Oh wow, do I have a story for you!!! This one does not relate to mice but it seemed appropriate since it does deal with the local wildlife and my personal property. My family recently took a quick 5 day road trip north to Portland, Oregon. We were in Portland for a family reunion and it was a very fun time (I will be dealing with that topic on More Cakes and Ale - get excited). On Monday we were driving the last leg of our road trip home when I got a call from my mother. It is common knowledge that my husband, kids, and I live on the same property as my parents. Anytime we are gone, they look after things and feed the animals. While doing their "house sitting" duties, my father found an interesting thing. He had my mother call to ask if my husband had accidentally scrapped or caught my car with the tractor before we left. I told her he hadn't been using the tractor and why was she asking? Apparently my car had experienced some pretty extensive damage. Here is what we saw when we pulled into the drive several hours later:
That is the wheel well yanked completly out from under the car. The bumper had been literally attacked and eaten.
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| pieces of the bumper and wheel well were scattered all over the ground |
The damage was worse on the passenger side of the car but it was by no means limited to that area. It continued around the bumper to the driver's side.
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| the license plate was completely torn off the front bumper |
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| you can see the bite marks - they look like punctures |
There were also scratches on the hood and driver-side mirror.
Now for the investigation. We think, as a family, we have figured out what happened. Some animal of prey was running away from a predator and decided my car would be a safe hiding place. Apparently they were correct because we say no evidence of slaughter (no blood or fur). My husband did see evidence of an animal having been inside the engine bay but nothing with any gore. So what could possibly do this kind of damage? I have narrowed it down to three suspects: mountain lion/cougar, bobcat, or coyotes. A few people have said bear but to my knowledge we don't have bears near us -they live more to the south. I am leaning right now towards one of the feline suspects for the following reason. In addition to the damage, there were some very large dirty paw prints on the hood. They were pretty smudged so there was no clear definition giving away the owner of the paws. But by the size, I don't think a coyote would be big enough to have that size of paw. The bobcats I have seen around here have pretty big paws so they could be contenders.
On one hand I am really annoyed that I have to repair my car when I left it safely at home. On the other hand I am extremely impressed by the raw power and determination that led to the damage happening. That was one hungry predator and I hope it has found food before my kids go out to play again. My husband says its karma and a mouse was the prey hiding in the car. It is payback for all of our murderous efforts - your thoughts?
