Predators and livestock...(story time)
We have had another tragedy.
My neighbor called me while I was in a hospital gown ready to go in for a procedure and said "Did you know one of you alpaca boys is dead". I said no. We talked a little of what he knew and was seeing, I asked him to send me a pic, and I began to try to figure out which boy it was. By the looks of the pic he sent me, I thought it was the little boy I was boarding (Mochaccino) and I was absolutely mortified.
After making calls to the owner, other farms I knew in the area, my neighbors, and another farm that raises Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGD), to not only warn of the cougar kill, but to get the word out that my search for LGDs was on the fast track. Calls to ODFW, a trapper, getting connected with LGD facebook groups to post my immediate need was another round actions.
After I got home from my procedure, my brother helped me bring the rest of the boys into the barn and thats when I learned it wasn't the little boy alpaca I was boarding...it was Toby. I won't post the pictures, but suffice it to say, the open gut contents and the large bite marks on the face was hard to see. Cappy, Catcher, and Mochaccino had some strands of fiber just hanging, so I had to look them over. I did find that Cappy had a bloody mark about 2 inches long on his ear and it looked like it may by a slash or not sure what else.
I went out again about 8:30p, after strapping on my side arm, to turn on the radio to some kind of talk show (good suggestion Barbara Coleman), check on them, lay some straw down, and as I was leaving the barn looking around in the dark with my headlamp, I saw a set of eyes over in the side pasture by the fence. Knowing that there are lots of deer that frequent the area, I scanned for more glowing eyes and didn't see any. These eyes were also much larger than the eyes of deer, so I suspected it may be the resident orange tabby cat that I've seen out in the field. But still, the eyes were larger than a house cats. I was watching the eyes trying to determine the size of the animal as I was walking toward it. At that time, I unsheathed my gun and went to pull back to put one in the chamber. It jammed. I unjammed it...it jammed again. Finally, I saw the animal walk along the fence line (other side mind you) and it was at that moment I realized it was a cougar and the size was larger than I thought. From his head to right before his tale was about 1/3 the width between the fence posts; the posts are 12 feet apart. He looked at me and I fired one shot. I don't think I'm that good of a shot, so I listened for running footsteps. Not sure if I heard any or if that was the water running off the hill. I was not about to go investigate to see if I had actually hit it. That will wait for the morning.
I went out again about 9:30p tonight to look around and what do you know. He was down by the irrigation pump and just stared almost motionless. I wasn't sure it was him so I kept scanning and would come back to the large glowing eyes. At that point he was within 8-10 feet of the carcass while I was standing in the playground area. Of course I had my gun, but this time, not wanting to possibly hit the pump or piping (ha, like my luck would be that good), I yelled " I see you" and the next thing I heard was the little gate rattle pretty loudly like he bolted through it.
The plot thickens...about 10p, I went out again and looked at the same place by the pump and didn't see anything, but when I was walking back to my house I saw a set of eyes in the upper pasture. I moved, it moved, then it moved again each time looking back at me then it stopped. This time I shot again because of the backstop of the hill behind.
I don't think I'm gonna press my luck any more. I may have a pissed cat on my hands and since he was much closer this time, I'm a little more wary. He's also closer to the barn where all the alpacas are so I pray the last shot across the bow was enough to keep him away for the night.
#alpacalife #suri #alpacas #death #LOSS #aboutlastnight #protect #surinetwork #happyfridayeveryone #gunsafety #finallyfriday #farm #farmlifeisthebestlife #farmlife #barn #boys #girls #emmanuelhillranch #BlessedFriday ... See more
