Black and white and red all over.
Pennsylvania, June 2007 -- Dairy cow found with large patches of hide missing, and deep gashes in her flesh.
Help solve the mystery of what happened to this poor creature.
WARNING:
The photos below are unedited, depict blood and may disturb some viewers.
If you are upset by graphic photographs of animals that are injured and may be in pain, you should leave this page now.
The mystery remains unsolved.
The cow did survive, if that is any consolation.
CUDDLY COWS
COW ATTACKED
A neighbor of mine had a cow attacked by something.
The hide was literally ripped off in sheets.
The cow has survived and is healing quite well.
I have photos. This matter is being investigated.
WHAT HAPPENED?
HEALTHY YOUNG COW
This heifer weighs 1700 pounds and was in top health.
She was pastured with about 40 others like her.
The [owners] knew right away this was an attack by a wild animal.
The cow was clawed and bitten severely.
COW FICTION
ATTACKED?!
Some believe that this cow was attacked by a mountain lion. A few think that only a human could have inflicted this kind of damage.
What do you think?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byAttacked, by either predator, alien or human criminal.
Melissa says:
I understand how some people may believe that this cow had some type of skin disease because of the way the hide was torn appart, however that deos not explain the claw marks you can clearly see on the animal. Also, if this was a skin disease or as some people have said "really bad sunburn" the owners of this cow would have noticed signs of that long before the animal reached this condition... i believe that something or someone attacked this animal. I dont see how this animal could have possibly turned out this bad over night without being attacked. I have my own cattle and I have never seen anything like this with sunburn. One of my friends had a calf attacked by a bear and the claw marks were farther appart. I truely believe this was a mountain lion attack.
Posted June 20, 2008
This cow was not attacked.
XP says:
Likewise, Melissa, an animal attack does not explain why the light skin would be severely affected and the dark skin intact.
Perhaps in her diminished state she provided a promising target for a predator, but I cannot reason with the assertion that photosensitivity was not to blame for the burned, peeling flesh.
Assuming fire-breathing cougars do not exist, of course! :)
Posted July 24, 2008
HIT BY LIGHTNING?
An officer observed the cow. He suggested that it may be liver disease or lightning.
He admitted this might or might not be a mountain lion attack. He stated he was going to send an expert to observe the cow.
No experts called or visited the farm.
PLAY WITH CATTLE
CLAW MARKS
Everyone who got a good look at the heifer saw that there was little hide left, and visible claw marks could be seen.
An officer stated that a bear will do this kind of damage.
A bear doesn't use all four claws as this animal had, and the claw marks (too big for bobcat) were too close together.
Mountain lion?
Why would a mountain lion attack a healthy, full grown cow?In Michigan, there have been many attacks on horses in the last several years, that have eventually been attributed to mountain lions.
Some argue that the way the hide was torn, and deep claw-like gouges in the flesh must have been made by a large natural predator such as a cougar or black bear.
DOUBLE TEAMED
John Lutz, director of the Eastern Puma Research Network, stated that "the only animal capable of such a damaging attack would be a mountain lion."
Wildlife biologists from North Carolina reported that the heifer appeared to have been attacked by two young cougars attacking from either side.
REAL COW TALES
PEELED HIDE
"These are textbook lesions of photosensitization," said Walt Cottrell, a wildlife veterinarian with the Game Commission, referring to the peeled hide of the heifer.
Cottrell's diagnosis was based on photos of the animal, taken in early June, which he had studied.
Bad sunburn?
The peculiar way the hide appeared to be missing where the cow had light skin (white hair) and seemed unaffected where the cow had dark skin (black hair) made some people wonder ... is it sunburn, and if so, why would this particular cow be affected and not the rest of the herd?Photosensitivity, possibly affected by something this cow ingested, seems the most likely answer.
PLANTS TO BLAME
Photosensitization is a condition which occurs when the liver is unable to excrete a metabolite of chlorophyll from forages eaten.
Affected skin becomes wrinkled, and the surface may eventually slough away. Areas most affected include lightly or unpigmented skin, muzzle, ears, eyelids and udder.
COOKING COWS
Mystery resolved?
For an unknown reason, some cling to the idea that this was a mountain lion attack.Maybe mountain lions are smarter than we think.
I've heard of cats playing with their food, but to meticulously remove the hide with such attention to coat pattern detail seems a bit advanced for a cougar.
WE'VE GOT COWS
WHAT HAPPENED - YOU TELL ME
Add a link that supports your theory of what happened to this animal.
Photosensitivity
Springtime brings the warming sun and lush plant g more...1 point
Wildlife officials say cow likely killed by cougar
Bismarck, North Dakota: Strange News0 points
Mountain Lion Suspected of Killing Cow
A 12-hundred pound cow was killed in a pasture nea more...0 points
My opinion.
Links, photos and additional information about plant toxicity, reactions and burns matching the photos posted have been found. Photosensitivity (sun scald, aslike clover poisoning, etc.) is rarely this extreme, but the best answer to this condition.
How is it being overlooked that the injuries closely follow the pattern of the hide? This is not the work of a predator.
The same cow is shown below, well on her way to recovery.
Happy ending.
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