On July 9, a rancher appeared at the district attorney's office in Espanola and reported that on July 8 he had found one of his cows dead and mutilated in the Tierra Amarilla area. The owner claimed that the animal's uterus, bladder, tongue, and eyes had been "surgically removed," and that he wanted the incident investigated.
I then went to Tierra Amarilla with the owner, who informed me that he had been in the ranching business his entire life. He also told me that this was the second animal he had lost to a mutilation.
When we arrived at the scene, the cow was lying on its left side approximately 2/10 of a mile from Highway 64 and 30 yards from a stream. Its head was facing in a northwest direction. The tongue and right eye were missing, and considerable damage had been done to the udder and anus areas. The extreme end of the animal's tail was missing. However, approximately 15 yards from the carcass, I discovered some hair which appeared to be identical to the remaining hair on the animal's tail.
There were numerous flies and maggots on the body, which also had the normal odor of decay. When the carcass was rolled over, the right eye was still intact, but was in the process of being eaten by maggots. I also observed several different birds of prey in the area.
After examining the carcass and noting the jagged and torn appearance of the injuries, I asked the owner whether he really thought the damaged areas could be described by the term "surgical precision." He replied that the damage did appear "a bit rough." I then asked where he obtained the term "surgical precision," and he said it was commonly used in the newspapers.
It is of interest that during our discussion, the owner immediately eliminated the possibility that the carcass had been damaged by coyotes. He based this belief on the fact that in his experience as a rancher he had observed that coyotes go to the throat to make a kill. As a result of extensive reading about sheep kills in Montana, I knew that he was right regarding coyote predation on sheep.
I then asked him how long he had been raising cattle. He replied, "about five years." He said that prior to this, his entire experience had been in the sheep raising business. We then discussed the possibility of a coyote acting in a dual role -- as a predator when killing smaller animals such as sheep, and as a scavenger when feeding upon the carcasses of larger animals such as cattle.
Figure No. 10 reveals the rough and jagged damage in the vicinity of the udder. it also shows a sizeable amount of bird defecation in this area.
Figure No. 11 discloses streaks of bird defecation on the carcass, and also illustrates the rough and torn jagged damage in the anus area.
Figure No. 12 shows a small dog which accompanied me on this investigation. He is obviously unconcerned -- a fact which is not consistent with the belief that animals always circle at a safe distance from a mutilated carcass.
In conclusion, after sifting through the evidence, I found nothing unusual in this particular case to set it apart from the previous investigations. The rough damage to the carcass, including the typically missing eye and tongue,, again point to coyotes, birds, and maggots as the "mutilators." However, it is readily understood why the owner's initial reaction involved those words "surgical precision.'' The power of the printed word -- especially when repeated over and over -- cannot help but influence one's thoughts. Although the cause of death was not determined, the owner informed me that the cow was due to have its first calf in August -- a very critical time for any bovine.