No pictures today, just words.
Last night I was late getting out to feed donks for the last meal of the day and late in locking up the hens. Well into dusk, bordering on evening. I had thrown hay for the donks and suddenly heard a succession of animal screams that intensified with each sound. Clearly a fight to fend off an attacker. I yelled "STOP IT !!" two or three times, thinking it would startle the attacker and give the victim time to run. But it didn't work.
The donkeys stood still as statues facing the direction of the screams, and at one point, the cows next door started making a mad dash across their pasture, although it was clear the attacker was closer to me and the donks.
It was getting well into darkness, but suddenly I saw two forms run by on the other side of the donkey yard fence. One in pursuit of the other. To my untrained eye I'd say coyotes. I can only assume one had caught a meal and the other wanted in on the catch.
At that point the donkeys wanted nothing to do with me. I kept sweet talking them and finally got them calmed a bit. But Rick said this morning they avoided him. Not normal breakfast behavior.
The down side of living in the woods - getting to "see" nature close up and personal.
Coyotes are opportunistic predators, of which there are plenty around here too. It would scare the heck out of me to walk out in the dark, and hear those noises, glad your animals were not harmed.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Jo
Thanks, Jo. I know everyone has to eat, but don't want to be witness to it.
DeleteSo glad your animals were not harmed in any way Janet, alarmed though they must have been. I'm the same as you I know animals have to eat to survive but I don't want to see it either.
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