Thread: Snakes
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Old 12-20-2019, 05:13 PM
Gigi3000 Gigi3000 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blueash View Post
I don't own a cat, never did. But if the area was so dangerous that you can guarantee your cat would be taken by predators how come there are so many feral cats? I am always amazed that just because something may happen it gets elevated into it will happen.
Most pet owners do allow their pets to be outside. Certainly nearly all dog owners do and the walled yards are specifically marketed to those pet owners. And somehow most of those little fluffy dogs live a full life and are not grabbed by hawks or eagles or dragons or snakes.

A simple google search finds that reports of birds killing cats are very rare. A bald eagle can only lift about 10 pounds. A hawk can lift less weight. Both birds sometimes will eat carrion or take it back to a nest to feed a baby. A hawk is limited to a maximum of lifting its own weight. And the largest hawks are four pounds.

So any cat over 4 pounds is safe from hawk kitnapping and 10 pounds from eagles. Eagles greatly prefer to not eat red meat and there are plenty of fish here for them, and very few eagles. Hawks can choose to eat at a kill site. Read up on the real risk of your pet from a raptor. For all the warnings posted here, I don't see anyone who posted that there cat or dog was taken or that they know of anyone who experienced this certain fate. An animal disappearing does not equal an animal killed by a hawk or eagle or gator.


I would be very interested in seeing a photo posted of the reported nest filled with animal tags. A goggle search for dog tags in eagle nests has no photos, just "a friend told a friend that someone once saw..."

There are stories of all kinds of things being found in eagle nests including bras and baby toys.
Very informative. Thank you.