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whodunnit? warning - contains gore.. |
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will
Senior Member Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1830 |
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Posted: 18 Mar 2012 at 5:16pm |
Walking past a pond today, and saw around a dozen killed toads. Any suggestions as to the predator? doesn't look like rats, given that the skin isn't generally removed. Looks like puncture wounds with some flesh and organs removed, also ends of legs and arms chewed off in some cases. A couple of crows were present, but perhaps looking for carrion. My guess would be a heron, with its stabbing beak, but grateful to receive other ideas from you Columbo's out there!
Cheers Will |
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Robert V
Senior Member Joined: 06 Aug 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1264 |
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Heron,
they're too thick to realise that when one tastes bad, they're all going to taste bad, so they keep trying to eat them and keep getting a mouthful of poison pus, but by then the toads are dead.
R
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RobV
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Liz Heard
Senior Member Joined: 27 Apr 2010 Location: South West Status: Offline Points: 1429 |
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do the various Egrets eat toad?
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sussexecology
Senior Member Joined: 30 Sep 2010 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 411 |
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could be fox ??
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Noodles
Senior Member Joined: 05 Dec 2010 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 534 |
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There was something about exploding toads in the news the other month, it may have been posted on RAUK i cannae recall. Crows had apparently worked out that they could pluck the edible and nutritious livers from the toads leaving the fated animal to self destruct. You can see why they subsequently exploded yourself! Reminds me of the old 'Great Mysteries of the World' cards you'd get with yer teabags. Any scattered entrails Will? (that's not an offer by the way)
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Noodles
Senior Member Joined: 05 Dec 2010 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 534 |
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P.S. I've seen similar Frog carnage at well used Otter sites, although this must be the work of a bird. If anything remains, Otters tend to leave the heads and legs etc.
If you find 'em with their legs missing my money is on the French!
Edited by Noodles - 19 Mar 2012 at 9:41am |
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will
Senior Member Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1830 |
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Thanks guys - I'll go with heron. No sign of entrails left around the bodies.
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