The first thing I thought when I saw that claw was it was a cat. So I believe that you're on the right track. It may have been eating on road kill, or a cat that something else killed. That might be why it didn't have all the bones.
I have heard of eagles taking off with young cats so it wouldn't surprise me if an owl could do so as well.
hmmm. yes! do owls eat roadkill? I'll have to research that. i've had some fears of my cats getting taken! luckily none yet, but yes this does seem to prove it!! thanks for your comment!
We also have barred owls here and they will easily take a smaller cat with not problems. I see them sitting on the pallet pens I keep my hogs in waiting for a rat to run by most nights. I do have to keep an eye out though since new born piglets and goat kids could also end up on their menu.
mmm wow even a goat kid! owls are amazing. thanks for confirming! it's wild to think. i wonder how far they travel for their hunting grounds? thanks for stopping by!
Usually you don't have to many problems as long as their is enough food around but depending on your location when they have babies to feed they can get a lot more desperate and start trying for larger prey. My new goat kids are actually smaller then my full size chickens are and the owls will takes those no problem. I have even seen where they have taken young red foxes around here. Horned owls are the worst in comparison though and always a concern. Really cool to see but not something you want on the homestead if you have livestock. I like the little bitty shriek owls since they don't bother anything but the bugs.
My first thought was rabbit because i thought that would be the biggest prey an owl would take. Your hypothesis is pretty solid though. I could buy it. This is a very cool and unique post!
This is exciting detective work you're doing in your woods! It's awesome to see owls, and even more interesting to speculate what it could have eaten. A cat, why not? You're presenting a plausible case. Best of all, the idea that it may have been a baby bobcat. That would mean you not only have owls but bobcats living nearby, which suggests a healthy ecosystem with top predators. (Or are there any other predators even above them? Would be amazing...)
i agree and think it'd be pretty amazing too. we did see a bobcat on the road about 5 miles from our house. it ran right in front of us at night and luckily we didn't hit it. i can't think of any other top predators around here... would be wild if we had a breeding mother close to us!!!! thanks for stopping by :)
thanks for stopping by! yes, it was pretty cool to stumble on it. i read that oftentimes they'll eat in the same area so i think i'll go back to the base of this tree and see what i can find :) enjoy your sunday!
Man, you launched a full investigation! I love it. I have seen that 'stuff' before and kinda thought it was barf but had no idea where it came from. This was a really cool post for me :) I agree with a kitty.
I used to find these out under the willow trees in my backyard growing up all the time. We had a family of owls that showed up once a year to make a nest. Sooo many pellets.
Really fascinating! Thanks for the forest sleuthing. I think you did get to the bottom of it. Poor little kitty.
:) truly fascinating huh! i'm gonna go back to that tree to see what else i can find. the forest holds so much for us to discover. <3
The first thing I thought when I saw that claw was it was a cat. So I believe that you're on the right track. It may have been eating on road kill, or a cat that something else killed. That might be why it didn't have all the bones.
I have heard of eagles taking off with young cats so it wouldn't surprise me if an owl could do so as well.
hmmm. yes! do owls eat roadkill? I'll have to research that. i've had some fears of my cats getting taken! luckily none yet, but yes this does seem to prove it!! thanks for your comment!
We also have barred owls here and they will easily take a smaller cat with not problems. I see them sitting on the pallet pens I keep my hogs in waiting for a rat to run by most nights. I do have to keep an eye out though since new born piglets and goat kids could also end up on their menu.
mmm wow even a goat kid! owls are amazing. thanks for confirming! it's wild to think. i wonder how far they travel for their hunting grounds? thanks for stopping by!
Usually you don't have to many problems as long as their is enough food around but depending on your location when they have babies to feed they can get a lot more desperate and start trying for larger prey. My new goat kids are actually smaller then my full size chickens are and the owls will takes those no problem. I have even seen where they have taken young red foxes around here. Horned owls are the worst in comparison though and always a concern. Really cool to see but not something you want on the homestead if you have livestock. I like the little bitty shriek owls since they don't bother anything but the bugs.
My first thought was rabbit because i thought that would be the biggest prey an owl would take. Your hypothesis is pretty solid though. I could buy it. This is a very cool and unique post!
thanks!! yeah a lot of different stuff went through my mind before i settled on cat! it's really fun to look through these kind of pellets :) <3
I cannot arrive at a conclusion given the limited amount of data. However I can speculate that it is a feral cat.
thanks!
This is exciting detective work you're doing in your woods! It's awesome to see owls, and even more interesting to speculate what it could have eaten. A cat, why not? You're presenting a plausible case. Best of all, the idea that it may have been a baby bobcat. That would mean you not only have owls but bobcats living nearby, which suggests a healthy ecosystem with top predators. (Or are there any other predators even above them? Would be amazing...)
i agree and think it'd be pretty amazing too. we did see a bobcat on the road about 5 miles from our house. it ran right in front of us at night and luckily we didn't hit it. i can't think of any other top predators around here... would be wild if we had a breeding mother close to us!!!! thanks for stopping by :)
Wow! A cat! I suspect you might be right, baby bobcat or similar. What a unique find!
thanks for stopping by! yes, it was pretty cool to stumble on it. i read that oftentimes they'll eat in the same area so i think i'll go back to the base of this tree and see what i can find :) enjoy your sunday!
is that possible to a rabbit @mountainjewel?, I only guess it. I dont know much about animal anatomy. but it always interesting to find new experience
Best regards
the rabbits don't have claws like that, but the fur color is similar to rabbits we have around here! thanks for stopping by. enjoy your day :)
I never knew this about owls. I thought it was only tiny things like mice they would eat. Very interesting.
yes! truly i didn't know much either, although i figured they could get rabbits or other smaller mammals. didn't think too much about cats tho!
Man, you launched a full investigation! I love it. I have seen that 'stuff' before and kinda thought it was barf but had no idea where it came from. This was a really cool post for me :) I agree with a kitty.
haha! i had to! needed to get to the bottom of it ;) glad you liked the post!!
I used to find these out under the willow trees in my backyard growing up all the time. We had a family of owls that showed up once a year to make a nest. Sooo many pellets.
oh that sooo cool!! wow they migrated to the willows each year to nest... love that image <3