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Found a dead opossum - a little graphic

post #1 of 11
5/24/10 at 6:25am
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I found a dead opossum in my driveway yesterday. One of it's rear legs was torn off and some of it's internal organs were exposed. It had blood on it's neck. I'm wondering if a raccoon could of done this? Or was this most likely the work of a dog? I've lived here for 20+ years and there are no other animals like foxes around here. I'm just trying to figure out what happened for safety reasons.

This morning I found the opossum about seven feet away in a ditch. Some animal must have moved it over there. I really should install security cameras. When it snowed back in December and February, there were animal tracks going across the driveway near where I found this opossum. I suspect they were dog tracks, but I never see any dogs roaming around loose.
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post #2 of 11
5/24/10 at 7:38am
We get some pretty large raccoons here, so I suppose it could be one. That would creep me out!
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post #3 of 11
5/25/10 at 3:53pm
Maybe it was hit by a car. Cars can do some nasty damage, and sometimes it doesn't really look like it could be caused by a car. But other than that my guess would be a pet dog. A wild animal would eat it. And it's possible the police moved the body when they did their patrol, they're not supposed to leave roadkill in the road where it could cause an accident.
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post #4 of 11
6/4/10 at 9:37pm
I found a dead opossum in my bobcat enclosure a few months back. Must have stuck it's nose to close and one of the bobs pulled it inside. That opossum had no chance. I felt bad, but that is nature.
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post #5 of 11
6/5/10 at 6:43pm
A coon would not have bothered it. Had to be a stray dog or maybe wild coyote in the area.
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post #6 of 11
6/5/10 at 6:53pm
Where do you live? I have lived in the same place for over 25 years and even though I am out at dusk and night a lot I have never seen a coyote near my house even though they do live in the area (they are everywhere in Chicago, I have seen them in other areas of the city/suburbs twice.) I have only seen a fox near my house once. Both are very shy animals and you may never see one even if they live in your area.
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post #7 of 11
6/5/10 at 11:55pm
Geeez, my bobs got another one today. Wish those opossum would stay away from their enclosure.
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post #8 of 11
6/6/10 at 4:58am
Well you know possums are pretty dumb - look how many never look both ways before crossing a street? Or the Bobcats are learning a new language and imitating another possum and they come running.
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post #9 of 11
6/6/10 at 10:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45 View Post
Well you know possums are pretty dumb - look how many never look both ways before crossing a street?
If you use that reasoning cats are incredibly dumb, too, due to how many get ran over. (and think about how many people get ran over) Opossums are more intelligent than they seem, but they do their best to get to food which gets them into trouble. No animal stands a chance against a car, though.
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post #10 of 11
6/6/10 at 5:21pm
The problem is, the opossums try to get the scraps of meat/chicken the bobcats leave for later. They get to close or put their nose into the enclosure and the bobcats grab them in. I felt really bad for this last one, it was a baby. You would think they would see the bobcats running around and stay clear. I have deer around me, but they stay far away, because they can smell the bobcats.
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post #11 of 11
6/6/10 at 6:53pm
Poor opossums! They are such defenceless creatures. John, your bobcats are getting extra meat. But you're right, that's only nature at work and if they insist on getting near the bobcats, well they're going to end up as a snack.
As for the original poster, I would suspect a coyote or fox even though you've never seen one. They tend to be shy. I wonder what kind of tracks you saw in the winter? If you take photos you can look them up online.
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