99]

@Bluey

True, between coyotes and feral hogs, any dead body left out there is gone, many times overnight.

That also is a reason you want to drag dead bodies far away from dwellings, so they don’t attract some undesirables to the free banquet that provides.

One other precaution, if you use chemical euthanasia, that body is a real poison.
Never leave that where other can get to it, your own pets or wildlife.
“Dispose of it properly” right away.

I am in Tennessee, and here a vet can not legally perform a chemical euthanasia unless a hole has already been dug, due to possibly poisoning the buzzards. Vets here carry guns to be able to euthanize in the event chemicals cannot be used.

[Color_of_Light]

@cutter99

I live in a high coyote area, and I have never seen them not haul a kill off and eat it. They leave nothing behind. In fact here, farmers do not bury dead cattle. They haul them off to a back part of the pasture and leave them for the coyotes. The skeleton will be stripped clean in days.

I agree. We have lots of coyotes and this doesn’t sound like typical coyote behavior. They don’t kill for the fun of it and never leave anything behind. They even eat their own kind. We had one get hit by a car in front of our driveway last year. We put it in the back pasture, they ate it.

[Bluey]

@cutter99

I am in Tennessee, and here a vet can not legally perform a chemical euthanasia unless a hole has already been dug, due to possibly poisoning the buzzards. Vets here carry guns to be able to euthanize in the event chemicals cannot be used.

We still have rendering plants that will be on call and come right away.
They have protocols they follow for those bodies, so they can use some of it and properly dispose of the rest, according to their rules and regulations.

Burying is not that good an idea here because of ground and water contamination, but not illegal, for those that may prefer that option.

[S1969]

@Bluey

Here, coyotes are the main predator on cats and smaller dogs.
They are very good at luring them, catching and killing them and taking off with them.
Many have seen that with their own eyes.

Native indians called coyotes The Trickster because of how they hunt.
Coyotes will act like they are playing, fake feint back and forth and when prey starts to become comfortable with the coyote obviously not being a problem right then, they pounce and before their prey knows it, is dead.

With ANY wildlife, please don’t let them become comfortable around your immediate area.
If prey, they will attract predators and if predators, they will become, sooner or later, a problem.

If we don’t keep wildlife away from where humans live, we are risking humans and their animals to the problems and that includes diseases wildlife carry.

More important, it generally doesn’t end up well for the wildlife, that gets harmed by our interference.
When problems happen, as they do regularly, the wildlife will pay with their lives for our pleasure to see those cute animals around.

As our game wardens keep telling everyone, don’t let wildlife get comfortable around where humans and their animals live.
Keep disturbing them so they move on and find a better place to live for who they are.

That will protect wildlife best.

We live in and manage a wildlife preserve, have since 1957.
We too, over the years, have had wildlife around us where we live.
We have learned the hard way that you really need to encourage them to move on, not stay around us and our animals, because eventually there end up becoming a problem.

I know, it is cute to see them around us, just be sensible about it?

Give it a second thought how we want to manage best and why and what the consequences may be.

I hope the OP will put up some wildlife cameras so it may determine what is going on there.

I hope this post isn’t for my benefit?

I am pretty sure that I moved into the area already inhabited by coyotes. I certainly don’t feel “it is cute to seem them around us” because I love furry cute little animals. But I can appreciate that they are there without being afraid of them.

Actually, I haven’t seen a coyote in many years. I hear them very often though. And in my area, and possibly the OPs since she lives outside a major city - the coyotes are not a threat for predation and disease. In fact, they probably do more good than harm by scavenging and keeping the small animal population under control, since there are few other predators.

My point is that I would not be concerned about the possibility of coyotes nearby because they are probably already there. And have been for years.

That said - I have not seen any evidence that coyotes kill for fun and without eating the animal. My friends that keep chickens tend to be wary foxes and fishers if they see this type of behavior. So, possibly another fox, or maybe a fisher is the culprit, rather than a coyote.

[S1969]

FYI, in case anyone wants to watch it - this is the documentary about coyotes outside of Chicago:

http://www.pbs.org/video/wttw-presents-urban-nature-coyote-comeback/

[cutter99]

@Bluey

We still have rendering plants that will be on call and come right away.
They have protocols they follow for those bodies, so they can use some of it and properly dispose of the rest, according to their rules and regulations.

Burying is not that good an idea here because of ground and water contamination, but not illegal, for those that may prefer that option.

I have not encountered any rendering plants here in TN. I think most here do not have the money to pay for disposal.

I am orginally from the Northeast, where if allowed, there are restrictions and rules for burial, including distances from all sources of water and residences. We also composted both dairy cattle, horses, and pigs. Rendering was very common, as most farms are really farmettes that are too small to allow for burial.

[Equibrit]

@vxf111

We don’t normally have coyotes here but it’s not unheard of. I guess a camera is the way to go but I am a little scared to find out!

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2018/04/25/coyotes-caught-northeast-philly/

[beowulf]

Maybe a Fisher Cat? They are big, they eviscerate, and they can/do kill competition.

Coyotes don’t kill for fun that I know of, and they usually cache anything they kill and don’t eat. It’s highly unlikely, given what we know about coyote behavior, that a coyote is killing multiple species and not caching them.

The other thing, coyotes and fox actually can live alongside each other quite well. We have a healthy population of both where I live, and have for years. Not saying it’s not possible it is a coyote here, but it sounds unlikely at this point. Depending on geopgraphy and the subspecies of coyote, some don’t even compete for the same resources. Foxes are more likely to be displaced by competition rather than aggressive/antagonistic behavior of coyotes.

Coyotes are one of the predators that IMHO, are fairly easy to live around. You’re much better off with them than without. They fill a unique ecological niche that you wouldn’t want other apex predators to be filling, especially if you have livestock.

[PeteyPie]

Domestic dogs and cats are some of the biggest killers of wildlife. It is common for them to kill without eating the prey. My Weimaraner would kill squirrels and small creatures but it usually left them with some sign, at least a bit of slobber on the poor animal. Some cats are ruthless and accomplished hunters and can take down an animal which is surprisingly large.

My barn owner’s small Tuxedo cat walked up to me with a wounded bunny as large as she was and proudly deposited the struggling animal at my feet. Talk about mixed emotions! I was flattered and touched that kitty thought so well of me; I was impressed by her prowess in taking down such a relatively large creature; I was horrified that the bunny was wounded and suffering and probably had been suffering for a while as the cat played with her.

I took it to a vet but it died shortly afterwards.

[vxf111]

My barncat has an airtight alibi for at least the first baby fox kit

[Simkie]

Do you HEAR coyotes at night? They’re not shy about making noise at all–I’d think you’d hear them sing if they were in the area. Mine go off between 11 and midnight or so. Sometimes multiples times a night, but that’s more unusual. We hear them probably 3-5 nights a week.

Good point about domestic pets, @PeteyPie.

[fordtraktor]

Sounds like coyote to me. We had one kill a skunk a few weeks ago and just left the body. It injured another one we were able to take to a wildlife rehab.
Saw one a month or so ago sitting on my porch looking in the window. They are bold.

FWIW I have lived here 7 years and have 4 inside/outside cats (3 house and one barn) and never had a cat hurt. My cats all know they are there and tend to spend the night inside (barn cat in the hay loft).

We we also have foxes and they seem to live on opposite sides of the farm fairly peacefully. Sad about the fox cubs…they are so cute.

[PeteyPie]

It’s also possible that there are a number of different causes, not just one. For example, with two dead fox kits I would suspect parvovirus or something similar might have killed them and their deaths may have nothing to do with the other dead animals. Or maybe the mother was killed and they died of dehydration or starvation.

[Jim_in_PA]

Coyote sightings have been increasing a lot lately here in the east…

[2DogsFarm]

When I lived there it was not unusual to spot one on a local golf course - just feet away from Lake shore Drive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbYIPXIX5f8

OP: Always sad to see baby animals dead.
I feel bad every time I find a cold, dead, Swallow fledgling in my barn.
But Nature does things for a reason.

[mswillie]

@vxf111

I have never seen so much as a regular sized rat, let alone one bigger. What is that? A muskrat? I don’t know that we have those here.

Muskrats prefer marshy areas. If you are near Philly and near the water I’d be willing to bet you have muskrats. I live in NCC Delaware, not far away via the water, and there are plenty of muskrats here. Trapping is a much smaller industry now but at one time almost every family had someone who trapped muskrat for additional income and food (blech).