This Fox

[RoLo]

57 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

 Our new Northeastern citizens are especially amazed ( or appalled ) by the amount of critters behind their houses.

 

The day I learned that we had bobcats & fox in our backyard, in my mind at least,

my property value had 'doubled'. Although I might be a Jerseyite from the northeast,

I've adored nature and the great outdoors since I was able to walk. Now retired in Florida,

we have residents in our adult community who fear cougars, and ironically,

this coming from a community named "Nature's Edge".

 

At an HOA meeting, a woman was complaining about seeing a bobcat in her backyard,

she asked what organization she should contact (I suppose she feared that they'd eat her grandchildren).

Tongue in cheek, I suggested that she contact "Florida's Big Cat Rescue",

assuring her that they are Florida's finest stewards of wild cats 

 

Roger

 

[Gundog]

2 hours ago, RoLo said:

Now retired in Florida,

we have residents in our adult community who fear cougars, and ironically,

this coming from a community named "Nature's Edge".

 

 

 

Roger

 

I think its funny that developments are named after things that were there and no longer are. Around here I've seen an area that was bulldozed flat named "Valley Acres", a development that use to have trees that is called "Pine Tree Run" and a little pond that was drained to put houses on called "Small Waters". 

[RoLo]

6 minutes ago, Gundog said:

I think its funny that developments are named after things that were there and no longer are. Around here I've seen an area that was bulldozed flat named "Valley Acres", a development that use to have trees that is called "Pine Tree Run" and a little pond that was drained to put houses on called "Small Waters". 

 

I was born in Hillside, NJ, but the whole township is as flat as a pancake 

 

 

[N Florida Mike]

6 hours ago, Gundog said:

I think its funny that developments are named after things that were there and no longer are. Around here I've seen an area that was bulldozed flat named "Valley Acres", a development that use to have trees that is called "Pine Tree Run" and a little pond that was drained to put houses on called "Small Waters". 

Yeah they do that around here too.We have ones called Eagle preserve , fox ridge , deer cove, panther hammock etc. 

There are some with more truthful names too,such as burning tree lane and bear run.

[Hez]

Was out in the yard playing with my kids yesterday evening and a neighbor walked by.  We got to talking about the neighborhood bear that has started coming around again this season.  

 

Then he proceeds to tell me that the other night he saw a panther in his back yard.  I asked him if he was sure it wasn't a cougar.  He described a big body...long tail...small head...

 

I have never heard them scream or anything - but I live within a mile from a large state park....lord knows what kind of animals reside in there.  

 

[N Florida Mike]

I hear about panther sightings occasionally in my area.One customer of mine said he saw one on the UNF nature trails when he was jogging.Same description.

According to FWC there are none up here. Bears are more common, but they are coming from the south.Another customer n Northern st Johns buried her pet pig when it died.That night their dog was going crazy and was trying to get back to where the pig was buried but couldn't because he was on an invisible leash thingie. Next morning pig was dug up and gone.She said there was a track she didnt recognize but definitely not a hog track.She couldn't remember much about the description of it. I told her, not a hog- had to be a bear. They will dig to get whatever and they have a very keen sense of smell. 

 

[N Florida Mike]

Fast forward 5 years, and we are getting lots of coyote sightings and other animals, probably due to the enormous amount of development around here…

I went to a large property today working in southern Duval County and found these holes dug into mole tunnels. The county agent thinks they are being caused by foxes trying to get the moles. There were dozens of holes…At first I thought they were Armadillo holes but they all connected to a tunnel. There’s no way it could be caused by moles going into the ground. They don’t come out that much, not all at once like that…

Im thinking also a coon, or maybe even the barred owl I heard hooting in the creek bottom below the property. Never seen one dig , but I don’t see why they wouldn’t.

The digs are small for a coyote, in my opinion…

Didnt see any tracks either.

Be cool to put out a trail cam and see what shows up…

[TnRiver46]

13 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

Fast forward 5 years, and we are getting lots of coyote sightings and other animals, probably due to the enormous amount of development around here…

I went to a large property today working in southern Duval County and found these holes dug into mole tunnels. The county agent thinks they are being caused by foxes trying to get the moles. There were dozens of holes…At first I thought they were Armadillo holes but they all connected to a tunnel. There’s no way it could be caused by moles going into the ground. They don’t come out that much, not all at once like that…

Im thinking also a coon, or maybe even the barred owl I heard hooting in the creek bottom below the property. Never seen one dig , but I don’t see why they wouldn’t.

The digs are small for a coyote, in my opinion…

Didnt see any tracks either.

Be cool to put out a trail cam and see what shows up…

Looks skunky! I see those holes everyday as I’m picking up my trapped skunks haha

[N Florida Mike]

9 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Looks skunky! I see those holes everyday as I’m picking up my trapped skunks haha

That’s possible too. Although I haven’t seen or smelled one in years around there.  

[gim]

I saw a sizable adult coyote in my back yard last week around 6pm. It was mostly dark out, but with the snow I could make out what it was pretty easily. It had a nice fur pelt too.

[N Florida Mike]

1 minute ago, gimruis said:

I saw a sizable adult coyote in my back yard last week around 6pm. It was mostly dark out, but with the snow I could make out what it was pretty easily. It had a nice fur pelt too.

They are in all 67 counties in Florida. People regularly have pets killed by them around here.

I’m wondering if the holes might have been made by a mink or weasel. They aren’t very common in N Florida I don’t think . ( I’ve never seen either one ) but FWC says there’s some around…

 

[gim]

7 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

They are in all 67 counties in Florida. People regularly have pets killed by them around here.

That doesn’t surprise me at all. They are very adaptable and can thrive in an urban environment. I think most people have no idea they are living amongst us. As long as people keep their small pets outside without supervision, it will continue to be a food source.

 

Usually, when coyotes move into an area, they drive the fox out. Same with wolves and coyotes. I know you don’t have wolves there, but in northern MN we have a healthy population of them. Areas with wolves have seen fox populations rebound. So the enemy of my enemy is my friend, says the fox.

[Koz]

I've seen a few foxes around here and every now and then I hear the coyotes at night. With that, when I take my dog out in the back yard at night I always stay close to him. 

[Eric 26]

I live in a subdivision that has been established for at least 20 years (prior farm fields) and still there are people who are astonished and upset there are coyotes picking off their cats when they let them out at night or their pocket sized pooches when it’s too cold for them to step outside and watch them. My 16 year old son  found it both frightening and fascinating when he recently seen a coyote in our backyard while he was cleaning our dog pen at night. I grew up in a suburban setting being blessed to vacation in the once unmolested north woods of Minnesota seeing bobcats, black bear and every sized native mammal (moose are freaking huge?) you can name and it drives me nuts hearing people complain about wildlife in the neighborhoods we continue to develop without leaving a space for the animals who were here long before we were a place to call their own and balance out as they see fit. As a side note it was one of my favorite things when we would take the trash to the dump site and sit back and watch the black bears rummage through it. As a young boy I would take my 2 family dogs (Dobermans) for walks in the local farm field no leashes btw and although I seen coyotes they didn’t want anything to do with me or maybe it was the dogs. My in laws former house was in a subdivision that had a beautiful red fox pair that I’m sure was the last of them 30 years ago ? loved spotting them.

[GreenPig]

[TnRiver46]

5 hours ago, Eric 26 said:

I live in a subdivision that has been established for at least 20 years (prior farm fields) and still there are people who are astonished and upset there are coyotes picking off their cats when they let them out at night or their pocket sized pooches when it’s too cold for them to step outside and watch them. My 16 year old son  found it both frightening and fascinating when he recently seen a coyote in our backyard while he was cleaning our dog pen at night. I grew up in a suburban setting being blessed to vacation in the once unmolested north woods of Minnesota seeing bobcats, black bear and every sized native mammal (moose are freaking huge?) you can name and it drives me nuts hearing people complain about wildlife in the neighborhoods we continue to develop without leaving a space for the animals who were here long before we were a place to call their own and balance out as they see fit. As a side note it was one of my favorite things when we would take the trash to the dump site and sit back and watch the black bears rummage through it. As a young boy I would take my 2 family dogs (Dobermans) for walks in the local farm field no leashes btw and although I seen coyotes they didn’t want anything to do with me or maybe it was the dogs. My in laws former house was in a subdivision that had a beautiful red fox pair that I’m sure was the last of them 30 years ago ? loved spotting them.

We have a bit of a different situation here, in the 80s and early 90s there were no coyotes (they didn’t cross the Mississippi until the last 40 years or so), and extremely minimal amounts of raccoons deer and Turkey. 
 

The deer and Turkey were actually one of the few govt wildlife management success stories. They actually brought them in and stocked them, now both are extremely common 

 

the raccoons were hunted relentlessly, east TN is still known for raising the best coon hounds. Now people can’t run their dogs freely in the city so raccoons are everywhere, living in chimneys and attics 

 

neighborhood development has not taken away habitat in my area, it has created it. Habitat is mostly about food. There are more critters in people’s backyards than there are in the wilderness areas because of all the bird feeders, dog/cat food, garbage, and plush lawns constantly irrigated full of worms and grubs. 
 

many folks wish they had never gotten a ring doorbell camera, now they realize black bears are always in their yard haha

[gim]

11 hours ago, Eric 26 said:

I live in a subdivision that has been established for at least 20 years (prior farm fields) and still there are people who are astonished and upset there are coyotes picking off their cats when they let them out at night or their pocket sized pooches when it’s too cold for them to step outside and watch them.

I think most people in a surburban environment are relatively clueless on what kind of critters are living amongst them. Especially predators like coyotes.

 

Coyotes will indeed specifically target small pets. I saw one pick off a big black feral cat (not anyones pet) in an open bean field last November while I was deer hunting.  The cat had no idea the coyote was coming until it was too late. The fight didn’t last long either.