WARNING -- this post contains nature in the raw with some gruesome, but interesting pictures. Stop with the bald eagle below if you are sensitive to witnessing animals eating other animals.
 |
| Bald eagle lunches on the deer carcass, January 9, 2022 |
THE BEGINNING:
Saturday morning, January 8, 2022, we were sitting on our porch (as we do almost every morning), watching the birds at the feeder and looking out to see what might be on the pond. Linda spotted something red on the ice right in front of us, but behind some trees. We moved a bit and looked more closely and it was a deer carcass that was partially eaten. Amazing what goes on in the night or when we are sequestered in our houses!
Later that morning, we walked down the hill to the pond to see what the carcass was - we thought it was a deer, but we were not sure. It was a deer, a doe.
You can see above that part of the carcass is under water. There was ice on the pond, but it wasn't solid and it appeared that the doe had gone onto the ice and broken through (out of the picture on the right) and then dragged herself out of the water to end up here. We don't know if she went onto the ice on her own or if the predator (coyotes?) chased her onto the weak ice intentionally. We also don't know if she drowned and the predator found the carcass or if they attacked when she came up.
We had seen an injured doe hobbling down the path a few days before - her right rear leg was broken off about 6 inches above the hoof and dangling by sinews. Poor thing - it didn't look like a fresh injury and she was getting around pretty well, but she was slow.
When we saw the carcass on the ice, we were hoping it was the injured doe. Later, when more parts were dragged out of the water, we accounted for four intact legs, so it was not her.
 |
| Deer carcass - a doe |
You can't see it in the picture above because the carcass is shadowed, but the middle of the doe is gone. We wondered if she was pregnant and the coyotes (again, we are assuming coyotes) zeroed in on the fetus. There is an organ of some sort on the left side of the picture.
SUNDAY, January 9
The carcass has been providing more food for what we are assuming are the coyotes. Several critters seem to have broken through the thin ice on their way to or from the carcass. Interestingly, we did not see ANY squirrels in our yard at all yesterday! And very few birds. They must have sensed the danger and gone elsewhere.
It is this day, Sunday, that the bald eagle stopped by for lunch. After the eagle left, the crows ventured in and chowed down most of the day.
MONDAY, January 10
The carcass was dragged in closer to our landing, possibly because the ice was weak? The head and ribs were separated from the rest of the carcass and dragged up onto the shore. Amazingly, already there isn't much meat left!! Below shows what we found on Monday, still on the ice.
The original kill site can be seen upper left side, under the right-most red leaves hanging down - the stick is pointing at the area and the ice is a different color. It is a small area and there is a lump of something left behind.
You can see where the deer first broke through the ice if you follow the path from the lower right corner (near the carcass) toward the open water - there is a round spot just to the right of the kill site and that is where we think she first went in.
What is left of the main body of the carcass was dragged quite a distance!
The ribs and head were still attached and dragged up to the shore path. This is one of the hardest pictures to look at because the head is still intact... Canine footprints are visible all around it. Coyotes woke us up in the middle of the night.
(Picture below - scroll fast if you get queasy easily!)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 11
The head and ribs are gone - taken home to the den? Snowed a dusting overnight and there are bird prints all around the carcass part still on the pond, as many crows lunched on what is left of the carcass. I followed the canine footprints along the path for a ways, but didn't see any sign of a den or even of dragging the ribs/head. Must have happened before the snow.
We hear coyotes again - 8:30 PM.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12
Clear and quite cold - snow is gone from the pond and the carcass is still on the ice in pretty much the same place as yesterday. We are wondering if it will stay there until the ice melts (not today! COLD. 1.2˚ F!
Last night we not only heard the coyotes, but saw canine shaped shadowed figures at the carcass site (~11 PM). They were behind the canoes, so the sighting was not clear.
Below was seen on the ground at the landing - a bit of pelt and chunks of fur.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 13
What is left of the carcass is still on the ice, but the parts are more separated.
Again we see canine shapes behind the canoes at around 7PM - moon is high and almost full this week and helps us see some. Coyotes howling at both 8:00PM-ish and again at 12 AM
FRIDAY, JANUARY 14
This morning things were moved around again. There was one leg and hoof near the landing and a bit further on, the spine (which was pretty picked over!).
SATURDAY, JANUARY 15
Below is the place on the ice where the carcass was before the parts were dragged up onto the shore.
No coyotes howling last night.
We are surprised that the leg is still here! We expected it to be dragged home! In spite of the bone looking pretty clean in places, there is still good meat on this leg under that fur!
SUNDAY, JANUARY 16
The spine is gone, but the leg is still there. (Chilly today! -2.5˚F)
MONDAY, JANUARY 17
Snow in the morning followed by HEAVY rain, sleet, freezing rain most of the day. We did not venture down the slope and no coyotes were howling.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 18
EVERYTHING IS GONE!!!! Leg, spine, rib cage & head, torso, entrails. The only thing left to show that there was ever anything going on here is a bit of fur. One of the pelts is gone, too! We looked on the ice and under the ice on shore (it was very warm and heavy rain water pouring down the hill yesterday) but not a trace.
Nature's clean up crew has taken care of things again, and in the process, many birds and animals are fed.
Amazing week...
