‘Mutilation’ most likely carnivore’s work
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Editor,
A story was published recently in the Billings Gazette headlined “Mystery cow mutilations reported.” Perhaps these comments will be of interest to your readers and to your law enforcement folks.
During a period of four years during the 1970s, cattle “mutilations” were reported in Montana and elsewhere. At the time, I was editor of Montana Farmer-Stockman in Great Falls. In the process, I wrote numerous stories and interviewed many people. Deputy Sheriff Keith Wolverton of Great Falls wrote a book titled, “Mystery on the Prairie.” I received a letter from France asking for information on the subject.
Each story began with the report of an owner viewing a dead cow and reporting it to the sheriff as “mutilated.” Since an owner viewed an animal as “mutilated,” investigators assumed it to be true.
Not one of the reports came from individuals with training and understanding of what they were seeing. Investigators assumed that reports were true and reported them as such.
But during that period, not one person was identified as suspicious; not one piece of other “evidence” was found, including car tracks, shoe tracks, gates open, etc.; not one veterinary diagnostic lab person in various states believed the claims (I talked to them); not one wildlife specialist believed the claims (I talked to them).
Experts did not believe the claims because: at any given site there are always eight or more carnivore species present; carnivores do a lot of their dining at night, or are isolated from view during the day; carnivores are always hungry and competing for food; “delicious” food, to a carnivore, are the parts easiest to get at, including eyes, lips, tongue, teats, etc.; and the topic of sex organs was always a topic because they were easy to get at and delicious.
My conclusion, and that of many, many others, was that people inexperienced on the topic engaged inexperienced law enforcement officers, who totally mis-diagnosed many cases of carnivores having a meal.
I hope the folks involved will not take the population through that scary nonsense again.
Leland Cade
Billings
