Couger Kill? (pics)

[oregonoutdoors]

I was out scouting and hanging stands yesterday and came across this forked horn. The nose had been bitten off and the spinal cord was severed about 8 inches behind the skull. I couldn't make out any bite or scratch marks on the bones, but I did see a little cat sign nearby.

[blacktail519]

From the pictures, there is very little left of the animal! I didnt vote, because to render a decision like that, you would have to be a forensic scientist with such little visible evidence At the stage the carcus is in, it could have been chewed on by 3 cats and 10 coyotes by now, not to mention buzzards

[oregonwrestler]

hey ian...you're not the only one who has cougars in your neighborhood. they closed down a city park on the south side of our town and aren't letting kids walk to school or play outside because there has been a couple of cougar sightings nearby (probably the same cougar)! the news showed some pawprints that did look awfully suspicious. they are trying to trap it so they can relocate it elsewhere...check your email too by the way i sent you some pics of a recent hunt!

branson

[skein]

When you say you found cat sign nearby, was it in the open or covered up? Did you take any pics of the sign?

No, I didn't vote because my only choice would have been "Don't know."

Skein

[gottafish]

When you say you found cat sign nearby, was it in the open or covered up? Did you take any pics of the sign?

No, I didn't vote because my only choice would have been "Don't know."

Skein

I agree, I don't think that is a cat kill Mor like a wounded buck that got finnished of by songdogs

[Water Ready]

Bullit + Coyotes= dead Forked horn

If a cougar killed it, most likely didn't eat it all the way down like that. The few I've seen, were newer kills, and never were ate that much. They tend to move on when the freshness goes away.

[Gun Rod Bow]

It would be really hard to tell if you didn't find it sooner. The broken neck behind the head is a good cougar indicator.

Cougars will also kill by smothering the nose. But about any scavenger will chew the nose when working a found kill.

Any carcass dead that long would just about have to be worked over by coyotes after the fact.

I'd say it's a good chance it was a lion, but hard to say for sure.

[Ni!]

At this stage of decay, it would be very difficult to tell exactly what killed it. I'm curious what kind of sign you found, and if you're sure it's cougar and not some other type of predator. Cougars usually make some effort to cover their kills, but other scavengers could have uncovered it after the fact.

The carcasses I find that have been fed on by coyotes are usually missing the front legs. You'll often find them 50 to 100 yards away. I suspect that's the result of them fighting over the pieces, but that's just a guess.

Ni!

[oregonoutdoors]

As far as cat sign I saw a few old tracks in the mud about 1/2 mile away and a few piles of scat, the closest maybe 100yards away. I am pretty shure that it was cat scat because it was very long (like 4-8") and full of fur. I didn't think to take pictures though. I hung my treestand nearby and am going to put up some trail cams.






Here is a couple of pics of my treestand. I normally hunt out of a climber, but the spot is like 1000' in elevation in a 1 mile hike from the truck so I am just going to leave it indefinetly. I usually hunt a little higher when in my climber, but hanging a stand can be scary. I figured it will be OK since there is good cover. There is 3 very worn trails intersecting within range, and a few fresh scrapes within sight.

[in 'em]

I'd say cougar...they go for the back of the neck and smother noses...

I'd say a cougar put it down, coyotes and birds finished it off.

maybe...

[Acuta]

Canids often drag an animal down by the nose. It allows a smaller animal to take down a larger one. Cats will almost always go for a neck. Their jaws and teeth are best suited to this. A broken neck won't for sure mean cougar, in that yotes can break the animals neck while wrestling it down. Also, simply by the laws of odds, it was most likely dogs. There's a helluva lot more of em than cats.

Death by canid. Makes the thought of drowning seem pleasant.


Eric

[OR Coast Range]

I thought that cats covered their kill?

[Yeti]

A good indicator of a cat kill is a punctured cranium. They will bite the back of the skull and puncture it for an instant kill.

Yeti