Coyote blamed for goat deaths
June 25, 2008 · Updated 12:22 PM
"A coyote was the likely culprit in the deaths of three young pygmy goats at the farm of Mel and Frances Ogden last week.The Ogdens, who live at the corner of Maxwelton and Midvale roads, suspected a big dog had jumped two 5-foot steel wire fences, killed two of the goats on the spot and left with the third in its jaws.But a gruesome follow-up incident led two experts to agree a coyote did the killing. Odgen buried the two goats in the pen where they had died, but Sunday night the predator returned, dug one of them up, and chewed it up some more.Ogden said the goats were buried about two feet deep. He called Wildlife Agent Ralph Downs and Freeland veterinarian Dave Parent, both of whom visited the site Monday.Ogden said both Downs and Parent identified paw prints in the freshly dug dirt and outside the pen as belonging to a coyote, probably a big male. Big males can do that, Ogden said, referring to hurdling the fences and taking away a small 20-pound goat.The Ogdens have also lost geese, a turkey, ducks and chickens to the predator. Ogden said the next step is to call in a professional trapper to deal with the problem. "
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