Rather that tacking on to the "What Animal" thread, here is another who done it question. And it occurred between 12 noon and 3 PM in the middle of a 40 acre pasture. What do you think?
Who Done It?
- Thread starter QuietButDeadly
- Start date
Mr.Gadget
Old Mossy Horns
Some type of cats or dog if I had to guess.
QBD2
Old Mossy Horns
Yote....
Rubline
Twelve Pointer
First guess...yote, second guess...bobcat. Is that in Orange county?
bradman
Spike
Coyotes or wild dogs if I were guessing. .02
I have seen coyotes do that many times particularly with 1st time mamas. They eat the guts for the minerals.
I will guess dogs.
I'm guessing dogs, usually somebody's Fido and usually collared.
Canine. On a side note, my last camera pull showed coyotes traveling together at midday on multiple different occasions.
snakeskinner
Twelve Pointer
Bobcat might have covered it up.
1SHOT1KILL
Old Mossy Horns
Coyotes.
1gonewrong
Six Pointer
No question. Coyotes. Bobcat would have covered it up and never eat that much. Dogs would not have tore into the guts and not likely any other area.
The dingo ate your baby (calf)...
bshobbs
Old Mossy Horns
Hope you can catch them....
Great movie,,,
Familyman
Twelve Pointer
I vote 'yote.
Interesting.....no kids vanished here but the damage to the calf is pretty much identical to the damage to the adult goat. And I did not look for bite marks on the neck as I knew this happened during or immediately after birthing. But seems like lots more folks think the goat scenario is something other than coyote or dogs. But it is near unanimous that the calf was done in by coyotes or dogs.
Carry on......
Carry on......
Still born
Here we go again.....
Yep, a bobcat would have most likely have covered it up and probably moved it as well unless scared off. Likely canine. Free-roaming or feral dogs or coyotes IMO. It sure is clean around the carcass though.
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stilker
Old Mossy Horns
I'll go out on a limb and say weak calf killed by black buzzards...personally seen it happen several times.Also seen house dogs kill goats and have killed them in the act.
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Larry R
Old Mossy Horns
I think I can eliminate bobcat for a couple of reasons. They usually cover leftovers. They usually dine alone and would never consume that much. I'm more inclined to say bear, which no one has mentioned so far. I believe if it were coyotes there would be a messier area around the carcass. Coyotes have a huge appetite but that's still a lot of missing meat for just one coyote. If more than one coyote there probably would be more signs of the carcass being drug back and forth as they tore out chunks of meat.
Bear because I have seen bear kills before and they just kill, hold down the animal with their paws and tear away the meat.
I could be wrong.
Bear because I have seen bear kills before and they just kill, hold down the animal with their paws and tear away the meat.
I could be wrong.
Also...don't buzzards usually eat the eyes ?
Rubline
Twelve Pointer
The picture might be misleading as far as the size of the calf, if it is a newborn they are not that big, not a whole lot of meat and intestines on one a day old.
stilker
Old Mossy Horns
Not necessarily,I've seen so many on one calf it looked like Africa...the one thing that makes cows real anxious,they barely look up at a yote,a yote would rather have the afterbirth.
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Looks like the jury is still out on the What Animal thread but I will put this one to bed.
The cow was away from the rest of the herd in the middle of the big pasture at 12 noon. She was due but no sign of active labor at that time. At 3 PM, the calf was found as pictured with the cow staying close. It was late September and the wind that day was out of the NE but not blowing very hard. A creek bottom/beaver swamp was around 600 yds SW of the cow/calf location.
After a quick glance at the dead calf, I set up farther west to keep my scent out of the creek bottom and about 250 yds from the woodline where I believed the culprit had come from. Around 6:30, the yote came out of the woods on a steady trot headed toward the dead calf. He was quartering to my left. At approx 200 yds, I got him in my crosshairs and let the .204 eat. He kicked a couple of times but never made it back to his feet.
The conditions were perfect for the yote to smell the cow calving and it took advantage of an easy meal in broad daylight. Fortunately, it was his last. IIRC, he was around 30 lbs. I had his pelt tanned and it hangs on my wall.
Since that time, literally hundreds of calves have been born in that same pasture but we have not had anymore calves killed
The cow was away from the rest of the herd in the middle of the big pasture at 12 noon. She was due but no sign of active labor at that time. At 3 PM, the calf was found as pictured with the cow staying close. It was late September and the wind that day was out of the NE but not blowing very hard. A creek bottom/beaver swamp was around 600 yds SW of the cow/calf location.
After a quick glance at the dead calf, I set up farther west to keep my scent out of the creek bottom and about 250 yds from the woodline where I believed the culprit had come from. Around 6:30, the yote came out of the woods on a steady trot headed toward the dead calf. He was quartering to my left. At approx 200 yds, I got him in my crosshairs and let the .204 eat. He kicked a couple of times but never made it back to his feet.
The conditions were perfect for the yote to smell the cow calving and it took advantage of an easy meal in broad daylight. Fortunately, it was his last. IIRC, he was around 30 lbs. I had his pelt tanned and it hangs on my wall.
Since that time, literally hundreds of calves have been born in that same pasture but we have not had anymore calves killed
Rescue44
Old Mossy Horns
Not fair. You knew the answer. Lol
Triggernosis
Ten Pointer
I knew the answer too, before I scrolled down and saw the pix.
This is why my farmer bud pays me to trap coyotes for him.
RPD689
Spike
Did you skin around the neck to check for trauma?
Nope, I did not. Assuming a live birth, within the 3 hour window, I figured the evisceration started during the birth or definitely before the calf or cow was able to stand afterwards. The soft underbelly of the immobile calf was easy picking and the cow was to weak to provide defense. The calf was likely eaten alive and died from blood loss.