ID a killer

R

RB9

New member
A buddy and neighbor found a big doe whitetail dead today. He left his truck in a field and went back home to get the tractor & planter ( replanting soybeans). The deer was dead right on the side of the field road when he returned with the tractor. It wasn't there on the first trip , so it had to have died between 9:00 am & 12:00 noon. The blood was still wet when he found her. I examined the deer & the area later this afternoon, this is what I observed: Multiple bite marks on the throat and jaw area ( like a repositioning of the bite not chewing) .The windpipe felt as though it had been mashed flat or crushed . Several cuts or gouges on the front shoulders ( not at all like bite marks ). No bite marks on any of the legs. The left ham had been eaten down to the bone. The intestines appeared to be present and intact. The deer had been dragged apparently butt first 15 or 20 yards from where it first went down. There was a good bit of deer hair all along the drag trail and around the carcass. I could find no other type of hair & no scat around. This was over 1/2 a mile from the nearest blacktop road , the deer looked to have been in good health when she died. So........ What do ya'll think killed her?
 
No 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
 
No tracks around. No buzzards seen around either, my neighbor was planting there all afternoon. The bite marks on the throat were on the left and right sides pretty much equally, and the cuts / gouges on the shoulders were present on both sides but noticeably more on the left side. I know there are no cougars in Tn. or Mo. or Ill. But what does the evidence say?
Rb9
Oh also, no sign of chrome ,headlight glass , or plastic in any of the wounds.I could not discern any broken bones either ( I did check ).
And this is all a true story, I haven't made any of this up or left anything I know out. Keep the thoughts & opinions coming.
 
Last edited:
Well, I thought our bobcats ran around 20 - 25 pounds or so for a big one. They could actually take down a grown whitetail doe ( 100-120# on the hoof) ?
 
I dont think a bobcat could take down a big doe and drag it [beeep] first like that. I could see if it was a fawn, and I would have probably suggested that it could have been a bobcat.. but there is little chance in my mind that a bobcat could take down a big healthy doe and drag it [beeep] first 20 yards. It would be hard for a full grown giant adult male bobcat (40lbs or so) to drag a 150lb deer that far.
 
Of course a bobcat can kill a deer, but there is no way a 20lb bobcat is dragging a 120lb deer [beeep] first (requires lifting) 20 yards.

bobcat prey on small game mostly, but will take down big prey if it needs to. For a bobcat to take down an adult deer this time of year would be odd to say the least. There should be plenty of rabbits, rabbit nests, small birds, fawns, etc for it to grab. This time of year it would be hunting for food for the young ones, so I dont think it would take down a full sized deer then leave it.
 
Originally Posted By: clubstrumpCougar. Neck wounds lead me to that. Any tracks around??

+2 on that !! Coyotes will not ussually take a animal down from the front. Almost always from the side or the rear. Then, they go after the neck. But they ussually tear the meat and not puncture.
 
bobcats 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.
 
Originally Posted By: RB9Well, I thought our bobcats ran around 20 - 25 pounds or so for a big one. They could actually take down a grown whitetail doe ( 100-120# on the hoof) ?


Absolutly !!!

You would be surprised on what the power of a 20-25 Bobcat has IMHO !!!!
 
Did 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.
 
These were clean puncture wounds right at the throat / jaw area. No tearing or eating ,just several sets of punctures. Unfortunately ,I couldn't make out a tooth pattern ,there were 3-4 sets of punctures overlapping.
And FWIW I can't imagine how big a 40# bobcat would be....Our coyotes don't run but about 35 - 40 # .
 
No I didn't take pics. I never think to do that. As far as the local wildlife folks go, if it's not a wild turkey ,an eagle ,or a stinking crappie, they're not too interested.
 
Last edited:
On average a bobcat in Tennessee weighs probably 15-20 lbs. But there have been a few much larger killed. Set a trailcam up on the kill and see what comes back to feed. Might be a squatch but it won't be a cougar.
 
When you say "field road" is it a backwoods country dirt road, blacktop highway, county dirt/gravel road, etc etc.
Does it have alot of vehicle traffic on it during day/night and what type of vehicles ie:cars,semi's,tractors,etc etc

Could have been a vehicle accident that killed the deer without any evidence of vehicle debris. She could have been sideswiped and spun around very easily without as much as dent on the vehicle. She could have been hit, and maybe not had broken bones, but internal injuries she succumbed to later while laying there, or as she struggle to get away before dieing and then being dragged by a predator.

And no animal tracks? What is condition of dirt/grass or area of where the deer is dragged too. Also is your friends property fence off from the "field road" so no one could drag the deer off the road after hitting it? I know no one would drag a dead deer 1/2 mile from the road. I think she ended up there by being dragged by a predator as she was wounded and dieing.

I have seen a few deer vs. vehicle accidents as cop in los angeles, also seen alot of road kills while travelling.
I think it was hit by a vehicle and dragged away by a predator who unknown to your friend was probably still in the area after feeding on it and laid low or left due to your friend working in his field.

OR

It was a large predator, if no cougars/mtn lions in TN, then a large canine did it. Possibly after the vehicle hit it and it struggle to stay alive, and some four legged large stray dog saw an easy meal and finished it before your friend showed up again.
Why do I say dog. . . the tractor your friend left in the field. Most predators associate vehicles with being shot at, most canines dont.

Just My opinion.

Thank you,
Wayne
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top