Found ANOTHER dead deer this weekend

[T J]

I sent an email to my friend to see if I was remembering the story about the hogs killing and eating the cow right. Below is my email and his reply.

It seems like I heard a story from you about your Dad penning up a cow in Mason one evening to load out in a trailer the next morning. Next morning no cow and only a piece of hide left, and your Dad came to the conclusion that hogs had killed and eaten it. Am I remembering the story right? I have had people tell me this is BS as hogs would not do this.

That is a true story. I talk to a man in Elgin today who lost two of five Pyrenees dogs to hogs last week. There was very little of the dogs left as well. I’ve seen them kill and eat a coon at deer feeder while I was hunting in Bandera. Hope this helps clear a few things up. I’m not sure the cow my Dad referenced was physically able to defend herself but she was able to go to the sale. Probably was a bargain either way.

 

[buzz_knox]

That's ridiculous. Hogs will eat meat, but they are not predators by any stretch of some wild hallucination... er... imagination.

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, feral hogs are omnivourous and will eat live mammals if given an opportunity. An injured cow might be such an opportunity.

 

[MacEntyre]

It is common with a cougar's kill that the animal is dragged to some place where it can be covered with brush. Other than the paunch, they don't start in on the main carcass until it's had a day or two to "soften up" some.

That's what happens with big cat kills we've had in eastern NC. After bringing the prey down, they makea quick meal of the inside of the thighs, then drag it into tall grass or brush, cover it up and come back later.

Springmom, you probably found the carcasses after the cat ate, and the scavengers followed up.

 

[Art Eatman]

Art's theory on the best lazy man's method for lion hunting:

Find a comfy sitting spot. Like by a window in that house on the twenty-some acres. Find a good place to lay out leftover table scraps, plus maybe a rabbit you've shot earlier that day. After setting out the remains of several meals, sprinkle some bulk catnip around. (If only coyotes show up, the catnip won't keep them away.)

Do this in the last three or four days before a full moon. This extends the twilight shooting light. Another Art theory is that when there's a lot of moonlight, prey animals can see better, and predators have to work longer and harder for a meal.

Anyhow, after all this prep, start watching in that last hour before sundown and continue until bored.

An option is to use a car battery and a tail-light bulb with some red cellophane over it. Hang the light above the bait; it won't disturb the critters.

 

[Wineoceros]

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, feral hogs are omnivourous and will eat live mammals if given an opportunity.

Referring to small animals, most often young taken from a nest found at ground-level (turkey chicks, baby rabbits, etc.)

An injured cow might be such an opportunity.

If it was injured to the point that it was laying down...maybe. I'm doubtful about it though.

 

[G17Steve]

Ever hear of the troyga(sp?) beast, they did a show on History channel about it.

 

[Threecard]

Chupacabra...CHUPACABRA, I SAY!

 

[Doc Rizzi]

I like the idea of bait with a game camera. I have ongoing problems with wild dogs on my property taking down game and livestock. It is surprising the damage they can do when running in a pack.

 

[rrflyer]

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, feral hogs are omnivourous and will eat live mammals if given an opportunity.


Referring to small animals, most often young taken from a nest found at ground-level (turkey chicks, baby rabbits, etc.)


Went pig hunting a couple years ago and got to shoot 4 extra(basically all i saw)
A cow was giving birth and was rushed by hogs. They started eating the calf and ate up into the mother. Needless to say both died...and so did many hogs.

 

[hank327]

Winter Kill

There are certainly cougars in the Hill Country, but they are by no means common. As mentioned earlier, they have a huge range and it is very doubtful that one would make multiple kills on such a small property in such a relatively short time. The most likely predator is either coyotes or dogs. They have the size and numbers to do the deed.

But I think it's probably a much less interesting killer. I'd guess that those deer died of starvation and/or disease, aka winter kill. Late winter is a very difficult time for deer. They just went through an energetic breeding season and months without anything growing. They've had to scrounge for food among the remnants from last fall and the pickings are slim. From studies I've read, this time
(late winter/early spring) has a very high mortality rate among deer. Of course any carnivore finding a winter killed deer will help themselves to the buffet.
It's been a pretty tough February and March in Texas weather-wise this year. That may very well be the mysterious killer of your deer.

 

[ArcherandShooter]

Well, with all the rain we're getting this month and everything finally starting to green up, if you're right we should see fewer such casualties.

That would be a very good thing.

 

[RLsnow]

rrflyer just reminded me why i wouldnt do good as a farmer :O

dont think id be able to controll myself there "DIE YOU PIGS!!!"

 

[ArcherandShooter]

Die, pigs

Actually, any wild hogs we find on the property will get (1) shot and then (2) butchered, packaged, and frozen.

Jan's up at the ranch to take delivery of some cattle tomorrow, and tells me we now have ducks on our pond, and ANOTHER dead deer in the same section of the ranch as the others. :banghead:

She set up the IR game cam. We'll see tomorrow morning if anything / anyone comes calling tonight.

 

[ArcherandShooter]

And so far, the answer is......

we have deer. And birds.

The game cam was only set up for a few days before I had to come home and quit playing cowgirl, and turn back into Springmom I brought home the SD chip from the game cam. The game cam itself is still there and will record whatever pops up on it for the next couple of weeks until we get up there, with Rich's computer in tow, that we can hook it up to via USB cable.

Meanwhile, there is a lovely pic of a nice size doe munching on whatever does like to munch on in March in Llano, Texas (probably forbs, she was eating off the ground, not from browse). She was maybe 75 pounds, guessing from the pic.

I'm dubious about late winter kills, I have to say. There is food out the wahoo on that ranch. There are still acorns around; there's browse, the forbs never completely died off (yes it got very cold in short spells; but the tall grasses protected the forbs beneath). And the deer I have seen by the roadside (car/truck kills) are quite healthy looking (well, apart from being dead, lol). Deer down here really don't get thin and haggard; there's no reason for it.

At any rate, we'll be back up there in a couple of weeks and take a look at what we found. The game cam is set up overlooking the meadow where I found the latest kill, so stay tuned for chapter two in a couple of weeks.

By the way, I never knew that steers could be so bloody LOUD. Especially with a full moon. I think one of my steers thinks he's a dog or wolf....baying at the moon....

I needed to come home to Houston to get some SLEEP!!!! :banghead:

Springmom the sleepless

 

[Markbo]

Went pig hunting a couple years ago and got to shoot 4 extra(basically all i saw) A cow was giving birth and was rushed by hogs. They started eating the calf and ate up into the mother. Needless to say both died...and so did many hogs.

So do you believe given 5 or 6 hours that pack could have reduced that Mother cow to nothingness... just one small bone left? I don't think a river and school of Piranha could do that. Attacking a calf being born and the mother getting it to is one thing... making an entire cow disappear overnight - apparently without any noise - is another entirely.

I am very curious what is up with these dead deer, but unless you video one under attack it still doesn't answer your question of why are they dying. You have to find one fresh dead and either undertake a necropsy yourself or get TPW in to do it. Call your Game Warden... I betcha they will help. Heck contact A&M and tell them about it... I bet they would undertake a necropsy for free just for the training and maybe you can get an answer.

 

[springmom]

Update

After several weeks of game cam surveillance of the Meadow of Death I can now officially report...

We have deer, rabbits, an armadillo, and no more deer deaths. OTOH, in the same meadow, I found that rabbit (or possibly another one, of course) with only its pelt remaining. The game cam had filled up, so the perpetrator wasn't photographed.

Waylon and Willie, our new Angus, are doing fine, eating well, and are of a size now to be a match for whatever does cross the land. We have reset the game cam with an empty SD chip in it, which will take quite a few more pix than the cam without a chip....so we may get more info when I'm back up there in early May.

Springmom

 

[tradja]

Thanks for the update. I'm very curious what images you will find on the new SD card.

Keep us posted!

 

[langenc]

Ask the wildlife agent if they have a trail cam for loan..

 

[pat86323]

From what i understand from a good friend of mine who is a mountain lion hunting fool. Coyotes wont go anywhere near a mountain lion kill. The lion has a tendency to urinate on the kill to mark it as theirs. A coyote smells that and wants nothing to do with the consequences. THe other thing to remember about coyotes is that they tear the carcass apart and scatter it all over the place. So thats an easy way to tell if coyotes have been on it, and if coyotes havent been on it, there is a decent likelyhood of a lion. Any other questions about lion behavhior just ask me and ill ask him.

 

[BIGR]

Did you ever see the movie PREDATOR ?

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Springmom and I are trying to figure out what's killing the young deer on our place out in Llano, TX. It's just over 25 acres, and in the last two months we've found the remains of three young deer dead and eaten while walking around the place. Two does, and Saturday a spike buck.

Given this description and then the followup descriptions of the remains, I would be willing to be you have a fairly typical multi-process carcass site. First of all, the dead animals may have already been ill and possibly died before consumption. Secondly, there is likely more than just the primary actor disarticulating the carcass. So what you are left with is a tough call on what is "killing" the young deer.