ID a killer

It's a bobcat, the eaten ham is a trademark of a bobcat kill. Tomorrow or the next day it will come back and eat the other ham. Set some traps at the back end of the deer!

As far as dragging a deer, that's no problem for any bobcat. I've seen them kill and drag a 3 1/2 year old buck.

If you want to be shure, skin the neck, fang marks on the windpipe will be aprox. 1 1/2" apart.

Cougar fang marks will be much wider and the size of a #2 pencil. They also start eating the backstraps first, and carry their prey, so little drag marks.

Coyote usually bite a deer right where the jawbone turns up, many times there will be a fang mark through the jawbone. They start on the internal organs first, belly flap, and then the rib meat.
 
Originally Posted By: BBKDid you take pictures? you should send them off to your local wildlife biologist and see if he could help ID it based on the pictured evidence.

We can rule out coyotes or dogs right now. They dont chew the neck like that to kill, and the butthole would have been the first thing eaten.

Feline all the way.

If the story is true (not judging, just saying) then I will vote cougar.

coyotes will chew the neck the butthole is not always the case generaly it is young inexperienced coyotes or coyotes feeding on birthing heifers of feeding on calf hind quarters usualy the underbelly easyest part to tear thru to open the body cavity i take it you havent seen many coyote kills besides cattle....they do tear the necks they go for the area right behind the jaw thats why livestock protection callers are used on a "baitt herd" of sheep to help kill the offending animal.as well as when a pair is killing sheep and lambs hind quarters are ususly bitten into im not saying coyotes did it but i find it funny whenever a sheep deer antelope is killed everyones first thaught is muntain lion even in states that dont have them anymore now many sightings have happend in some states but i dont beleive you happend to be bye an open field and came across a lion kill......when you have a lion kill you know it not to mention bobcats have an amazeing amount of strength and agility
lions kill bye biting the top of th ehead or neck and i man TOP broken necks re very common adult lions upper canine teeth are approximately 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 inches apart; the lower teeth are approximately 3/8 to 1/2 inch closer together. A lions teeth are massive compared to those of the average coyote or bobcat measurements from the kill would help as well as pictures lions also generaly feed on the viscera liver hert lungs some actualy do feed on the hindquarters its just the invidual animal they also like to drag the carcase under cover in seclusion to feed they also tend to cover the carcase with dirt leaves twigs what ever they can scrape up an exception to this is when multiple kills are made yet i have seen lion kills and multiple kills under one tree ledge or patch of tamaracks.i have no use for lions wish we could trap them on public land here the more dead the better we have to dam many but i dont see every kill as a lion kill there are alot of characteristics that are simular in coyotes bobcats and even lions and how they kill but can be distinguished. i hope this helps if not you may contact the usda or game department or have the landowner do so to get an accurate necropsy that should resolve any questions you have i dont beleive youre going to get an accurate answer from gys on a forum you can convince yourself it is a lion and it prolly isnt but why not have someone qualified and present at the site to determine it? if it i a lion kill would be interesting to know but no one on here nor yourself is going to distinguish a lion kill. next someone will say ufos did it or bigfoot or a chupacabra. i had enuff fun on here i cant wait to see where this goes next
 
Originally Posted By: cawilson82No cougars in Tennessee. Probably hit by a car and picked at by buzzards. Or stray dogs or even maybe coyotes. And very possibly a squatch. But no mountain lions in Tennessee

I have no idea as to the culprit, but are we absolutely 100% certain of this? My grandfather ownes a 30,000 acre ranch in Tennessee in McCewen county and I know with 100% certainty that we had a calf killing lion on the ranch many years ago(1988-1989). How do I know? I shot it. It was a sub adult that was a little taller than knee high, 5-5 1/2 feet tip of tail to tip of nose and weighed about 70lbs.

There is a whole story involved with this little nugget and I'll be glad to share it if anyone is interested, but it's rather anti-climactic and potentially controversial.

Chupa
 
No question a 20 lb. bobcat can take down a 120 lb. doe. When going for larger prey, they usually go for the throat, as their fangs may not be able to penetrate the skull base. I watched the cat in my avatar pic stalking a doe before I shot him. I've also observed bobcats laying in wait in roadside ditches. My guess is that they somehow know animals crossing roads are distracted by the road, traffic, etc. and are in a hurry to cross, thus not paying as close attention to what's on the side of the road as they should.

My vote is cat, bob or lion, depending on how big and far apart the fang marks are.
 
since the ? as been answered ill make an off topic comment.

Originally Posted By: ChupathingyOriginally Posted By: cawilson82No cougars in Tennessee. Probably hit by a car and picked at by buzzards. Or stray dogs or even maybe coyotes. And very possibly a squatch. But no mountain lions in Tennessee

I have no idea as to the culprit, but are we absolutely 100% certain of this? My grandfather ownes a 30,000 acre ranch in Tennessee in McCewen county and I know with 100% certainty that we had a calf killing lion on the ranch many years ago(1988-1989). How do I know? I shot it.
...SNIP...

Chupa

Of course we are certain.

How could you ever doubt cawilson82 when s/he claims to know of every animal in the entirety of TN?!?!?! Even the animals that were born yesterday...

It reminds me of the Florida panther chasing a rabbit in FL. The rabbit crosses the state line into Georgia. The panther thinks "Dang, that rabbit just went into GA, and Im a FL panther. Guess I better turn around." Like the panther knows about and respects the human made state lines.
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^ that guy thinks I'm a know it all now and that my way is the only way. You've not been here long enough to know much about people here. A year or so ago I made a post about a possible mountain lion sighting and was quickly reassured by many pm members and the TWRA that it was impossible. Well they were right. The animal we were seeing wasn't a mountain lion. I know its feasible that a lion coild happen through though highly improbable. Just as its possible someone from Florida could make an a$$ outta himself as the 4 post oracle. I think the latter is most probable. Welcome to PM
 
Originally Posted By: oogachakaIt reminds me of the Florida panther chasing a rabbit in FL. The rabbit crosses the state line into Georgia. The panther thinks "Dang, that rabbit just went into GA, and Im a FL panther. Guess I better turn around." Like the panther knows about and respects the human made state lines.

Actually, the Florida panthers had better respect the Georgia state line. We don't take too kindly to them up here.

What Georgians do to Florida panthers
 
I'll be completely honest and say that everyone in my family and all of our friends that have hunted the ranch since the beginning of time(as far as I know) that it was a kept animal set loose or escaped. It started killing calves and or sub adult cows a few months before deer season opened in 1988 I believe. We had never had any predation like this in the past and since I shot the one cat, we haven't had any similar predation since.

Are there lions that are indigenous to Tennessee? I have no idea and certainly not intelligent enough to debate that topic. But there was most certainly atleast one "Large Cat" roaming Waverly Tennessee in the fall of 1988.

Chupa
 
Chupa.... what's the story on the large cat in Waverly? I am originally from Camden....


RB9,

Do you think your kill is related to the other numerous kills of various animals here recently that is the talk of the area in W. Tn?

There was a thread posted on TnDeer about this very subject matter a day or two ago.

Some are brushing it off as usual.... some say that it has to be something big to kill cows.... some say it is a big cat/cougar... and some say it may be the cause of animal sacrifices.
 
Camdem, Waverly, I don't hear of those towns much anymore.

My Grandpa had a small place just outside of Huskberg. In the New Johnsonville area.
I remember visiting as a boy it was a big deal (clean overall kinda deal) to get to ride in PAPA's truck to Waverly or Candem.

Sorry for the hijack.

Stay after them cats..
Kelly
 
Iffen a Bobcat is capable of dragging an adult deer 15-20yrds? Then they should be bred & domesticated to pull sleds for mushers, up yonder in Alaska. Or maybe even pull old stumps out of the ground? Your choice
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I vote; puma-cus drag-a-deericus
 
Put a game trail camera on it and see what you get. A cheap ones not to expensive and there a lot of fun and could quickly remove the question!!
 
Originally Posted By: kirbyIffen a Bobcat is capable of dragging an adult deer 15-20yrds? Then they should be bred & domesticated to pull sleds for mushers, up yonder in Alaska. Or maybe even pull old stumps out of the ground? Your choice
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I vote; puma-cus drag-a-deericus

mabe you should track it down and take picturs of it and name it
 
Ok, to reply as best I can...
Varmintsbeware- When I say field road, I mean a tractor path on private ground. It has no traffic except my neighbor ( the landowner & farmer ) and myself ( I have exclusive hunting privileges here ). The area where this took place is knee high fescue ( grass ) and weeds. The drag path was obvious , but tracks are not see-able. And the last point , the tractor was left a good 100 yds from where the deer was found.
Grizzly Johnson - I didn't know about any other kills in west Tn. Got any links? There were cows killed?
To all- I sure never thought our 20# bobcats could take a grown deer .I guess you live & learn. I thought it looked like the work of a cat though , I had trouble reconciling the presence of a big cat or that a bobcat was capable of it. Not to offend anyone, but I'm not sure what I think now.Thank you all for your thoughts.
Rb9
 
Originally Posted By: Chilsonbobcats kill much like lions stlk then come from the cover and bite the base of the skull as well as the throat just back of the jaws over the larynx. This could result from catching the prey after it falls, or it may be individual bobcat behavior. claw marks on the back or shoulders are not uncommon from bobcats tend to secure a lethal hold on the neck or throat and hang on until the prey stops struggling. Frequently, when bobcats secure a grip over the larynx bobcat’s canine teeth are normally about 3/4 to 1 inch apart. Generally, an estimate of this spacing is easier to tell the diffrence between kills from fox and coyotes bobcats do kill adult deer and antelope often they attack larger prey much like cougars by leaping on the back or shoulders and commonly leave claw marks On small prey there may be claw marks on any part of the body but they are usually concentrated on the neck shoulders and ribs. they will eat the hindquarters and like the cat family are pretty clean. i think you have a bobcat kill a lion kill doesnt seem plausable in your part of the country im shure alot of folks will say diffrent everyone has an opinion.

What isn't "plausable" Is a Bobcat dragging a full grown deer 15-20yrds
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Check mate
 


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