Please help advise me. I have lived in this house in west Cocoa for about 13 years. I have had ducks, geese, and swans for about the last 11 years. Every year, usually from January to June, something kills my waterfowl. I usually find the swans and geese with their necks pulled through the perimeter fence and everything eaten off of their necks on the other side of the fence.

I lost another young, male swan last night and found him near my garage with his body up against the perimeter fence and his neck completely torn off and missing on the other side of the fence.

We have always had problems with racoons but would a racoon really do this? I mean to grab the swan on my property, pull him over to the fence next to the woods, grab his head and pull it through the fence and then procede to eat the head and neck?

I have also had people tell me that this could be a bobcat and we do get the occassional otter and fox but the majority of the kills have not been near the ponds I have but next to the wooded area. I just don't know and the frustration continues to mount every year because my husband and I have NEVER seen what is killing my waterfowl. The smaller ducks usually just end up completely missing.

I have looked for animal prints but have been unsuccessful. Last nights kill was between 5:00 and 7:00 and I did have a racoon hanging around my garage around 5:30 a couple of nights ago. Are raccoons really that aggressive toward a swan who is larger than them?

Please, please advise me. All these years have really frustrated me. I want to protect my waterfowl but don't know how without knowing what is killing them. Thank you so much.