[bluedog103]

In our side yard we have a few piles of what appears to be deer droppings. Since I haven't seen a deer since leaving NY I'm puzzled as to what critters we have lurking in the shadows at night. Any ideas out there?

[pooh]

Rabbits are around and I know their droppings might be a bit smaller, but they leave "pellets" like deer.

Originally Posted by pooh

Rabbits are around and I know their droppings might be a bit smaller, but they leave "pellets" like deer.

[billethkid]

droppings in our yard. I do not think it is deer. It is possible it could be rabbits, however we have never seen one in 5 years.
The racoons we see more often than I like.

btk

[pooh]

Originally Posted by billethkid

droppings in our yard. I do not think it is deer. It is possible it could be rabbits, however we have never seen one in 5 years.
The racoons we see more often than I like.

btk

I have a rabbit that hangs in my yard from time to time. Also posted about a hawk that was chasing said rabbit in my yard this fall. Poor bunny, he was running fast enough to set a land speed record....lol...

[redwitch]

I've seen coyote (Historic side), foxes (Historic, north of 466) raccoons (Amelia), rabbits (all over), but no deer. I'd go with the raccoon or the bunny.

[graciegirl]

Duh.

Ya know what time of year it is, don'tcha?

It's that guy up North taking a test drive with the reindeer.

AND don't tell me you don't believe!

[pooh]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Duh.

Ya know what time of year it is, don'tcha?

It's that guy up North taking a test drive with the reindeer.

AND don't tell me you don't believe!

Gracie, you solved the mystery!!!.....

Around here, though, we have to be careful....you do remember "Grandma got run over by a Reindeer"....
http://s0.ilike.com/play#Dr.+Elmo:Gr...429fc1abcf5cf4

[Pturner]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Duh.

Ya know what time of year it is, don'tcha?

It's that guy up North taking a test drive with the reindeer.

AND don't tell me you don't believe!

Yes, Virginia!

[gardenia]

Well, I might sound silly, not sure if what I saw is what you saw too. I moved into my new construction home a month ago and thought exactly the same when I saw couple of light tan mounds of "stuff" near the foundation. Asked my pest control guy and he stepped in it then explained it was harmless mounds of dirt from some type of harmless garden insect/pest...don't recall the name. I had a good chuckle after that, and haven't had any more "appearances", hope that pest control I paid for is doing its job. Pardon if I am way off, but trust me, coming from NJ where deer ran around across my lawn every day first thing came to mind were those darn deer!

[bluedog103]

Could be rabbitt but I've never seen rabbitts leave such large piles. That's why I was puzzled. Our northern home is in the mountains of NY and like Gardenia, we often find deer poop in the yard, especially under the cherry and apple trees.
It could certainly be something unique to these parts, as Gardenias pest guy says.
Actually, I prefer Gracie's explanation. How could I overlook something so obvious?
Thanks for everyone's help in unraveling this mystery.

We had deer around our Palm Harbor, FL neighborhood quite frequently just after dawn and then at dusk. This was also very close (say 300 feet ) to a lake with several thousand alligators in it-- Lake Tarpon in Pinellas County.

I also would sometimes see them in the woods in back of the library where I used to volunteer at East Lake in Palm Harbor.

I guess the local hunters have done away with the deer population??

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by bluedog103

In our side yard we have a few piles of what appears to be deer droppings. Since I haven't seen a deer since leaving NY I'm puzzled as to what critters we have lurking in the shadows at night. Any ideas out there?

Maybe this site will help.
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&s...iw=816&bih=446

[ceejay]

I think I found your deer. If you drive down Odell, just before the Morse gate there's a back yard with a herd of about 6-8 deer. They are absolutely beautiful and are standing soooo still! I think they're even more active at night!

There are about a dozen reindeer in a farmer's pen kitty corner (from SE corner) from Doggie Doo Run Run on CR101 in Oxford. Belvedere becomes CR101 after crossing CR466 at Southern Trace Shopping Center.

You sometimes also see a longhorn steer, a turkey and other critters in the same pen.

These are the only deer I have seen in or near the Villages though.