Steve,
I have been around cattle in Mo. and IL. and agree with you. I would suspect that one big difference is that here we have herds of cattle confined in a relatively tight space, our concentrations measured in cattle per acre versus the 10's of acres per head in the W & SW.
For every one of our cows that is occupied giving birth there are 10, 20 , or more cows standing idly about within no more than 100's of feet more than willing to stomp the crap out of any canine that ventured in to the pasture. Coyotes or dogs tend to not hang about in those circumstances.
I have little doubt that a western cow without that protective screen of "destroyers" is at greater risk when occupied giving birth.
I've also had sheep in Mo. and IL. on several occasions over the years. I have experienced losses on three occasions, two of them on adults only. Each time the losses were a result of dogs. Two of those losses were caused by known well cared for pets.
Loose dogs are a far greater threat to livestock than coyotes, in my experience.
As I type this I can think of only one personal experience with depradation by a wild animal on any stock larger than a chicken. That consisted of a closely confined sow and pigs. Every couple of days she would be missing another pig. Each day her disposition got worse, to the point of huffing and puffing when you approached the pen. After about the seventh missing pig there was evidence that a red fox was the culprit, that evidence consisting of no more than a tail, an ear, and a few random patches of skin/hair. No more losses and the old gal's disposition returned to normal after a few days.
