Peg leg sort of?

Q

Q-Wagoner

New member
What do you suppose caused this? After I shot this coyote I thought it may have been wounded in a growth plate when it was young and could not develop properly. I find a lot of old injuries on coyotes every year but this one stood out so I snapped a pic. I shot him about 5 or 6 years ago.

fc83a4e8.jpg


Good hunting.

Q,
 
Looks like he was bred for running circles. Or maybe walking on hill sides. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I shot a coyote almost exactly like this one last november. Mine had a very distinct ring around it's paw, and I believe that at one time, it was caught in a snare or trap. It took this dog almost an hour from the time I started calling till' the time I shot it. It came hobbiling in on three legs, and was a large male, who was very cautious. I got the entire scene on film, and you can see him limping in the whole way. The ranch where I was hunting has a state trapper come in every year, and I suspect he was the one who originally caught him. The wound looked very old, and the yote appeared to be very fat and healthy. His final demise was his love for all things venison, as I brought him in with fawn bleats. (My personal favorite call) Oh well, got to weed out the crippled and the lame too.
 
I don’t really know Song Dog? It looks like we won’t even get a biological explanation either? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Good hunting.

Q,
 
Guys,
I've been gone for two weeks.
Without dissecting the leg I would have to guess a birth defect. I can't tell by the picture but doesn't appear the leg is deformed in any way, just small. You see this occassionaly in the wild. Especially when some type of heavy metal is involved, ie sellenium in waterfowl and amphibians. That's my guess and I'm sticking to it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I wasn't gonna weigh in on this one for fear of looking stupid, but I guess I am braver than usual tonite. It is hard to tell from a photo, but it appears to me that the leg has been broken at the elbow quite some time back. Appears to have been a twisting break, because it looks like that foot is pointing nearly backwards? Maybe an old trap injury caused this. I have seen photo's of coyotes actually caught and held by an elbow joint. Probably happens when they bend down at the set while trying to get their nose closer to dirt hole or whatever. This is just a guess on my part of course.
 
Q,
I think you answered your own question. Looking at the picture, the length of the humerus appears to be consistent between the left and right legs. The metacarpals between the "wrist" and foot appear to be consistent in length as well. It looks like the length of the radius and ulna are where the discrepancy occurs, which could be indicative of a radial/ulnar fracture affecting either the upper or lower growth plates when, I would guess, the coyote was about five months old, from the looks of things. In the early months, both those bones often get fractured at the same time and the adhesions and calcification in and around the fracture site would impede the function of tendons and ligaments which could account for the appearance and loss of function in the foot itself. Just my .02.
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top