What Killed the Cow?

[Buck_Story]

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?

[mrklean]

haha its that time a year again mountain lions, personally i think its very possible did you contact your dnr or anything?

[Buck_Story]

I told my father to, but he is old fashioned and never did.

[Code-Man]

I'd like to find a fresh kill and stick my trail camera on it to see what comes up to it.

[mrklean]

thats what you gotta do with the gut piles, i wanted to save all our piles from last gun season and put them in one big spot in front of the trail cam and see what shows up

[bobbymalone]

We had a couple calves get taken the same way yours did so we set up a trail cam. I was pretty surprised when I checked out the pics.

[Buck_Story]

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

[Finlander]

Sawsquach!

[Dave S]

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.

[Buck_Story]

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.

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?

[Dave S]

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.

[charliepete]

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?

[Tom7227]

So now we have leopards in Osceola? Didn't think they could handle the cold. Boy you learn a lot on FM.

[Dave S]

charliepete,

you're correct. I was thinking it was the cougars that took their smaller prey into the trees.

[ANYFISH2]

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.

[charliepete]

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.

[Chef]

LMFAO

[BoxMN]

A cougar got me in March of 2000, and banded me too... literally...

They are very pretty but very cagey, and they love shopping... and they stop getting up early to fish after they band you, ha!

[Harmonica Bear]

LMAO!!!!! I guess I've had an encounter or two myself... escaped relatively unscathed however.

[RumRiverRat]

Cougar or ManBearPig

[iceman1603]

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..

[Dave S]

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.

[DrKen]

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.

[Buck_Story]

Very true, I was not around when they found the cow so I did have the chance to see the remains. I will have to check and see if they noticed a back neck or frontal neck attack. Thanks for the input!

[mrklean]

haha i love that pic