Subject: No subject
Date: Apr 29 07:06:08 2003
From: Daniel Bastaja - dan at calivita.com


Hi Bob. I once saw a Bald Eagle take down a healthy adult Great Blue
Heron so it is possible for them to tackle prey that size. But I would
imagine that it is relatively rare for them to do so. I can't see an
Eagle get into the habit of taking geese on a regular basis but ya just
never know. The wounds you described certainly sound like they were
caused by a bird. Either that or scavenging, but not by a dog. My
feeling is that dogs are somewhat indiscriminate in their scavenging .
A hole in the body cavity to pull out the juicy insides sounds more like
a weasel or skunk or opossum.

Regards,
Daniel Bastaja
dan at calivita.com

>Hi

>Would appreciate some comments to pass along to a gentleman that we met
while looking at >a job on Lake Tapps.

>He told us that several times over the past year, his dog had brought
home a Canada >Goose that had the internal organs eaten through a hole
in the chest. He is of the >opinion that this was done by the Bald
Eagles in the area. I expressed my doubts that a >Bald Eagle could take
down prey as large as a Canada Goose. I also had not heard of a
>feeding pattern that involved a hole in the chest with the remainder of
the bird left to >be wind-drifted into one of the inlets on the lake.
What are the possibilities that the >bird died a natural death or was
killed by the dog and then eaten by the dog in that >manner?

>The info that it was several occerences and not a single instance also
has me bothered.

>Any comments or hypotheses will be passed on to the homeowner when we
are back in the >area.

>Many thanks,

>Bob Taylor
Orting, WA