Raccons and ponds..

[peter hillman]

I live in the suburbs, homes built on what used to be desert land. We don't have a ton of 'wildlife', squirrels, bunnies, ect. But once in awhile the coons come a callin. When my daughter was little we had a pet chicken, a little banty hen named Lucy. You could call out 'here chicky chicky chicky, and she'd come runnin. Till one night the coons came and ate her head off. I hid the carcass from my child and we told her we don't know what happened to her. Eventually we told her the truth.

Then one day I was cleaning the pond, had my water about 1/2 way down from normal it got late so I thought it'd be ok to finish up in the AM. That night the coons came, ate every one of my comets that I'd had for years. Nothing but the heads remained, scattered about the pond, I got nauseous as I took in the sight. They were super friendly fish, raised from feeder size, would take food from my hand and loved to show off. Normally the water's deep enough to where they could've gone to the bottom and hid out in the rock cave I made but this night the water was only a few inches deep and I had most of the stuff out for debris cleaning.
Always make a safety zone for you friends in case the bandits come in the night for them.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Very good advice

Sorry to hear this happened to your fish....

 

[sissy]

We all live and learn ,I had a neighbors dog that became a big problem .So far in 11 years only had baby bear cubs in my apple tree eating happily and momma was found and they were all taken to the mountains and it was all caught on the local news .I do get deer and my neighbors escaped cows and 1 time my neighbors goat and a emu and an ostrich from another neighbors farm .We do get fox but they don't seem to bother with the pond as it has LED lights pointing down on it and 2 cameras and it is close to the front porch .

 

[addy1]

I just get herons, ow nothing bothers the pond.

 

[Tula]

Oh, so sorry about the loss of your fish We learn through our experiences and we've all been there. I hope you'll keep ponding.

 

[peter hillman]

Oh, so sorry about the loss of your fish We learn through our experiences and we've all been there. I hope you'll keep ponding.

Oh yes, that was a few years back, the pond is better than ever!

 

[peter hillman]

We all live and learn ,I had a neighbors dog that became a big problem .So far in 11 years only had baby bear cubs in my apple tree eating happily and momma was found and they were all taken to the mountains and it was all caught on the local news .I do get deer and my neighbors escaped cows and 1 time my neighbors goat and a emu and an ostrich from another neighbors farm .We do get fox but they don't seem to bother with the pond as it has LED lights pointing down on it and 2 cameras and it is close to the front porch .

That's what I call wildlife. Of course I understand that animals are attracted to water, especially were there is no other. My 1/4 acre is fully fenced so unless it can climb, were safe.

 

[peter hillman]

I just get herons, ow nothing bothers the pond.

Herons are cool!

 

[addy1]

Herons are cool!

They are cool, pretty, fun to watch, but not fun to watch as they empty your pond of fish.

 

[Dave 54]

Peter I feel for you my friend I really do mistakes happen my friend just like that , this morning I went out to the pond only to find I'd left the pond off for a day pump wise [something I normally dont do].
Thakfully though nothing to worry about as the filters are all fed by air thus they are still viable it was only for 24 hours but it does go to show even people like Val and I who have been keeping koi 28+ years now can make a mistake .
Chalk this up to experiance my friend and remember that in future the water level off the pond should be at sch a level that the coons would drown if the tried it again .

Dave

 

[peter hillman]

They are cool, pretty, fun to watch, but not fun to watch as they empty your pond of fish.

Yeah, I did get that thought after I saw some of your other Heron posts. Herons are pretty rare here and to see one is cool for sure. At some place other than the pond. My parents watched one eat a few of their fish once, but like I said they're so rare here they were glad to see it