Raptor Food

While walking in Green-Wood Cemetery on Sunday I came across a fairly large mammal skull. Between the resident Red-tailed Hawks and Great Horned Owls, as well as, migratory raptors that pass through the area or overwinter here it was no shock to find the remnants of a predator's meal. What was surprising to me was the size of this meal. I've photographed squirrel skulls at the base of the owl roosts, but what I ascertained to be a raccoon skull is more than twice the size of its gray, furry relative. I don't think a Great Horned Owl could swallow a raccoon whole, so maybe it was taken by a Red-tailed Hawk. What is curious is that there were no signs of any other raccoon bones near the skull and it was along a path where I frequently walk. Another possibility is that the animal was old, expired in a tree and the wind just dislodged part of it. I assume it was old because of all the missing teeth.