rossow (mn)
Member
Heavily wooded 7 acres in south-central Minnesota. For two or three years I've had a growing problem with woodchucks. I've also had a few possums, occasional raccoons and skunks. I would see woodchucks almost every day, young and mature. But over the summer the abundant 'chucks seem to have disappeared. They had tunnels under the crushed-rock floor of two machine sheds, two older sheds, even under my concrete front steps. But they have disappeared. Also the possums and raccoons have stopped regularly showing up, although I noticed a skunk smell a few nights ago. So where would the woodchucks in particular have gone?
I know: The first thought is coyotes. But I've lived here for almost 30 years and have never seen a coyote, coyote tracks, scat or other signs of one; no fur from kill sites; no howling at night. I have outside cats that never disappear, which would be a major target for coyotes. I have lots of cottontails and dozens of red and gray squirrels, and many whitetail fawns every summer, with never a sign of predation. No one lives near enough to have poisoned the varmints, or hunted them (illegal here anyway). My 103-pound dog would eagerly kill them, but he only got one 'chuck in late spring and has even abandoned sniffing at their burrow entrances, which have become overgrown with weeds. The dog is not free to roam -- always with me during the day, in kennel at night. There have been no odors of dead creatures in or around my buildings.
So why would woodchucks in particular have disappeared? They always had plenty of food available. Do they just decide to move on? I'm interested in your thoughts and experiences.
I know: The first thought is coyotes. But I've lived here for almost 30 years and have never seen a coyote, coyote tracks, scat or other signs of one; no fur from kill sites; no howling at night. I have outside cats that never disappear, which would be a major target for coyotes. I have lots of cottontails and dozens of red and gray squirrels, and many whitetail fawns every summer, with never a sign of predation. No one lives near enough to have poisoned the varmints, or hunted them (illegal here anyway). My 103-pound dog would eagerly kill them, but he only got one 'chuck in late spring and has even abandoned sniffing at their burrow entrances, which have become overgrown with weeds. The dog is not free to roam -- always with me during the day, in kennel at night. There have been no odors of dead creatures in or around my buildings.
So why would woodchucks in particular have disappeared? They always had plenty of food available. Do they just decide to move on? I'm interested in your thoughts and experiences.