"Hector Hound" wrote in message
...

Thank you all for your suggestions and experiences. I can rule out some
of the suggested culprits. We don't have coyotes, possums or raccoons
in this country and no moose, cockatoos nor yet koalas. There are no
wild deer in this area either. The nature of the fencing around the
garden (evergreen hedge about ten feet high, with wire fencing in
places) rules out anything larger than about fox (or very small kid)
size (though kids could open the gate. Maybe foxes could too - they're
said to be clever, aren't they?  ). Or something with wings.

I took SteveB's advice and did a more detailed investigation and I have
some progress to report. I found a faeces dropping nearby that I can't
identify. I looked up fox droppings and this doesn't really look like
them. It's an amorphous mass about the area of a CD, grayish-brown and
the consistency of a smooth paté. It could be a dog dropping. Do dogs
eat apples? Would one dog take about 40 apples (and leave none behind
on the ground)?

Anyway, SteveB, thank you for the laugh, preceded by shock, that I got
when I read the following lines in your post (about the coyote), the
shock being due to the position of the line break:

. I found out later that it had eaten a turkey, a cat, and a kid

goat .


Thank you all,
Hector.




--
Hector Hound

There's a couple of kids down there I'm sorry he missed.
--
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants. - Thomas Jefferson -

So, how's that change and hope working for you?