Half eaten carp

[Humbug carrot]

Hi I wondered if anyone would have any ideas on this. This morning at work we found one of our Mirror Carp half eaten and left approx.400 metres from the lake. The level in the lake is quite low at the moment so the banks leading down to the water are steep, so anything catching the fish would have to be in the water. The fish was a large one about 10-12lb, and was also carried quite a distance from the lake.
Would this be a fox? Or would a mink tackle something as big as this?
The remains were left on top of a stack of turf next to the buildings, but annoyingly out of CCTV range.

[Humbug carrot]

[ancellsfarmer]

Do you have any further clues?, foxy deposits in proximity? footprints on lake perimeter? Could it be an avian predator, such as fish eagle or osprey, which may be migrating at this time of year?

[ancellsfarmer]

http://www.worcesterbirding.co.uk/worcestershire_bird_news_60.html

[Humbug carrot]

We must have foxes in the area although I am surprised at how few signs we ever see of them even around the chicken pen . In fact I see far more foxes at home in the city than out at work.
I have had a quick sniff around the reservoir and not come across any signs of foxes, and after all the rain we had early this morning the banks are very slippery and there are no signs of any disturbance on the banks.
If we are talking about an avian predator then two things puzzle me . Firstly these are seriously large fish so any predator would have to be large . Secondly where  the remains were left was under an open sided polytunnel would a raptor fly under there?

[johhnyco15]

sounds like an otter to me

[Humbug carrot]

On one hand it is quite exiting to think we might have otters, although we are some miles from the River Severn where they are known to live, and there are no brooks in the area only a very small stream at the back of the reservoir.
On the other hand it is a shame for the fish.

[ancellsfarmer]

Upon reflection it seems an otter is the most likely, angling press reports of 20lb and 50 lb fish being known to have been taken by otters. Ospreys are thought to be limited to fish of upto 2lb. Might be worth moving the corpse to a position covered by your cctv, or other wise surveillance. Hopefully rainfall will add protection to your remaining fish.

[penedesenca]

Otters will usually eat the heads. If they can get the fish easily they will take the heads off as many fish as possible before eating the rest of the fish. It is immensely annoying that they kill like that. Foxes will kill like that with birds but not sure with fish.