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What Killed the Cow?

Buck_Story

By Buck_Story
in Hunting

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Buck_Story Contributor

Buck_Story

Posted
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Two weeks ago, a 300 pound calf from my parents farm in Osceola, WI was killed and drug into the swamp nearly 60 yards away. It was found nearly half eaten.

My first assumption was that a bear had killed it, as they are known for eating whitetail fawns, and since the closest DNR confirmed wolf pack is in Cushing, WI nearly 25 miles north of Osceola. There is a pack of adult coyotes in the area but the chances of them killing a cow is highly unlikely.

Shortly after the calf was killed, one of their neighbors told them they had seen a mountain lion in their back yard about a week ago.

So I would say, my guess would be that it was a mountain lion that killed the calf, what do you think?

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Buck_Story Contributor

Buck_Story

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Originally Posted By: Buck_Story
That's hilarious! I was waiting for a picture of Rosie O'Donnel but this was my second thought...Ha Ha!

Rosie would wait for the alien to get done then eat the alien. grin

Nice, I think your right, so we have it figured out.

An alien ate my parents calf, then the reason no one ever reported any aliens was because Rosie O'Donnel ate them all soon after they landed.

Case closed then...

No seriously though, any other takers on what it might have been?

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Dave S Grand Master

Dave S

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I wouldn't rule out coyotes if the calf was only 300 pounds. A cat would prefer to elevate their food in a tree and not leave it on the ground for other predators to compete for it.

A pack of coyotes could have taken the calf into the slough, but I would lean more towards a couple wolves.

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charliepete Rising Star

charliepete

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LEP7MM....have you ever seen a mountain lion cache food in a tree? Most mountain lions drag their food from the kill sight and bury it in leaves and brush. I've never heard of one dragging a deer up a tree. Look at any biology HSOforum and you'll see them describing the dragging and burying behavior. Maybe you are thinking of Leopards in Africa?

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ANYFISH2 Veteran

ANYFISH2

Posted
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I don't about LEP but Yes I have. Near Bemiji a few years back a deer was found in box stand (can you imagine feeling if you found it). It was found to have been killed by an animal, most likely by a cougar, by authorities. Now I don't know of any other animal it could be, that is large enough or can climb trees to carry a deer sized animal in to it.

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charliepete Rising Star

charliepete

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Now I don't know of any other animal it could be, that is large enough or can climb trees to carry a deer sized animal in to it.

How about a bear or the rednecked beer drinking trespassing kind of animal? Just teasing you, I guess what I was pointing out is that most cougars cache their prey on the ground. I suppose the odd one could try and put somthing in a tree, but the practice isn't well documented. I notice that you did't say you saw the deer in the box blind yourself, that's how rumors work. I wonder how a lion gets up a box blind. Climb the posts? Maybe it was one of those released 'circus cougars' that you read about from the DNR and it was trained to climb ladders and stuff. Remind me to quit sleeping in box blinds.

smile

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iceman1603 Rising Star

iceman1603

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I wouldn't rule out coyotes if the calf was only 300 pounds. A cat would prefer to elevate their food in a tree and not leave it on the ground for other predators to compete for it.

A pack of coyotes could have taken the calf into the slough, but I would lean more towards a couple wolves.

Not sure about your coyotes but here in upstate NY, our coyotes

are only 35-50 lbs. Seems a 300lb anything would be a little much for them to drag any where. From what I know of the canine and cat families, The cats are more prowne to drag there prey and the canines will rip and tear in place. Not tryin to criticize or say im right but just giving my opinion..

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Dave S Grand Master

Dave S

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According to the original post, it was nearly half eaten when found. It could have been moved after. Figuring the remains maybe weighed close to 175, this would be nothing for a couple coyotes or a single wolf to drag. Maybe they do leave it lie where they kill it in most cases. Doesn't mean a canine wouldn't drag it somewhere. Maybe where they found it was actually the kill site and any blood trail was from the predator dragging pieces of the carcass.

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DrKen Collaborator

DrKen

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there are a couple of clues that you can use to try and determine what killed your calf. The killing methods of canines,cats and bears are all different. A cougar prefers to kill by biting the back of the neck and breaking the spinal cord. This is why they often drop from above onto a deers back and then bite. Hunters often encounter cats while hunting on horseback when the cat jumps on the horses back from a tree or a ledge. If they have to ground chase the animal they will use the front paws to drag the hindquarters to the ground and then bite the back of the neck.

Canines tend to hamstring the animal in the chase and then grab the throat region and either suffocate the animal or tear out the blood vessels in the throat.

Bears tend to break the neck with a swat of the paw but really seldom take large animals. A bear is a omnivore and the vast majority of the food is small animals, carrion and plant matter.

Maybe this will help point in the right direction. None of this is foolproof and has to be combined with hair,scat and tracks to determine what took the calf.

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