Half eaten tree rat????

[toadyoforangeville]

Last night while checking my traps I had come across a tree rat in one of my sets( I dont know how they keep getting in them) and with a closer look relized that the front half was eaten, and the ground was tore up pretty goood. The front shoulders and rib-cage along with the entrails were gone. Does anyone on here have any idea what could have done this?? Fox? Crow? Coon? I set the trap with the rat as bait in a dirt hole set to try and catch it if it returns.

[Arch007er]

sorry, i got a little hungry, but i left you half your bounty..I do not trap, but i would place my money on either a fox or a hawk, I've never heard of a crow actually killing something like a squirrel, I think that they (and coons) normally scavenge for the meat rather than kill it, but i could be wrong

[ihunt49]

Could of been a cat, dog, raccoon, opossum, fox, coyote, bobcat, fisher, pine martin. Who knows?

[gander215]

Chupacabra would be my best guess. -BB

[Frenchy]

Last night while checking my traps I had come across a tree rat in one of my sets( I dont know how they keep getting in them) and with a closer look relized that the front half was eaten, and the ground was tore up pretty goood. The front shoulders and rib-cage along with the entrails were gone. Does anyone on here have any idea what could have done this?? Fox? Crow? Coon? I set the trap with the rat as bait in a dirt hole set to try and catch it if it returns.

Big Foot eats too you know...

[XD40coyote]

I don't know why you are catching squirrels, I've only ever caught them when mink trapping and I make a blind set in the water right at a bank edge. Stupid squirrels are always hopping around the sand bars and bank edges, they even leave tracks that look like mink tracks when the sandbar has alot of leafy junk on it so the sand only picks up partial impressions. I'd say if you are coon trapping to set the traps under a few inches of water, or to trap in open fields if for canines.

As to what ate the squirrel? In my parts, the leftover squirrel bits would have had a fox turd placed on them or next to them. Had this been in muskrat season and you had a partially eaten muskrat floating in the water in your trap, I'd be resetting keeping the muskrat meat by the trap and covered with some wet leaves or something, and praying that the mink comes back and steps in the trap.

[toadyoforangeville]

I got like six tree rats so far they must jump out of the tree and land on the pan (thats my only theory). I did manage to catch the culprit. A 24in tall barn owl. He was not harmed and mighty angrey when I found him so i covered him up with my sweatshirt held it down and let him out, he tried to take my trap and sweatshirt. After that I moved to another area.

[XD40coyote]

Well I had a rabbit in a trap today and it looked like a hawk had eaten part of it. I made great use of this trapping f up by taking said bunny and using it for bait. I stuck bits o bunny down all the holes. I also had a nice red at my last spot, remade set and stuck bunny bits in the hole!

Now if I can't catch a fox in the remake of the set that caught the rabbit, then I dunno whats going on with that location! Hopefully a nice red will be sitting there tomarrow morning ( and maybe its buddy will be in the other trap as well! I love doubles on foxes).

[toadyoforangeville]

I have never caught a fox I never put sets out for them just coons now then the 22nd i'll start on rats the place is loaded with holes and the farmer is complaining about them. I'm gonna try a floatin log set on the pond cause I cant reach the holes for me to set bodygrips in them. Have you ever used this set??

[XD40coyote]

I've never tried the floating set, so can't help you there, but its worth a try. Just be sure to anchor it down.

I caught a really nice fox yesterday, but not in the rabbit remake, and nothing there today either. That location is very puzzling. It is a classic fox location, hedgerow, path leading down along it and with a tractor lane and then a drainage waterway. I caught 12 fox there 3-4 seasons ago. The place I got the fox yesterday also used to be a really hot location, not sure whats going on there either. The last location I have always had troubles with, the fox are there but are always goofy LOL. I figured fox were in decent #'s due to me catching 5 at home so fast. Yeah no more caught here yet either. But I cleaned the resident foxes out at home, have to wait till the dec "pup shuffle" or the jan "mating shuffle" I guess.

Well its suppossed to be raining all day tomarrow, wonder if I will have a possum? LOL