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#1 2007-06-27 8:08 pm
Decapitated rabbits
There are a lot of bunnies around where I live. But this year, we've had a strange rash of dead ones found near the end of our driveway- about one or two a week. Given the size of the rabbit population around here, the number isn't all that weird, but the state we've been finding them in is. Most of them haven't been eaten (except by birds who pick at them after they're dead) rather, they're decapitated with their heads usually nearby. Sometimes their entrails are strung out, but never consumed. Today I found one in the bushes while picking catnip that had been decapitated, and then had sort of half its face torn off. That one made me a little sad because it was the baby bunny who would always run out of the bushes when I'd go to pick the catnip. I had wondered why he didn't run out earlier. 
Anyway, what sort of animal likes to rip rabbits apart, but not eat them? Could it be that there are just so many rabbits that whatever is doing it is full and doesn't need to bother? Dead rabbits are nothing new, but I've never seen so many decapitated ones in a season. It's sort of starting to weird me out. Maybe it's a hawk?
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#3 2007-06-27 8:18 pm
#4 2007-06-27 8:39 pm
- Mr. McPhee
- Looking into the Sun

- From: Number 9
- Registered: 2004-04-14
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
Malkin wrote:
Here's a photo of the one I found tonight. Poor bunny!
Hey Malkin, you might want to put a NSFW or weak stomaches on that one. It does not bother me but a disclaimer never hurts.
Come play in the Sandvox for your Web Needs
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#6 2007-06-27 8:48 pm
Re: Decapitated rabbits
Mr. McPhee wrote:
Malkin wrote:
Here's a photo of the one I found tonight. Poor bunny!
Hey Malkin, you might want to put a NSFW or weak stomaches on that one. It does not bother me but a disclaimer never hurts.
The thread is titled "decapitated rabbits". How much more blunt do I need to be?
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#7 2007-06-27 8:57 pm
- CrashingtehWarehouse
- Dismember

- From: The Frozen Tundra
- Registered: 2006-08-11
- Posts: 1134
Re: Decapitated rabbits
Are there any rambunctious dogs around?
Alright, now, who wants to be transistorized?
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#9 2007-06-27 10:25 pm
- NAG
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
Are there any cuts that would be indicative of talons or whatnot being used? I know dogs and cats can decapitate, although I doubt it would be a cat for size reasons.
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#10 2007-06-27 11:13 pm
- Fried Chicken
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
Maybe it's a sadistic child.


Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's right. Just because something is illegal, doesn't mean it's wrong.
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#12 2007-06-27 11:15 pm
- SpacemanSpiff
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- From: Transmogrifier
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
NAG wrote:
Are there any cuts that would be indicative of talons or whatnot being used? I know dogs and cats can decapitate, although I doubt it would be a cat for size reasons.
"Do the chickens have large talons?"
"The first time one sees natural beauty which is privately owned; oceans as people's back yards, confounds the senses. I didn't know God had a a toy store for the rich." -- Spanglish
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#13 2007-06-27 11:40 pm
- D'Eyncourt
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
ukimalefu wrote:
The... chupaconejos?
Worse...one that "likes" Malkin and leaves her "offerings."
BOYCOTT SONY
"I think the question now is not whether you went to Vietnam or whether you didn't, whether you fought in the war or fought against the war. I think the only question is whether we can find a president smart enough never to make a mistake like that again"--Molly Ivins, way back in 1992
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#14 2007-06-28 12:09 am
- bratboy
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
I would guess it's a cat.
"One thing we've learned is there's a difference between being disappointed and having madmen in authority."
--Paul Krugman
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#15 2007-06-28 12:10 am
- NAG
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
Fried Chicken wrote:
Maybe it's a sadistic child.
Would have to be a child with sharp teeth.
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#16 2007-06-28 12:15 am
- CrashingtehWarehouse
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
Or Joshua! From that new creepy movie.
Do you have large cats like bobcats, leopards, lions, cougars, or tigers in your area?
Or maybe it was your OS!
OR maybe you're sleepwalking outside and decapitating them yourself. Creepy.
Alright, now, who wants to be transistorized?
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#17 2007-06-28 2:46 am
- benightedbastard
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#18 2007-06-28 3:11 am
Re: Decapitated rabbits
I think it is a cat or a dog.
People who live where there is a lot of wildlife really should keep their cats indoors. It is safer for the wildlife and the cat.
In her right hand Jenny held the Bible of her mother
Jenny had a pistol in the other
-- Steve Taylor
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#19 2007-06-28 10:35 am
- DukeofNuke
- Free Radical

- From: Hazard
- Registered: 2003-05-02
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
I've seen this kind of thing before,
It's the work of a cat. No doubt.
Cats kill for sport, so that's why they've not been eaten.
"If you want to kick a tiger in the ass, you better have a plan for dealing with his teeth."
- Tom Clancy
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#20 2007-06-28 10:41 am
Re: Decapitated rabbits
The rabbits seem awfully big for a cat to be doing it, though I suppose there's a small chance that we've got a bobcat or lynx in the area. I haven't seen any cat tracks though.
The neighbors have two dogs, but one is very old and the other, while spazzy, is on a leash most of the time. I don't think it's running around enough to be causing all these decapitations. I haven't heard any barking or screaming either. Maybe a coyote?
We used to have a lot of fox around, but a number of years ago, some genius decided that there were too many rabbits and started a big elimination program. That lasted about a year, and the fox population plummeted right along with the rabbit population. Of course, the rabbit population quickly bounced back, but the fox population has remained depressed ever since. Now we have more rabbits than ever.
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#21 2007-06-28 10:45 am
Re: Decapitated rabbits
Fried Chicken wrote:
Maybe it's a sadistic child.
You're such an up person!
Spirit was crushed; now is fading, But I want to help make things right.
Because I can see and I can feel, and you can see and you can feel
So why don't we both either stand up and fight
Or at least together we'll call it a night.
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#22 2007-06-28 11:20 am
- NAG
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
Yeah, coyote sounds likely.
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#23 2007-06-28 12:19 pm
- KingFred
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
NAG wrote:
Yeah, coyote sounds likely.
But wouldn't they eat the rabbit then?
I'm gonna toss Devil Worshiping Cult and/or Vampire Guild into the ring.
Any creepy, goth-like teens moping about in the area?
Exploring the intertubes
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#24 2007-06-28 1:33 pm
Re: Decapitated rabbits
I've seen cats take on rabbits their own size (pet rabbits in backyard). Rabbits when pursued by a cat often die of a heart attack without putting up any real kind of fight.
Why they die so easily I don't know - it may actually be a herd defensive mechanism - so that they don't run and hide where the rest of the rabbits live revealing the location. But they seem to die rather easily.
We have wild turkey here - and I've seen cats going after them. Never seen a cat take one down, but they try.
House cats are somewhat unique in that they often kill without eating - usually only eating if they are hungry. Kind of like some human hunters. Wild animals, including bobcats, usually only expend the energy to hunt if they intend to eat what they catch. I believe the same can be said of coyotes.
Last edited by resedit (2007-06-28 1:33 pm)
In her right hand Jenny held the Bible of her mother
Jenny had a pistol in the other
-- Steve Taylor
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#25 2007-06-28 2:37 pm
- D'Eyncourt
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Re: Decapitated rabbits
resedit wrote:
I've seen cats take on rabbits their own size
[snip]
Speaking of which, remember this story?
BOYCOTT SONY
"I think the question now is not whether you went to Vietnam or whether you didn't, whether you fought in the war or fought against the war. I think the only question is whether we can find a president smart enough never to make a mistake like that again"--Molly Ivins, way back in 1992
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