What is eating my hog bait ?

[Country Boy]

 I put out all the stuff hogs are supposed to like,corn,sourmash,jellow mix. molassas drip, desil fuel on a scratch post. over the last 4 weeks about 300 lbs. But the bait has been cleaned out with no sign of any critter around. No crows,no squirrels,no turkeys, not even a deer track but I found one small hog track. 200 yds away. I've seen two racoons but even they would leave some evidence of digging in the post holes I put it in. I eliminated a bear, as he would take and bite the molassis drip.
   So whats left ? it's a puzzlement.   
 

[BANG_OW]

How about a flat footed MOMO?

[rocko]

Aint no tellin. Could be turkeys or squirells. Heck could be about anything. weird there aint no tracks though.

[Bowpredator]

I'd try and get a game cam set up over your bait to see.  I saw on another site where a fellow had a hog trap set up and the game cam he had set up showed an amazing sequence of photos where a black bear got caught in the trap and was able to squeeze himself out of a very small opening near the top of the cage.  I would not have believed it if not for the photos that told the true story.  You might be amazed at what you find out if you can set a game cam up over it and see what story it tells.

[Country Boy]

 I wish I had one, budget is tight here. But, this morning at 5 I went to the place and ,I didn't see anything, I found some rooting and a few pig tracks. But I don't know when they came in, One fellow tells me he doesn't see anything until about 2 am. Bout right I guess, as the temps here are running over a 100 !

[Dee]

As a general rule hogs are nocturnal anyway. If you are putting your corn in post holes, and the bait is being taken, it's hogs. I don't know what kind of soil you have there, or if it's dry, damp or muddy, but I can't think of anything else that would root it out of a post hole. An I am assuming the post holes themselves are wrecked in the process. Hogs tend to shuffle around at times when feeding in a small area and can obliterate tracks many times. Small hogs can especially move around and leave very little visible sign.

[Ponydog]

If you can't skin the budget for a trail cam....and if you can get to the place on a truck....why not try loading a couple of 55 gallon barrels with water...and making the area flooded wet..........then pour the bait on top ..........the critter(s) , would have to walk on wet ground to get to the bait....and maybe the tracks would be more evident.........just a thought.........

[Country Boy]

Dee, I think you are right ! exactly as you describe it. There is no way a person can get anything into the spot except by foot.

[Dee]

It's the only thing that makes sense Country Boy. Ground conditions can make it hard. I was once called in to track an escaped prisoner that was in for murder. I tracked him in sandy soil for about 4 miles in the Red River Bottoms on the Texas side. He knew I was behind him I think, because he found a patch of coastal bermuda grass about 3/4 acre in size, that was about a foot tall (no cattle in area). He walked into it, and I know he came out of it, because it was in a small clearing with no cover, but after several hours I never found out where. This guy was raised on the river, and was a woodsman.
Identifying tracks are not always as easy as one might think, regardless of terrain. Even if they have big feet.