A few months ago, a large cougar killed our fattest chicken.
I was on the computer and heard a commotion in the chicken coop. The chickens make lots of noise all the time so I wasn't too concerned.
Well, I went out to check five minutes later and saw a large amount of black feathers. "Blacky's dead" I thought.
Then I saw the magnificent beast. It had our fattest chicken in its mouth, Mrs. Black.
It was 10 am, a somewhat unusual time for a cougar to be hunting. And only about 30 ft. from the house.
It started getting nervous and busted through the chicken wire with the weight of its body, dropping the chicken. Then it paced the fence line for about 20 minutes trying to get out, licking the blood from its chops.
In the blueberry patch, looking for a way out:
Still looking for an exit, heads towards cover:
I'm not sure exactly how it got over the 10-ft fence.
Seeing a cougar up close was a new experience. It is a beautiful and powerful animal. The tail is huge!
The cougar population is strong in this area. Though there are lots of deer and other animals, cougars sometimes eat chickens because they are easy targets.
I fear for the children.