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(Mystery) Something is stealing tennis balls!
#1
This is a funny mystery Smiley4 

After Misty passed away I left all her different dog balls outside. I collected them up and put them into a large pot where I have a flowering Jasmine. They have been sitting there for four years. I left them in case another dog may ever need them, and also for sentimental reasons.

Yesterday when I got up I noticed 2 balls had disappeared entirely. A black and white ball, and a bald tennis ball. Okay....I searched the garden for them, and nothing. I shrugged and gave up on it.

This morning another ball has gone missing. This was an oval green ball about 4" long. It had holes in either end. It had been in existence since my first dog, Toby lived here!

I have Badger-proof fencing. And anyway -would a Badger steal dog toys? Rabbits wouldn't be interested....and the pot was 18" from the ground.....

Any ideas what might have taken those balls? (weird)

There is a Jackdaw hanging about here. I have strange conversations with him. I gave him some brown bread the other day and some noodles which he appreciated. He made the strangest rhythmic hammering sound with his beak, repeated 3 times, so it wasn't any accident. A definite rhythm, like a drumbeat in a song....

This morning while I was wondering who the heck took those dog balls, he cawed from very close by me, then flew away. I wonder if he took them? Can a Jackdaw carry a tennis ball away....?
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#2
I think a tennis ball is too big for a Jackdaw. I  just Googled them and they are described as the smallest of the crow family.

Could you have a fox?
What about your rabbits? Could the mother rabbit be stealing the balls for her babies to play with.

What other animals do you have in your area?
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Catherine

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#3
Jackdaws who live nearby my house are pretty big. They stand about a foot tall when they are fully grown.
It is just possible a fox might have got in. I noticed one area today which would be easy for a fox to leap up and down. A Badger would find it difficult, as Badgers stick pretty close to the ground. I have never seen a Badger leap over anything.
I can't imagine a wild rabbit being interested. And I don't think they could carry it away as they don't have big enough mouths.

I wish I had a garden stake-out "Tennis-Ball-Cam" out there Smiley4

Anyway no more balls have gone missing. But that is a weird mystery. It is bound to have a logical answer, but I've an idea that if I knew who it was I'd be surprised!
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#4
Quote:I wish I had a garden stake-out "Tennis-Ball-Cam" out there [Image: smiley4.gif]
I think we both wish we had web cams so we could see what happens when we are not there.

Your Jackdaws are bigger than the Wikipedia description of them. Could they lift a tennis ball? What about a cat. Could a cat lift a tennis ball?

I bet we will laugh if we ever find out who did it. Are there any foot prints or traces of hair?

Maybe it is the missing Capybaras from Toronto who took your tennis balls. They are being seen everywhere, so why not in your garden. I don't know why they would want a tennis ball, but why would anything want a tennis ball?
[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]
Catherine

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#5
The mystery continues....
I have a garden bench just outside my back door. I have a couple of odd-shaped rocks on one end of it. Next to those, I always kept a deer antler which I found years ago. No reason -just because it looked nice.
This morning that had disappeared as well! Of course I searched for it without results.

I don't think a cat could carry a tennis ball or a deer antler... Huh And the fence is completely Badger-proofed...

I am back to thinking either Jackdaw or a fox. But I have not smelled fox about. I wonder how the Jackdaw could even carry the antler, but maybe.
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#6
If it were my garden I would say it is a racoon, but you don't have racoons. Does someone have an escaped monkey? I must be a nocturnal animal.  What do you have that is out at night?

A badger wouldn't want a ball anyhow or would it?

It is a mystery. You need a video camera or you need to sit up one night and watch.
Of course you could sit up for weeks and the moment you doze off the creature would come.
[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]
Catherine

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#7
A magpie, or a crow, perhaps? They are quite big and like collecting things:
http://discovermagazine.com/~/media/Imag...-Minds.jpg
and
http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-s...ge24638676
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#8
That is a big crow. I know crows and magpies steal things. 
Could one of them really take a tennis ball?  If so, why?


I can't imagine what else it could be.
[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]
Catherine

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