Editor,

I found the “Langley Rabbit Wars” story very interesting. In my veterinary practice, I deal with a number of wildlife issues, including predation of small pets.

I would like to address the comment by Chief Dave Marks concerning raccoon and eagle predation on pets. Bottom line: it is extremely rare. Coyotes are almost always the culprit. In my nearly 30 years of practice, I have seen one cat that was killed by a raccoon. I belong to a birding Listserv, Tweeters, which has over 2,000 nature-oriented members. I once put out the question, “Do any of you have first-hand knowledge of a bird of prey killing a cat or a small dog?” I received only five responses and they were all involving great-horned owls, which killed a cat on the ground and attempted to eat it there.

But even this is extremely rare and I’ve never had a first-hand report from South Whidbey. A very large eagle, weighing only 13.5 pounds cannot get airborne carrying a normal sized cat. So, that sacred South Whidbey myth about the eagle nest containing between 27-63 (depending on who tells the story) cat and dog collars on property owned by your second cousin’s ex-wife’s friend? It just isn’t true.

Dave Parent

Freeland