We have a 4 acre high fence pen in Texas with predator wire on the ground (we breed deer to release to the hunting part of our ranch). Our newest fawn crop is slowly dying off left and right. We are finding a dead fawn every other to every few days. We have cameras all over the pen. No pictures of anything except older does, yearlings (fawns from last year), the new fawn crop and raccoons. On one camera we got photos of 2 buzzards late in the afternoon (buzzards are usually very quick to pick up on something dead around here so the kill must have been that day). Whatever that is killing these fawns isn't eating them--- the buzzards are the only thing cleaning them up quickly. None of the does or yearling look to be unhealthy or showing a limp or any other signs of sickness. What is going on? 2 years ago before we put down the predator wire, we had a coyote get into the pen but when it killed the fawns the only thing left was the bones, not the case with this year. I have it narrowed down to these options:
-killer deer? (does that even happen?)
-bobcat, big enough to kill a fawn but not big enough to eat it or drag it back over the 8' fence
-some kind of sickness
-killer raccoon? (is that possible?)
What are your thoughts??
-killer deer? (does that even happen?)
-bobcat, big enough to kill a fawn but not big enough to eat it or drag it back over the 8' fence
-some kind of sickness
-killer raccoon? (is that possible?)
What are your thoughts??
