Opinions on this livestock kill

Here are the facts. 150# ewe. Found at 8am and no buzzards had gotten to it. Killed in open feild, stomach removed and dragged 50ft to a treeline. Pretty sure I know what did this but any is Input appreciated

Most anywhere in Texas I'd say there's about a 95% chance it was a coyote.

That pack picked the bones clean to feed the growing pups.

I'd guess coyote.
Hope the carcass doesn't magically float up in a tree.

Had the makings of a cat kill, especially the way the hide was surgically removed. Rumors of a cat around but A pack of coyotes makes more sense. The dogs are very quiet around here as opposed to other places I have encountered them… been devastating the livestock

no tracks?

Dry dirt and too loose, not much disturbed around the carcass.

'killed in open field' suggests coyotes to me.

dragged 50ft to a treeline
sounds like a cat.

I would say cat because if it was a pack of coyotes the carcus would have been torn apart from each coyote fighting for a piece.
Carcus was strategically taken apart and eaten, showing signs of a single animal. My 2 cents.

I had the same thought when I first looked at the picture.

Where are its forelimbs? I bet the coyotes are gnawing on a bone and snoozing on full bellies somewhere not too far away.

Dragged 50 feet to treeline? I have had coyotes drag a 200 lb hog more than 100 yards.

Your carcass looks purely scavenged at this point.

Chupacabra

Or aliens, Its been quiet since the event. No cats or coyotes on cameras, even at the water troughs. Big male did get snared on the neighbors property

Agree.

And its also possible the animal just died (wasn't necessarily killed) and the carcass then scavenged.

Coyotes in my area will take some and move off with it and then come back and take more. This was either a pack of hungry coyotes that ate without fighting (you ever seen a pack of dogs not get testy while eating?) or a single animal. A single animal big enough to eat all that can only mean one thing.

The reality is it looks like it was scavenged by birds, how clean it was picked apart. and it is possible the birds cleaned it in one night before you were even aware of it. They will go to town on something pretty quickly and clean it out fast.

Most likely: birds followed by coyote(s) got the innards, less likely but still possible cat.

But it sure makes you wonder cat given the fact you said birds hadn't gotten it yet.

Looking at the neck of the pelt, it appears that sheep was grabbed at the neck! Telltale sign of a large cat. They attack and drag by the neck.

[censored] cat

Surgically removed? LOL. A couple of coyotes will do that pulling on the carcass. Coyotes can also drag a heavy carcass quite some distance. I have had 200-250 hogs completely removed from a location overnight - coyotes.

You might want to check out...
https://mountainlion.org/2020/11/03...edation-scavenging-and-kleptoparasitism/

^^^^^

It was hungry.....?

Coyotes.
Adios,
Gary

This gets my vote.

Considering how the ribs have been gnawed on, I'd say coyotes. Buzzards don't chew the bones like that.

Yes - tend to agree with the cat theory if it was dragged to the tree line.

Should have done a poll…

Killed in an open field is also pretty strong evidence that it was coyotes, lions prefer to hunt in cover. Did you find evidence that the doe was killed...may be coyotes feeding on a carcass.
Adios,
Gary

I said field but was actually a good size clearing, the kill was 20’ from a treeline. Big cat was caught on a game cam a mile away. Could have been a cat kill that was interrupted by coyote’s Have eliminated several coyotes and a pair of good size bobkittys since Thanks for all their input on this

Never seen coyotes leave a carcass like that. Appears skinned? They eat the guts first on near every critter we leave them. No experience with lions but doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen a bobcat do. To me it looks like a human processed carcass that was dumped.