What did this??
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: t-roy
24-Sep-22
While checking cameras this morning, I saw some turkey vultures fly up from the edge of a field. I walked over to where they had flown up from, and found this partially eaten fawn. It looked to be a relatively fresh kill (I’m assuming). The thing that seemed strange to me was that, basically, only the internal organs were eaten, as well as the fact that the ribs had been chewed off. The only muscle meat that was eaten were the intercostal muscles that were covering the ribs.
My thoughts are, if it were coyotes, more of the quarters, flank, etc., would have been eaten, IMO. We do have a few bobcats in our area, and, as some of you know, I have a mountain lion roaming in my area. I have never seen a deer carcass eaten in this manner before. Curious if anyone else has seen this before?….. Thoughts?
From: kyrob
24-Sep-22
Looks like someone was using a Rage BH and hit a little to far back.
Seriously though, it is odd that something would eat the guts and not get into the real meat on the hams and such.
From: Jim McNamara
24-Sep-22
Wolf? I believe they have the power to crack those ribs.
From: Zbone
24-Sep-22
If in Iowa either coyotes or roaming dogs would be my guess...
From: t-roy
24-Sep-22
I’m certain that coyotes could chew the ribs off on this fawn. Just strange to me that none of the other parts of the carcass were even touched.
From: greg simon
24-Sep-22
My guess is coyotes. Give them time, they’ll get the rest.
From: Ambush
24-Sep-22
Cougars usually eat the organs first. They often partially cover the carcass for later. If hunting is easy, they likely won’t return.
Put a cam on it anyway, might get some pics.
From: Rgiesey
24-Sep-22
I’ve always seen them start at the tail and eat hams. Seems like someone would’ve seen this.
From: JohnMC
24-Sep-22
It was the scarecrow. The wizard told him to do so he would have courage/guts.
From: deerhunter72
24-Sep-22
Just a guess, but I’d say it was your mountain lion. Could also be a big bobcat. I’ve never seen a coyote do that to a deer in that manner. You may get a crack at him yet.
From: Beendare
24-Sep-22
I ‘ve seen a lot of predator kills where they start with guts, stomach and internal organs- both coyotes and lions.
From: Thornton
24-Sep-22
It's your cat t-roy. Better get rid of him before he starts picking off your big bucks.
From: Catscratch
25-Sep-22
I've seen a lot of yote eaten deer. Never seen a deer eaten like that. I would guess it's your cougar but I don't have experience enough to say that.
From: tacklebox
25-Sep-22
No claw marks or bite marks on the neck? I feel like a lion would have left some visible markings of the take down? Claw marks on the rump, teeth marks on the neck....
Whereas a yote will drag em down from the belly if thats all he gets a hold of, especially a lone yote.
From: ND String Puller
25-Sep-22
As mentioned above Lions are known to eat the organs first. Looks like bite marks on the throat? All the coyote kills I’ve seen they eat the hinds first. And there’s usually more disturbance with multiple yotes involved.
The cat has to go T-Roy !
From: Kodiak
25-Sep-22
Lion or bobcat.
From: petedrummond
25-Sep-22
Smaller predators like coons and skunks often open up a body cavity by chewing genitals and often start by eating lips and nose too. They lack jaw strength to tear through the skin anywhere else until something larger "opens it up". Put a camera on it.
From: Charlie Rehor
25-Sep-22
I’ve never seen that before either. Be prepared.
From: Bearman
25-Sep-22
Looks like a cat kill.
From: Bowfinatic
25-Sep-22
Lol kyrob
From: rooster
25-Sep-22
Possibly Turke Vultures only???
From: fuzzy
25-Sep-22
I'm no expert but I say cat.
From: woodguy65
25-Sep-22
Thats your cougar T-roy and he ain't leavin' that deer rich farm!
From: Grey Ghost
25-Sep-22
Troy, if it's a lion kill the guts should be buried somewhere nearby, unless other scavengers got to them. Lions won't eat the digestive tract of a deer, but they often go after the heart and lungs first.
Matt
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
25-Sep-22
I’m going lion Troy. Think I’d have my 45 on my hip while checking around the farm ;). Maybe even the 300 to reach out across the fields lol
From: RonP
25-Sep-22
if there are no other markings, I'm guessing hit by car or wounded by hunter or poacher before eaten.
kind of odd the way the hide appears to be rolled back and not torn. almost seems intentional. could someone have placed it there as bait?
that's an interesting one for sure.
From: Dennis Razza
25-Sep-22
That’s crazy. Hope you get a camera on it and solve the mystery.
From: drycreek
25-Sep-22
In my amateur opinion, I would have thought the cat would have moved on, but maybe not. If it was a male looking for a territory, he might have found it. I would put a couple cameras on it regardless and not real close. Coyotes will spook from the noise some cameras make right before it takes the picture. Good luck Troy !
From: Woods Walker
25-Sep-22
ALIENS!!! Watch for flying saucers!
From: sitO
25-Sep-22
Evacuation notice for IA!
From: LBshooter
25-Sep-22
Don't cats go for the hind quarters first, being the most meat? I'd say since its Iowa that it's coyotes. Put a trail cam on the kill and see what shows up.
From: Norseman
25-Sep-22
Land Shark
From: PoudreCanyon
25-Sep-22
I can’t imagine coyotes would leave that much edible meat. Years ago, we saw a young buck get hit by a car in Western Nebraska. We came back 12 hours later and this is what we found…
From: Glunt@work
25-Sep-22
I would guess coyotes. A cam may reveal something but only shows what visits next not what was there first. Coyotes show up at about every kill site eventually regardless of what killed it.
From: Meat Grinder
25-Sep-22
Judging from the bite radius, I'm going with a Great White. Or one of the 87,000 new IRS agents thought it had swallowed some cash.
From: Medicinemann
25-Sep-22
Can you put a trail camera on it......and see what returns or shows up?
From: Medicinemann
25-Sep-22
From: BIGERN
25-Sep-22
You already know but are looking for confirmation. You, me, or anyone else ever saw coyotes leave a carcass like that? It sat right there and chowed down, I'd also be looking for the buried stomach, intestinal parts. They have to be there...
From: Grey Ghost
25-Sep-22
Grey Ghost's Link
How to tell if a lion or coyote killed a deer
"…eaten starting at the ribs. Lions tend to eat the chest-area organs first (lungs, heart, liver). They chew a hole in the ribs to get to these tasty and most-nutritious morsels.
…missing the stomach. Lions remove the stomach (called the rumen) when they first open the chest cavity and bury it a few feet away from the body. This prevents stomach acids from spoiling the meat over the 3-5 days it will take the lion to finish eating the entire deer.
…”shaved”! Yes, you read that right. Lions will nip the hair off of the body of a deer before they start chewing into it. Think of a surgeon shaving the patient before cutting. The clumps of nipped hair are about 1” across – the distance between the lion’s canine teeth. They snip the hair with their incisors."
From: WV Mountaineer
25-Sep-22
My guess is it’s your buddy from turkey season. Organs contain the most vitamins and minerals. And, my guess is it has zero plans to return or it’d hid it.
From: drycreek
25-Sep-22
This should make for an interesting pre-dawn walk to your deer stand carrying a sharp stick Troy. Do you have an advance directive and all your affairs in order ? Who inherits that old green tractor ? Asking for a friend…….
From: smarba
25-Sep-22
…”shaved”! Yes, you read that right. Lions will nip the hair off of the body of a deer before they start chewing into it. Think of a surgeon shaving the patient before cutting. The clumps of nipped hair are about 1” across – the distance between the lion’s canine teeth. They snip the hair with their incisors."
I'm no expert, but based on 2 lion teeth/skulls I've seen, no way their teeth could nip/shave hair. But their tongues are ROUGH. Like serious sticker burrs! They could lick off the hair easy.
From: t-roy
25-Sep-22
A few hours ago, I went back over to where I found the fawn yesterday. There was absolutely zero sign of it, other than some dried blood and one small pile of crap. Not a trace of any hair, bones (other than a small quarter sized piece of bone). It’s fairly tall grass surrounding the site, and I couldn’t find any sign of the carcass having been dragged through the tall grass, either. I was gonna go back over there yesterday, and put a camera on it, but got busy doing some other stuff and never made it back over….Figures :-(
From: t-roy
25-Sep-22
Bone fragment
Bone fragment
From: Grey Ghost
25-Sep-22
Troy, here's my guess. The lion was busy eating his kill when you spooked him off, yesterday. He probably returned to it last night, then stashed it somewhere. They are incredibly strong, and can easily carry a fawn in their mouth. He wouldn't have to drag it.
Matt
From: Scrappy
25-Sep-22
While you were taking pics of the fawn the lion from a very uncomfortable distance was trying to decide if he wanted Troy for dessert.
From: Kodiak
25-Sep-22
I looked it up and you can legally hunt that lion in Iowa. I'd definitely consider it, it'd be a hellava trophy
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
25-Sep-22
Oh Kodak we already determined that! Right after he was seen during spring turkey season lol! But now he’s killin Troys future booners! Now he’s on the hit list
From: Squash
25-Sep-22
I would say coyotes hit it then the ravens ate the innards. In my area a gut pile does not last 2 days. What the coyotes, fisher, Bear do not eat, ravens do.
From: petedrummond
25-Sep-22
We had a lion hangin around my southern Illinois farm a few years back and spray marked all over. Going through weeds it would almost gag you .... smelled like a 100 pound cat pissed all over! Really strong smelling.
From: Thornton
25-Sep-22
Coyote will pee all over their kills.
From: spike78
25-Sep-22
Mountain lion 100%. I’ve been reading a ton about them. Canines always eat the ass end first.
From: spike78
25-Sep-22
Looks like their is some throat damage in the picture which technically yes a coyote could grab by the throat but I’ve never seen a deer in my area eaten by coyotes where the hams weren’t eaten.
From: badbull
25-Sep-22
A few years ago we arrowed a Wyo. buck antelope at dark and had to pick up the trail at daylight only to find the carcass a couple hundred yards away. We were only able to salvage a very few lbs. of meat. The carcass was surrounded by piles of its hair as if clawed and stripped off it's whole midsection and back. Sounds like maybe a lion based on the above information.
From: cnelk
25-Sep-22
At first I thought it was a 9mm that “Blew it lungs out” according to Biden. Lol
I agree. Lion
From: deerhunter72
25-Sep-22
The carcass being completely gone confirms it being the lion in my mind. I really figured it would’ve moved on by now but apparently not. He/she must like your area.
From: t-roy
25-Sep-22
Here’s my thoughts…..I’m thinking this fawn was killed by the lion that has been roaming in my neighborhood. It could have been a bobcat, but I’m betting, lion. As per GG’s guess, I’m certain that I didn’t spook whatever it was, off the kill, because there were about a dozen vultures already on the carcass when I discovered it. They are what tipped me off to the location of the kill. I don’t believe that coyotes killed it, due to the lack of any hair at the kill, plus nothing else was eaten except for what I pointed out in my first post. I DID find a few down-like feathers at the carcass. I’m thinking they probably came from the vultures, and were possibly pulled out when they were fighting and squabbling while on the carcass. Hard to imagine vultures having down, but I’m betting they do. The lack of any drag marks or flattening of any grass that would show the carcass being dragged off, makes me think it was carried off, and not dragged. I spent at least an hour this afternoon, searching for the carcass or any other signs of what might have happened. The only thing I found was the small piece of bone, and it was laying probably 20-30 yds from the fawn. It looked to have come from a joint, like a hip or knee.
From: APauls
25-Sep-22
I’m thinking TBM’s tracking spiders found it and started chowing down.
From: maxracx
25-Sep-22
T-Roy, I would volunteer to come down and stand guard over your deer herd from this menacing creature. If I see it I will shoot to kill!!!!
Got to kill that cat.
From: Murph
25-Sep-22
I’d bet the house it’s a lion. Never seen a coyote that didn’t start on the ass. The way the head is cocked back on that young fawn i would guess it’s neck is broke. When I hunted lions in Utah the guides said that can be a tell tale sign ??????? Idk about that part, but everything speaks kitty too me.
From: BULELK1
26-Sep-22
Kitty--Kitty......
Your Mnt. Lion is eating pretty good!
Stay safe out their man,
Robb
From: Huntiam
26-Sep-22
My best guess…I bet it died of natural causes and a bear Or possible mtn lion did carry it off
From: soccern23ny
26-Sep-22
Megaladon
From: njbuck
26-Sep-22
Im betting it was the lion you saw this spring. Ive never seen a coyote or a fox never start with the hind quarter first. If you didn't go back for a day and a half after you first found it, that gave the vultures (and im sure coyotes) a lot more time as well to get to work on the carcass which would only make it that much lighter for the lion to carry off. Im betting that the vultures ate the stomach and intestines before they got onto the carcass.
From: Ambush
26-Sep-22
The really bad part is that a mature tom will kill about one deer per week.
From: bigswivle
26-Sep-22
Gotta be a cat
From: MA-PAdeerslayer
26-Sep-22
Theory’s aside, it basically only works out to be a cat. No ifs ands or butts about it.
From: badbull
28-Sep-22
t-roy, I think that this was the work of coyotes on my pronghorn within a short time of recovering it, Badbull
From: Brotsky
28-Sep-22
I believe this was clearly the work of the Iowa Hawkeyes offense. They've been looking for the guts to score a touchdown all season.
From: wild1
28-Sep-22
That's a lion kill that was scared off before it could partially bury it's kill. They'll chew through the ribs to get to the most nutritious parts, the internal organs. I'm betting, if you look close, you'll find (or would have found) the stomach, which they remove so it won't spoil the meat.
From: Zbone
28-Sep-22
Tral cam setup to see what comes back would have been great...
From: BULELK1
29-Sep-22
That's what I was thinking too 'wild1'
Good idea Zbone.......
Did it get eaten on some more and then covered up t-roy?
Good luck, Robb
From: Olink
29-Sep-22
Most likely a mix of buzzards, foxes, coons, or possums.
From: Native Okie
29-Sep-22
If the shanks were eaten it was probably midwest. He’s loves those damn things!
From: Native Okie
29-Sep-22
From: Boatman71
29-Sep-22
TRoy what county you in?
From: t-roy
29-Sep-22
Robb….see my above post on my thoughts. Absolutely zero sign of any part of the carcass, including hair, and nothing buried either. Had it been yotes, it most likely would have looked similar to badbull’s pic.
Brotsky……that fawn carcass DID remind me a little of the Hawkeye offense…..no heart OR a pulse!
Boatman….I’m in Webster Co.
From: Boatman71
30-Sep-22
T-Roy, Ok Im in Mahaska. One of the farmers I hunt on saw a cat a month ago chasing a decent buck on his land. He said the cat was longer than the deer. Makes me want to carry while hunting on his ground!!
From: Shug
30-Sep-22
I’ve seen black bears do exactly that a few times
