one evening last week..
It was a dark, rainy evening. Sounds like the start of a mystery.
Sorry, it's the explanation for the blurry pictures. They were taken
handheld at 1/2 sec. I'm lucky to have them at all. I have no idea
why the hundred or so sheep were running single file, in a long line
stretching as far as I could see, down the road to my neighbor's farm.
They were definitely in a hurry to get somewhere. Probably, like
lemmings, they were simply following a leader with no idea why they
were going or where. Maybe not.
Rumor around here has it that several
weeks ago my neighbor "lost" nearly 30 sheep one night to a mountain
lion. The official line here in Vermont is that mountain lions, also called catamounts are
extinct, the last one having been killed in 1881. If there were any here, they would now be a protected species. Extinct or not, something slaughtered the sheep. For the last fifteen years, we
(the collective "we" around here) have seen them, filmed them, and
collected scat in an effort to have the state correct itself. I myself
have seen prints in the snow of one tracking a deer. If you are interested,click here.
No worry this night. Whatever the reason, they were a sight to see.
*In the distance you can see a car approaching, lights on. I doctored the pictures to make them more readable.
ps. I agree that it seems unlikely that one animal would kill that many sheep. It IS the local rumor.
Comments
14 responses to “comin’ home”
It’s hard to believe a cat would kill 30 sheep. Perhaps it was in cahoots with something else. You might like the book Caught in Fading Light by Gary Thorp. http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=5333
I wonder if they were trying to get home in time for dinner. ;^)
I agree with Margene, but I have no idea what a catamount would be in cahoots with.
Yes, I love it how state officials refuse to believe that animals don’t know to stay across state lines. OY.
Mebbe someone was playing Equus but couldn’t find any horses.
They almost look too orderly to be sheep! 🙂 Interesting…
Amazing photos! I think the blurry makes them. Not only do you get a feel of how fast the sheep are moving but it seems as if they are disappearing into some magical place…very intriguing and unsettling at the same time.
I can’t believe that a Catamount or any other predator could kill 30 sheep in one night. Really?
Could also have been something like a big ol’ wolverine, couldn’t it? Or coyotes?
Judy, I LOVED those pictures. Nice shooting.
It really is astounding to see the sheep in that format! The mystery of the dead sheep is unusual, I wonder if it has occurred in other places? It would seem that more than one animal would have been involved, kinda sad, sheep are such docile animals.
Nice shots!
We have a mountain lion that’s been sighted in this area but the DEP would only considered it valid if they had a mating pair. They consider an animal moving through the area but not having a den actually nonexistent. Go figure.
So orderly! Like a fire drill!
Amazing.
We once had a bear nearby…that got into a barn and slaughtered over 40 rabbits…
Domestic dogs sometimes form packs and go into killing frenzies. Cougars/ Catamountains/ Pumas don’t wantonly slaughter.
And then there’s the yeast effect of rumour. Things get bigger in the re-telling. One sheep corpse isn’t very interesting gossip, but 30 is a tale worth telling. So why spoil a good story just for the sake of the truth?
Those sheep pics are great – yes like they are fading into some other place…
In Oz, we have feral dogs. They form packs and attack sheep/cattle/whatever. They will slaughter for the fun of it rather than just to eat.
Not a good time to inject humor, but I can’t help it: Tell Ruby THOSE are sheep, NOT STONES. 😀