Got this from our friend and hard-core shed hunter Kelly K. out in South Dakota:
Mike: While shed hunting the other day, I picked up this nice 4-point, shot a couple pictures, looked over the fence and saw this!
My question is, what kind of animal could kill a buck (scored low 170s) in great shape? I watched this deer 2 weeks ago and he looked just fine to me. He was in a herd of about 192 deer, and surely there were some younger deer that would have been much easier to kill.
Notice the deer’s rib bones, which are chewed up to about 4” long in some places. I’ve seen a ton of deer killed by coyotes out here, but I don’t recall the ribs being chewed on like this. Also notice that the hide is still intact, first time I’ve seen this. All this took place in just a matter of two weeks.–Kelly
I asked Kelly if there were any recent cougar sightings in the area. Or, it’s possible and perhaps likely that a pack of coyotes killed this deer.
Kelly wrote back: I don’t know, but I think I’ll start carrying a sidearm!
I have found so many bucks like that-and yep, week or two before they were healthy as could be-couldn’t explain why they died. Sometimes deer just die- no diff than people. I like the fence theory. Bigfoot would have carried it off I think. Thanks for sharing.
The area this Deer was found does carry both dogs and cats, I will carry a side arm for protection. If it is truly Bigfoot I will need to get a bigger side arm!
Thanks for the input.
Kelly
No doubt about it………it was bigfoot.
Just looking at the deer and situation, I would guess coyotes ate him. Did you look at the fence closely? Maybe he got hung up in the fence jumping over it and that held him in place for the coyotes? Just a guess. From what I have read about cougars, they tend to drag their prey to a secluded place and cover it up some. this is just a guess mind you but it is a great topic for conversation.