For ~10 years, we lived the #Texas country life on 10 acres, surrounded on all sides by ranch lands. It was a brisk walk to the end of the driveway to get the mail.
We had (pet) goats, ducks, chickens that were pretty much "free range". Deer and armadillo were daily sightings.
We had (pet) goats, ducks, chickens that were pretty much "free range". Deer and armadillo were daily sightings.
We even had a terrible backyard garden. Here it is in the off-season. If you look carefully, you can see the problem we had.
This is Bob the Texas Bobcat, and he or she had a taste for chickens, ducks, and fawns. Bob was not afraid of us, but also not aggressive.
Bob was a master of stealth (well, not here).
Bob was a master of stealth (well, not here).
Bob visited us sporadically, usually around dusk. He'd make a short appearance, then disappear, but we could still hear him yowling in the woods... which is both cool and a little disquieting.
We eventually figured out that Bob was part Tarzan, and was moving through the trees. We started finding bits of our chickens stuck to the side of our oak trees, claw marks, and every once in a while, we'd glance up and see glowing eyes (cure for constipation!).
So in conclusion, I now live in a neighborhood in the city limits. We don't have any farmyard animals, and I haven't had to unstick bloody clumps of wing from an oak tree in years. No regrets: I'm glad I got to see this magnificent wild predator up close.
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