A better hunter

[MTLongdraw]

2014 consisted of many days in the field and lots of miles walked. I saw some incredible sights and heard some amazing sounds. I took a lot from this year none of which was an elk. On Black Friday I chose to hunt rather than shop (like always). I found quite the deal in a steep slope of dark timber I had been hunting for the past week. It was an area I had been able to get away from boot tracks and kept seeing elk tracks so I went there with the hopes of finding what I was after. Unfortunately another "local" had been hunting this area too. He got what he was after! I spoke to the biologist and she aged this 5x5 at 2.5 years old. Incredible genetics and definitely an area I will continue to learn. Do you guys know what got this bull? I'll give you a clue. No signs of being shot. It had likely been there for at least 4 days (based on snow fall).

[blackwolf]

Looks like "cat" tracks around the carcass. I think wolves would have eaten more.

[MTLongdraw]

Absolutely right. The biologist said that the cat kills very clean and they tend to eat around the front shoulder very neat and tidy. They definitely keep coming back and forth to their food source. The tracks headed to the right back and forth multiple times. I'll be honest I didn't know at first but my head was on a swivel the entire time.

[pointysticks]

wow!! put a cam up.

thanks for the great story.

[WapitiTalk1]

Bad kitty. Yah, I bet you were watching over your shoulder standing next to that elk

[blackwolf]

MT, How was the bull killed? Wondering how the cats take an elk down. I found a whitetail doe with just the jugular area eaten out and head and neck covered with leaves. I was told it was either a cougar or large bobcat. Wish I had put a camera on it.

[Indian Summer]

I know a guy from Darby with hounds and a lion tag who would run that cat down in a flash if you're interested. And I can tell you for sure that he is definitely NOT in need of a place to hunt elk and a 5 point bull wouldn't catch his eye. He kills his 6 point bull early every year and always well south of Hamilton.

[WapitiTalk1]

Blackwolf, not to answer for MT but I doubt if your deer kill was a bobcat or lynx. They really are not known to take down a game animals that big (a mature BC or Lynx is not much more than 35 or 40 pounds). ML's are large predators which kill their prey by running down their quarry and clamping their powerfull jaws on to a spot around the neck, hanging on, using their 150 plus pound weight to their advantage, and more often than not, ultimatley resulting in the demise of the deer (and/or elk). Here's a VID I dug up showing how powerfull these big cats are. In the VID you'll see the ultimate goal of the cat is to suffocate the buck. The head and neck covered with leaves you mentioned on the deer is an attempt to bury/hide the kill from other predators.

[wawhitey]

Wow, i bet it was a big tom that took down a grown bull elk. Hard to imagine a small to average size cat pulling that off. Next monday the conditions should be perfect, ill be out at first light lookimg for fresh cat tracks. One of these days ill catch one with its pants down instead of the usual other way around

[Indian Summer]

No clear tracks? There is an obvious difference between wolf and cat tracks. That said it could be a lion, but they are primarily deer hunters. For that reason I'd have to agree with Phantom, most likely a wolf. Also... cats cover up their kills when they leave. Wolves do not. And wolves don't always eat much. In fact sometimes they kill animals and don't eat anything. Bastards.

[Huntrgathr]

The nature of the kill points to wolves. Looking at the neck for bites would tell you pretty quick if it was a lion. As mentioned before , they'll go for the neck every time. Wolves usually " hamstring" an elk to bring it down and go after the paunch, oftentimes without killing the elk first. Also, it's not covered up ( which would point to cat). Although a cat could have visited the kill, seems like they usually only cover animals that they themselves took down...

I wouldn't rule out the possibility of the elk having been wounded by a hunter. It can be hard to see bullet or arrow wounds after the kill has been scavenged...

[MTLongdraw]

Do believe this was a mountain lion. Face was partially covered with snow. Keep in mind this had been there for multiple days in 40-45° weather. Some of the snow could have melted too. Tracks didn't appear as blocky on the pads as some wolves I've seen. Also one single set of tracks leading back and forth multiple times to and from the carcass... Didnt see any hamstringing going on and absolutely nothing eaten out of the hind end.last but not least the biologist and the professor at the check station said it was a cat so I'll go with that. All I know is its a bull I didn't get but a cool find

[Huntrgathr]

Do believe this was a mountain lion. Face was partially covered with snow. Keep in mind this had been there for multiple days in 40-45° weather. Some of the snow could have melted too. Tracks didn't appear as blocky on the pads as some wolves I've seen. Also one single set of tracks leading back and forth multiple times to and from the carcass... Didnt see any hamstringing going on and absolutely nothing eaten out of the hind end.last but not least the biologist and the professor at the check station said it was a cat so I'll go with that. All I know is its a bull I didn't get but a cool find

Ok, I can see that now with a little more info. I thought the snow on the face was fallen snow. Couldn't tell well enough from the pic that it was all melted out. The back legs are also obscured, but something(s) clearly went in for the guts ... Anyway, interesting find !

[Bow4Elk]

I had a late season tag in Oregon one year and was hunting a sage and juniper area. Sitting on a rim glassing a valley and there was a bunch of deer feed below me. Some kind of commotion took place to my right and I looked that way. There was a cougar chasing a doe down the hill. The cougar jumped on the back of the deer and down they went. When they stood up, the cougar had the doe by the throat and the deer was pulling trying to get away from the cougar. After a couple of minutes the cougar choked out the deer and that was the end of the deer. I used to think they killed them by breaking their neck or something but after watching it happen in real like I decided it was a different story. I did sneak in to try and get a shot at the cougar (bow hunting) but when I got down to where it was the sagebrush was over 5 feet tall and I couldn't see the cat. All the sudden I didn't like the situation I was in but didn't want to turn my back on the cat and kept looking. When the cat jumped and ran at around 10 yards I cleaned myself up and went back to deer hunting.

[Indian Summer]

When we talk about lions covering their kills it is with dirt and branches. Pine needles and other debris. Just like bears. Wolves and coyotes are the ones who do nothing to conceal kills. I think a cat may be visiting the kill but I still have my doubts about what killed it.

Always neat to find a kill. Makes you look over your shoulder eh Longdraw.

[zpd307]

did you grab the rack?

[MTLongdraw]

I did. Have some neat plans for it. I hope they work out the way I envision.

[pointysticks]

I had a late season tag in Oregon one year and was hunting a sage and juniper area. Sitting on a rim glassing a valley and there was a bunch of deer feed below me. Some kind of commotion took place to my right and I looked that way. There was a cougar chasing a doe down the hill. The cougar jumped on the back of the deer and down they went. When they stood up, the cougar had the doe by the throat and the deer was pulling trying to get away from the cougar. After a couple of minutes the cougar choked out the deer and that was the end of the deer. I used to think they killed them by breaking their neck or something but after watching it happen in real like I decided it was a different story. I did sneak in to try and get a shot at the cougar (bow hunting) but when I got down to where it was the sagebrush was over 5 feet tall and I couldn't see the cat. All the sudden I didn't like the situation I was in but didn't want to turn my back on the cat and kept looking. When the cat jumped and ran at around 10 yards I cleaned myself up and went back to deer hunting.

Love this story. A cat killed a baby calf last year. It seemed like the mountain side exploded w action from the deer.

The next couple of days sucked cuz a rancher brought in about 20 hounds. The deer vanished. I never saw the kill. But it was heart wrenching listening to mama cow call for the baby.

[Kevrod3]

A Bobcat got to my deer in Central Ohio last month. He even took the time to sharpen his claws and bury the hind quarters. He ate quite a bit of the back ham and then started behind the shoulder... just enough to keep me from doing a shoulder mount.... I'm sure he was one happy kitty though!

[slim9300]

I know a guy from Darby with hounds and a lion tag who would run that cat down in a flash if you're interested. And I can tell you for sure that he is definitely NOT in need of a place to hunt elk and a 5 point bull wouldn't catch his eye. He kills his 6 point bull early every year and always well south of Hamilton.

That would be nice! It would be nice to take that elk killer out of the area.