what killed this deer
Whitetail Deer
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this was the last photo of her alive
this was the last photo of her alive
i went to do some last minute preparations at my stand this morning and not 10ft from the base of my stand laid this deer. what do you think killed her? no sign of struggle, no blood, she kicked her feet before she died and cleared the leaves out from around her, but that’s it. if it were a predator you’d think they would’ve eaten her. i’m assuming the wound on her neck is from scavengers because there was no blood on the ground
her coat was patchy with big bald spots, is this indicative of any particular disease?
Looks like either vampires or COVID.
Normal shedding of summer coat hair is normal
Brain looks intact so not Zombies!
Stomach ailment? Puncture, or small bullet to the stomach? You near a road?
i looked for any bullet holes, nothing obvious. its a pretty good ways from the road, but anything is possible.
Poison? Anybody maybe not wanting you hunting there? Find any other dead animals around? Deer, coon, squirrels etc. The way she is hunched up I would consider sever stomach issue of some kind maybe.
Maybe she had dirt on Hillary!
Did she smell ? What's the dark object in the photo .
Gunshot wound or caught in some barb wire?
Is there a connection between that buck in the other post taken 45 minutes after the last pic of her alive,
Large dog or coyote killed by suffocation. Heart stopped then bite occurred. Ran off when you came. Small animals usually start at anus nose lips and eyes to try to open up cavity.
Is she eating at a corn pile in the trail cam photo?
I wondered how close to road too
Dog or coyote would be my guess. Maybe a large bobcat or the Clintons.
The same thing that ultimately kills most living things. Lack of oxygen to the brain. Sorry, I couldn't resist
Canids usually start at the rest; going for the throat like that is more of a Cat Thing.
I know I have spoken up about reducing the amount of gore in hero shots, but in this case I think there would be something to be said for getting a good look at that wound to the throat… Not that it is probably still in the same condition a day later. Hoping just maybe the OP has a close-up?
“ no sign of struggle, no blood, she kicked her feet before she died and cleared the leaves out from around her, but that’s it.”
That could well be signs of a struggle by a deer being pinned to the ground by the throat.
I’m kinda leaning towards a very large cat, but to close the case you’d want tracks, scat, or cat DNA from saliva in the wound.
The Ranch Fairy strikes again.
Looks like she was wounded somehow, not by a predator, then died there. Birds or a small animal took advantage of the open wound for a snack. Ravens and crows go in from the anus unless there is already an opening. Coyotes and wolves start at the rear. Cats go for the guts first.
It is odd that there's no blood pool at the scene. Neck ripped open by fence wire and died from septicemia?
whats the animal in the picture with her?
In Colorado elk hunting, we got to know a sheep herder up in the mountains where we hunt. He said the coyotes were good at ripping the throats out of the sheep and not eating them. After he said that, I would look around as I hunted and found actually quite a few dead sheep with there throats ripped out like that. Wolve's, yotes, dogs don't just kill to eat. This has been proven by biologists following wolf packs.
Is she eating at a corn pile in the trail cam photo?
Maybe have a biologist or vet look at her. Otherwise, everything is a guess.
Internal bleeding. Vehicle contact damaged internal organs and possibly the neck wound.
Interesting look to the tarsal gland on one leg, possibly an old break?
Good eye, Bill - does look a bit twisted.
Always a crapshoot if you don’t do a necro....
Chupacabra! All previous guesses are just that. The Chupacabra is a bloodsucking devil animal.
I agree with Pete-pec. Chupacabra.They are known to drain all the blood from their victims. :)
EHD more than likely. How far from a road, possibly injured by a vehicle. The wound is definitely post mortem.