Fox Cold Case --GRAPHIC WARNING!!!

[JonathanD]

Not my pic, but one that I found interesting. Some talented cold case folk on this forum, so I'll offer it out to you. What happened here then?

 

[Adze]

Hmm... was John Higgins paid to do it?

 

[Angus Og]

Poison bait?

 

[JonathanD]

Poison bait?

Nope, too much trauma to the jaw. Check out the surroundings. Bonus points if you ID the egg

 

[Bardster]

Climbing after a nest and fell out the tree?

 

[JonB]

Not my pic, but one that I found interesting. Some talented cold case folk on this forum, so I'll offer it out to you. What happened here then?

Could it be a Swans egg, and one or the other of the Swans caught Mr Fox in the act and gave him a beating.

 

[Adze]

Egg? Doh, I thought it was a cue ball.

Cassowary wouldn't have much trouble inflicting that kind of damage, not eggsackly native though.

Wrong habitat for swans, although it would be more normal for the fox to dispatch the swan than the other way around.

That leaves us with large raptors really - the egg is either pointed end away from us or nearly spherical which suggests owl to me - eagle owls a certainly large enough and the egg colour is correct.

How am I doing?

 

[JonB]

Just had another thought, could that egg be one of those china eggs that the game keepers use to encourage the young birds to start laying, perhaps Mr Fox nicked it and broke his jaw trying to break it open.

 

[JonathanD]

It's a real egg. All wrong on species so far. Pay more attention to the surroundings rather than the egg and body.

 

[Martyn]

There appears to be blood on the tree, not sure that helps me much though. It may suggest that the fox impacted the tree somehow.

 

[JonathanD]

There appears to be blood on the tree, not sure that helps me much though. It may suggest that the fox impacted the tree somehow.

Now we're getting somewhere...

 

[milius2]

A trap. That egg is just a random one. There is a trap here, from hazel? fox nicked the egg, trap went off sraight into fox jaw! Like jungle trap for wild pigs... something like that.

 

[milius2]

Or did Mr. Fox blew his head of after loosing one of his balls?

 

[JonathanD]

Or did Mr. Fox blew his head of after loosing one of his balls?

I'd say we are getting close....

 

[JonB]

Ok fox tried to swallow egg whole, egg got trapped in foxs throat, fox broke jaw in desperate attempt to clear blockage in throat by rubbing and banging its muzzle against tree.

 

[Martyn]

Egg left as bait, fox shot in the head when he went for it?

 

[wicca]

Fox with egg in it's mouth, stops by tree. High velocity round strike on Fox, round exits lower jaw and hits tree damaging bark and leaving matter/blood traces?

 

[poddle]

Looks like its managed to stop some heavy shot to me.

Lumps out of the tree suggest a 12G using heavy loads, smashed jaw etc, The fox was shot. IMHO

 

[JonathanD]

Martyn, Wicca and Poddle, I suspect you are spot on. The egg was a pheasants and left in situ, so could be bait or a natural raid by the fox..

 

[bigant]

its a duck egg i think.. used as bait for foxy and he's been shot with a shotgun. going off all the trauma on the tree would say it caught most of the blast but foxy got some as well. bet the other side of him is a right mess.

*edit meh was beaten to it by jonathanD*