man that's alotta eyes stareing back at me!

[Wagtail]

I think we would call it a rat.

Yep, that's the little bugger. It's about the size of a large, fat, cat and it's a marsupial.

I was wrong about the predators as I'd forgot about the Eastern Quoll which is also known as 'the native cat'. It's also a marsupial. Wedgetail eagles & owls are also predators here.

 

[Ken45101]

she normall sleeps in the barn.. many times sleeping up on a tractor seat. I guess htere was too many predators out last noight.. so she came up to the house to bother the (2) 100# black lab/mixes sleeping there..

Maybe rather than "bother" the dogs, she joined them for protection!

We usually keep our German Shepard inside at night otherwise we hear him barking and chasing critters all night. The other dog often stays outside. It's funny, a few weeks ago, the coyote pack was howling nearby. He responded with his howl and they immediately shut up. I guess he got the message across that this was "occupied territory" :thumbsup:

 

[NoTrespassing]

This reminds me;

Several years ago I had an interesting encounter. Our dogs were barking like crazy at the woods and we'd had coyotes recently. I took a shotgun and spotlight out to see what was going on and called the dogs back. When I shined the woods I saw a pair of eyes about 3 or 4 ft. off the ground but I couldn't tell what it was. It was pretty deep into the woods and I could hear the leaves rustling as it moved. These were big eyes and they were kind of swaying back and forth looking at my spotlight. I decided to shoot a round into the air to scare them off thinking it may be a coyote standing on a high spot or something, I just couldn't figure it out. After I shot, I shined the area again and the danged thing was still there staring at me. After a second it move slowly back into the woods and and down into a ravine and I lost sight of it.

For the life of me I couldn't figure out what would be that big in east central Illinois. The eyes were set too far apart to be human. The next day I called my neighbor and he asked if I'd seen the 2 calves in the woods yet that got loose from a guy down the road! hahaha!

They ran loose for a week until the guy finally shot them out in our meadow.

Kevin

 

[sam5570]

soundguy I wouldn't worry to much about any of them critters except the coyote they are bad news. you only see one because they is one that goes out and finds dinner then he calls for the pack to come and eat, so you need to get rid of everyone of them you see. they are by far the smartest animal I have ever hunted. if you shot and miss one I promise you won't get a second chance.

 

[Larro Darro]

Our house has really good sound proofing, so we don't hear the coyotes if there is any other noise, ie... TV or music. But Mocha, our chocolate lab, will howl just like they do if they are out. That always lets us know they are about.

For a different view of critters, next Saturday is the 43rd annual Wausau Possum Festival and Funday. It's always on the first Saturday in August. Wausau is a small town near Chipley Florida. They have music, food, parades, beauty contests, [real and comedy] and of course, lots of possums. The town uses this as a fund raiser. Here is the promotional clip for this year's events.

 

[dmccarty]

Shoot, you wanna see eyes looking back at ya, head to the Water Management Districts in South FLA, aka the Everglades, at sunset. Wait for dark and shine a mag light. :shocked::shocked::shocked: During the day you will be lucky to see a gator but at night the water will be full of their eyes looking at you.... :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Down in Jacksonville, NC, not FLA, an 80 pound husky was eaten by a gator last week. The gator was killed and it was a monster. Looks like it was 12+ feet. Stupid paper did not mention the size but it was a big'n.

Later,
Dan

 

[tractchores]

I usually have quite a few eyes staring back at me any time I go out at night to walk the dog. It can be unnerving, especially when you can't tell what it is. Most are deer, who trick my by laying down and like to watch you. we get a fair bit of noisy raccoons too, we had 5 out one night and have had them fighting each other on the deck making a racket, usually they quiet down if I go out and scare them. The coyotes don't tend to stick around to stare back at you, sometimes the fishers do, but usually they run off pretty quickly.

Definitely want to watch the cat, in our neighborhood we hven't had an outdoor one last more than 24 hours.

 

[RobertBrown]

Our house has really good sound proofing, so we don't hear the coyotes if there is any other noise, ie... TV or music. But Mocha, our chocolate lab, will howl just like they do if they are out. That always lets us know they are about.

For a different view of critters, next Saturday is the 43rd annual Wausau Possum Festival and Funday. It's always on the first Saturday in August. Wausau is a small town near Chipley Florida. They have music, food, parades, beauty contests, [real and comedy] and of course, lots of possums. The town uses this as a fund raiser. Here is the promotional clip for this year's events.

I watched the promotional video....Whoa! You have some big-uns up that way, and possums too.
I can't tell you how disappointed I am that I will not be able to attend, I checked my schedule and it seems I have to change my oil or I have a prostate exam or uh.. anyway...have fun and be sure and post some Possum recipes.

 

[Larro Darro]

I watched the promotional video....Whoa! You have some big-uns up that way, and possums too.
I can't tell you how disappointed I am that I will not be able to attend, I checked my schedule and it seems I have to change my oil or I have a prostate exam or uh.. anyway...have fun and be sure and post some Possum recipes.

My granny did cook me possum a few times when I was a youngun'. She always baked them with sweet potatoes, so I can't comment on any other way of cooking them. Her recipe was simple. Just salt and pepper to taste, wrap the possum and about a dozen sweet potatoes in tin foil, bake on 325 for 45 minutes or until possum is tender.

I've never been to Wausau myself. The 1st Saturday in August, or any other time. But I used to have to go to Blountstown's Goat Day to fly the flag for my work. They did have some pretty good bluegrass bands, but the crowds were too much for me. Since we don't get a booth anymore, I haven't been back. If you have seen one arts and crafts vendor, you have seen them all.

My sister used to always take her goats before she got rid of them. This was her Bella.

 

[RobertBrown]

That's a Boer goat....and I have been to Btown....right by the river as I recall.

I've spent a whole lot of time in Dixie county. I've got a few friends there