Your thoughts on this..about the night barking

Seeing hawks........finding dead animals in the front yard..without signs of distress (no blood or fur around) so I'm thinking the hawks might have dropped them. Are they nocturnal??? Would THEY maybe be the reason Addie has been barking at night? Someone said it was more likely the bear cruising around...........but wouldn't Hammie also bark, you think?? Yep, I'm still trying to find the reason why all the night trauma. The 'kids' are going to the garage tonight. Don't think it's coyote.....finding rabbits decapitated, but fully intact otherwise........no coyote would leave a plump rabbit belly behind. Sorry to still be on this................it's just such a concern.

Wow! That is weird... maybe it's Jason

that is really weird!

Boy, I don't know what it could be

that's really canna creepy - i think you're right about it not being coyotes, and the hawk idea sounds like a probable answer- but i'm no expert... i do think if it was a bear both dogs would catch onto that-

Hawks aren't usually nocturnal, but owls are, though that still doesn't explain the condition of the dead animals. And are you sure those are hawks you're seeing? It can be almost impossible to discern between a hawk and a vulture when the bird is in flight. Both dogs wouldn't necessarily bark at a bear. Hammie might be savvy enough to pick his battles and figure out when he wants to keep his trap shut and not draw attention.

A wild animal would not under any normal circumstances just kill and not consume. I think this is definitely a case of back to the wildlife people, and take some photos of any further dead animals you find.

None of this sounds right. I'd have the dogs inside, no more unsupervised jaunts in the woods for awhile, and leave the safety light on outside at night. You could have a prowler and it could be someone that has made friends with Hammie. And finding dead animals in the yard, especially decapitated rabbits, would indicate that if it is a prowler, it's not someone in their right mind.

It might not be a bad idea to speak to your Sheriff's department about this.

Keep us posted. This is worrisome, and it sounds like it's escalating.

I talked to a neighbor about this and he said it sounds like a cat....A CAT?? As in 'here, kitty kitty'? I don't think so....or at least I don't ever want to meet a house cat that bites the head off a huge rabbit in one clean swoop. I also thought of a person being out there...sometimes you hear gunshots at night from folks coon hunting. But, I'm familiar with the dogs barks...and since they seldom see other people, they get all worked up when a person comes around..especially if it's someone they've met. Addie gets all excited (I told you..she thinks it's always about her..lol) and Hammie lets out his big 'man' bark. Down by the dog pen I have ferns planted and we noticed that something smashed them all down in the center..as if an animal was laying there. Now, I can't imagine a racoon or wild animal deciding to lay down right by the dog pen..especially when one's freaking out. Hubby is thinking it may be another dog. You know how it is in the country...people drop off dogs all the time. It's so sad. Which means the risk of feral dogs running in packs, too. Maybe if it's a dog, it just doesn't show itself during the day...or roams elsewhere. We have one store in our area and when I went yesterday there was alot of talk about bear roaming at night. Some men were saying the same things...dogs getting all worked up, etc. and it being a real pain. One man told me that a bear won't show itself during the day, either...BUT that they only tend to eat dead animals, if at all and would never have the stamina to chase down a rabbit. Hard to track down someone to talk to in wildlife dept., left a message with the game commission..we'll see. They drive around here frequently because we are close to the game reserve...and they are also always on the lookout for people hunting out of season. I'll keep you posted if anything new turns up. Me......I'm thinking it's aliens....hahahaha. (course, I won't be joking if I see any crop circles )
Ok, stopping the silly now......and the novel. Thanks everyone!!

Feral dogs would be hungry and wouldn't leave uneaten carcasses.

One more caution; I'm sure it's unnecessary, but I'll say it anyway. Be sure Hammie and Addie's rabies shots are very current.

If you have to, send a registered letter to the wildlife people describing what's going on. They should be extremely interested in these latest developments. Try leaving a message first, but the letter's a surer bet if you don't get a response in a few days, maybe with a notation that a copy has been sent to the district supervisor (or whatever the title is). This also creates a paper trail in case something untoward happens. You can show that the agency has been unresponsive and negligent.

There was a hawk doing the same exact thing you've described downtown here. It was roosting (sp?) on top of one of the buildings and little animals, other birds and mice and stuff, were being dropped down - headless...

A lady a couple houses back had a dog that went crazy at night, and it turns out there were bats. That weird clicking noise they make that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up is enough to make anyone uneasy.

I, too, would be worried because as Renee said a wild animal would not kill and not consume. There is a possibility that whatever animal is killing is sick...
Let us know what you find out

Okay, Brattina, I never would have thought about bats! That's strange behaviour for a hawk, too. I wonder if it was something having to do with the urban environment?

Night Barking

The Clicking noise you hear is at night? If so, It's a group of coyotes warning danger or Female Bobcat teaching here young to hunt and signaling danger. warning each other. They want the dead animal but one sinces danger and warns the others. One of the group seen you and warned the others.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that the dead animal you found was just killed before you came upon it. The coyote or bobcat was interupted and didnt get the chance to pack it off.