Mt lion vs coyote

[JRWhit]

Is there a way to tell a Mt lion kill from that of a coyote kill?
I've had recent trail cam picks of a big cat in my area and recently came a cross a kill on my property of a yearling deer. It may be too far gone to tell but I would find it a little abnormal to have been taken by coyote. It is just a tad bigger than I would think they would go for?
And yet again it may have died from other causes and was scavenged.

 

[sage5907]

I saw a mountain lion kill several years where the cat had placed the body of a small doe in the fork of a tree about 6 feet off the ground. A friend found the body of a deer that was possibly killed by a lynx on the ground and covered by leaves and sticks. We had both seen the lynx so we knew it was in the area. Coyotes had either not found the kill or stayed away from the kill.

 

[Art Eatman]

Generally, a lion kill will be covered with leaves/branches or moved into brushy cover. Coyote kills won't. (No such thing as always.)

 

[Double Naught Spy]

It may be too far gone to tell but I would find it a little abnormal to have been taken by coyote. It is just a tad bigger than I would think they would go for?

Keep in mind that not all coyote hunting is by single animals. Coyotes sometimes pair or pack hunt and can take down larger game that way.

This is rather hard to watch, but it shows exactly what I am talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MocKEor1BM8

 

[witchhunter]

As Art said, cat kills will almost always be covered and drug into the brush, coyotes don't do this.

 

[Davek1977]

Coyotes generally attack from the rear of animal, and hunt larger game as a group, whereas lions hunt by themselves and generally bite the neck for the kill. If you can determine where the attack originated on the body, you can often determine which species killed it.

 

[JeeperCreeper]

Were any ACME products used?? That might point to a Wiley Coyote kill...

Seriously though, what everyone said is similar to what I have heard. I have no experience forensicly analyzing the kills of either so I am no expert. I also tend to believe that if the deer was on the "tad bigger" size, then a pack of coyotes would have taken it, resulting in little of the kill left remaining. Where the lion is one animal and may leave some more meat left on the bone. Just my ideas.

P.S. Anyone know if lions or coyotes favor the bones/marrow?? That may help as well...

 

[JRWhit]

It was a little too far gone to figure out the origin of the attack. The pelt was completely torn away and the meat mostly stripped. It was however more in the open grass. It would have easily been concealed in nearby brush and thickets if desired, leading me to believe it more likely to have been taken by coyotes. The little buggers have been getting pretty thick in my area.

It's surprising watching them wear down that buck in the video.

 

[Tony k]

I was down at the local state game office friday talking to a wildlife biologist and reading next year's oregon big game hunting regulation book. The books says that the average lion in Northeast Oregon kills one deer or elk per week--usually a fawn or calf. I told the wildlife biologist that that seemed like way too much for a single cat. He said that they often only eat a portion of the animal before they get chased off their own kills by bears, etc, despite their best efforts to conceal them.

With that in mind, maybe the deer was killed and stashed by the mountain lion, but then a pack of coyotes ran the cat off and ate what was left. Just a guess...

 

[tnxdshooter]

Is there a way to tell a Mt lion kill from that of a coyote kill?
I've had recent trail cam picks of a big cat in my area and recently came a cross a kill on my property of a yearling deer. It may be too far gone to tell but I would find it a little abnormal to have been taken by coyote. It is just a tad bigger than I would think they would go for?
And yet again it may have died from other causes and was scavenged.

Yeah cats will kill the pray and stash it and come back to consume it later. They may consume part of it and save the rest for later but they do "stash" it so to speak. Yotes don't stash it.

 

[tnxdshooter]

It was a little too far gone to figure out the origin of the attack. The pelt was completely torn away and the meat mostly stripped. It was however more in the open grass. It would have easily been concealed in nearby brush and thickets if desired, leading me to believe it more likely to have been taken by coyotes. The little buggers have been getting pretty thick in my area.

It's surprising watching them wear down that buck in the video.

Sounds like a yote kill.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Actually it's quite simple. Almost invariably a Mt lion killed deer or elk carcass will have a fractured and dislocated vertebrae at about the C2 level. That is a sure sign of a lion kill that was shown/taught to me by State wildlife biologist in NM.

 

[d2wing]

'Yotes take lot's of deer around here, especially in snow. Also dogs running lose
kill deer.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/wildlife-reporting/mountain-lion-reports/mountain-lion-signs

Mountain lions—They generally kill their prey quickly and efficiently. They creep close, then rush quickly to hit the animal and bite it either in the back of the neck to sever the spinal column, the throat to crush the trachea, or the skull to puncture the brain.

http://www.aws.vcn.com/mountain_lion_fact_sheet.html

Their method of killing is usually with a powerful bite at the base of the skull, breaking the neck. ("Living with Wildlife in Mountain Lion Country," Colorado Division of Wildlife, Denver, CO)

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5251229.pdf

A lion kill will often have puncture wounds on the back of the neck or head, where the lion frequently bites the animal. There may also be other puncture injuries to the neck and jugular are as. Lions do not chew ears off a carcass and will begin eating in the stomach area directly behind the ribs. Lions will try to pluck or trim the hair from around the area where they first start to feed.

 

[dividemt]

I have had a experience just like that. I have a few pics of a very large lion on the hunt near my cabin. I also have a pic of a terrified calf elk running down the road at night. Nearby, I located a carcass of a calf elk, and I assume it is the same one, but I have no proof. My experience with coyotes would pretty much exclude them from taking a deer unless they were in a pack and no other food was available. All the coyotes I have seen around here have been loners.