Cold Case (actually still warm) - who killed baby bunny? (dead things warning)

[British Red]

This is a weird one - was out to shoot baby bunnies tonight and something had got a head start on me - abdomen and a lot of the rib cage intact, head intact, fore legs and upper torso removed.

Bunny Kit by British Red, on Flickr

I have an idea what did it but its just a guess so would be keen to hear thoughts

Red

 

[swotty]

Blimey!
No idea but will be fascinated to find out.

 

[Macaroon]

Stoat?..............

 

[British Red]

Stoats are few and far between around here - but there are other mustelids (weasels and mink)

 

[Macaroon]

It looks like a clean kill at the neck and then disturbed before eating much further; that's the style of a mustelid but it's a job to know, eh?

 

[Clouston98]

Blimey!
No idea but will be fascinated to find out.

What he said! It's strange whatever did it, maybe it was a a fox that got disturbed during its feast?

 

[Harvestman]

Looks like the work of a weasel with a chainsaw!

 

[British Red]

It looks like a clean kill at the neck and then disturbed before eating much further; that's the style of a mustelid but it's a job to know, eh?

Had it just been the head, sure, but the front legs and upper torso are gone ?

 

[Alreetmiowdmuka]

Weird that in it! No bite marks in the head at all?

 

[Macaroon]

What are your thoughts, Hugh?

 

[Adze]

What's the largest bore shotgun you've got Red? Was it a very close range shot and is the rest of thumper a slowly dispersing red mist near one of your vegetable patches?

 

[British Red]

What are your thoughts, Hugh?

I'm thinking one of two possibilities, Feral cat (saw one yesterday), or just possibly harrier.

 

[British Red]

What's the largest bore shotgun you've got Red? Was it a very close range shot and is the rest of thumper a slowly dispersing red mist near one of your vegetable patches?

Funny you say that as I did behead one with a tight choke a while back Adze

 

[Macaroon]

Yeah, feral cat would be a clean neck kill and they're neat and methodical eaters too, so that would make sense; I'm sorry to say that my knowledge of the hawks is zero, apart from the numerous Buzzard kill sites we get here

 

[atlatlman]

Strange one that. I can't think of anything that would kill something and eat just the front legs. Maybe it's one for Mulder and Scully.

 

[sandbender]

I'd say cat, my old one wouldn't eat the heads either.

 

[John Fenna]

My first thought was a cat....

 

[steve a]

I'd say cat, we had one once that would leave the headless body of a rabbit on the back doorstep on a regular basis

 

[Spaniel man]

I agree, it's very likely to be a cat Hugh, one of the mustelids would have most likely dragged the carcass away to its den. They all have young around this time of year. A cat is probably the only predator bold enough to eat it in situ. Looks like a young 'un, so an easy kill for a feral (or domestic) cat..
A bird of prey often pulls out the fur to get to the good bit, so you sometimes see fluff around the kill.

 

[Joonsy]

feral/escapee ferret perhaps - the only thing that would remove the front legs and leave the rest behind is perhaps an animal that has been disturbed and scared off the carcase, cats will play (torture) live rabbit and sit over them chewing on their ears, badgers will eat rabbits perhaps it was disturbed while eating to account for abandoned carcase (i personally know of one case where a badger feasted on a dead deer), fox too would have taken carcase away unless disturbed and if a snare caught rabbit would leave just the head behind, perhaps a buzzard or crow scavenging on dead carcase. ---- PS are you by a river, otter?