Cycle-N-Squeeze
New member
Didn't find any droppings but seems to big for a hog?
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groundhog, fox, or coyote?
- Thread starter Cycle-N-Squeeze
- Start date
Rich Cronk
New member
Is that hole in the side of a terrace? Any dirt pile out front? The hole doesn't appear large enough, and appears too round to be a coyote den. Is there a visible trail leading to it? Being the time of year and all, I am thinking maybe a fox or coyote was trying to get at a gopher or other little critter down in that hole.
Cycle-N-Squeeze
New member
It's on a sloping hill side that was hay now it is soy beans there is no suning pad near it. I was leaning toward fox den.
Rich Cronk
New member
Originally Posted By: Cycle-N-SqueezeIt's on a sloping hill side that was hay now it is soy beans there is no suning pad near it. I was leaning toward fox den.
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I get to be wrong, but I am thinking that the fox are probably not living in their den now. I would expect to see signs of food near the entrance, and flies buzzing around the entrance if it was an active den. Just my thoughts though.
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I get to be wrong, but I am thinking that the fox are probably not living in their den now. I would expect to see signs of food near the entrance, and flies buzzing around the entrance if it was an active den. Just my thoughts though.
ARCOREY
New member
Not an expert by any means here, but a few observations I have made while hunting and trapping. Fox tend to leave bits of bone and hide outside their holes as well as some scat. Their holes tend to be oval shaped from top to bottom as well. Skunks and coons tend to show up in oval shaped holes that are wider than tall since that is how they are shaped. Groundhogs will dig this way too when they are larger from what I've noticed, but the smaller ones seem to dig rounder holes. Skunks and coons tend to have trash near the mouth of the hole like paper and trash bags and leave a decent bit of scat around. I don't notice much groundhog scat at the den mouths where I kill them and they are more likely to have a mounded entrance or no visible entrance(not sure what they do with the dirt
). They usually have more of a smooth belly slide going in and out of their normal entry angle to the hole and will pack the bottom of the holes more when the angle of the hole is flatter.
On an interesting side note, in a single month of trapping, I have caught a red fox, skunks, possum, coons, groundhog, and feral cats at the mouth of the same den in the month of January. There is a pile of droppings outside this hole in a rock quarry face that is 6" deep. I have nearly stepped on several red fox that were coming out of groundhog holes as I was stepping over them too. Some of these holes I had just seen groundhogs in within a few weeks before. This seems more common in spring for me.
Your best bet is to get a track or some hair, or better yet, trailcam footage. You can sift dirt around the hole in hopes of getting a fresh track or hope for some fresh mud and get a good print. While groundhog hunting, sometimes I'll purposly stomp around a hole or ride over it with the ATV then sit back and watch it to see what pops out. You'd be surprised how many times a chuck has popped out within 30min to see what the ruckus was. They do it all the time with tractors.
On an interesting side note, in a single month of trapping, I have caught a red fox, skunks, possum, coons, groundhog, and feral cats at the mouth of the same den in the month of January. There is a pile of droppings outside this hole in a rock quarry face that is 6" deep. I have nearly stepped on several red fox that were coming out of groundhog holes as I was stepping over them too. Some of these holes I had just seen groundhogs in within a few weeks before. This seems more common in spring for me.
Your best bet is to get a track or some hair, or better yet, trailcam footage. You can sift dirt around the hole in hopes of getting a fresh track or hope for some fresh mud and get a good print. While groundhog hunting, sometimes I'll purposly stomp around a hole or ride over it with the ATV then sit back and watch it to see what pops out. You'd be surprised how many times a chuck has popped out within 30min to see what the ruckus was. They do it all the time with tractors.