Comments on: Mystery Animal Attacks Horse

By: John A. Lutz

John A. Lutz — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:51:42 +0000

In the last 6 weeks, there have been multiple cougar sightings in the following areas of New York State. Buffalo, Camden, Syracuse, Dundee, Jamestown, Tully, Carthage & Allegheny County. Also got a report of a horse attack on Tug Hill in May, 2007, that was never made public according to retired DEC officer who told us of this attack.
In May, a Tioga Co, Pa 1,600 pound heifer was attacked by what looked like a cougar, sustaining injuries consistant to that predator. Go to http://www.easternpumaresearch.com to view pictures of that cow.

By: jules

jules — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 04:14:01 +0000

I think that either Iowa or Illinois still allow exotic cats as pets. (One heck of a kitty box, huh?) I agree with a previous comment about how a pet would not know what it could attack. Perhaps a horse was just too much for it to handle.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 02:41:25 +0000

Jeremy_Wells- I think that there wouldn’t necessarily be bite wounds to the head or throat in this case since the horse survived and was apparently able to fend off the attacker. This was not a successful attack and if whatever did this had been able to leave a grievous wound to the neck or head, then most likely the horse would not be alive in ok condition. If the predator was unable to go in for a killing bite to the head or throat, there would be no indication of such a throat or head bite left behind, and so the culprit may have just left relatively minor scratches and bites. I would think that if the horse had actually been dispatched or seriously injured, we would be able to see more tell tale signs of how the predator intended to kill the horse. As it stands, there may be little to go on. But of course you are right, there is not really enough info to go on in the article as to the state of the wounds. I’m guessing they were fairly minor considering the horse got a vet check and wasn’t described as being in any kind of dire condition.

By: Jeremy_Wells

Jeremy_Wells — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:17:51 +0000

I’ve been thinking about this a little more. Was there any indication in the story of where the bites and claw marks were at on the animal? Cougars typically dispatch their prey with a bite to the top of the head or neck, and more rarely with a bite to the throat (this is more canid behavior, and would be more likely to indicate coyotes, which we all know have been expanding their range eastward like gangbusters over the last couple of decades).
Bears will also attack the head, but they aren’t going to drop out of a tree or otherwise jump onto the back of an animal, and because of their size and power, broken bones are more likely with a bear attack (i.e. they attack the head, but break the neck instead of severing/puncturing the way a cougar does).
My gut just says cougar, but to be honest, there isn’t enough info in that article to judge the nature of the wounds.

By: CryptoGoji

CryptoGoji — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:39:32 +0000

My vote goes to large cat. It just sounds like the evidance fits that type of culprit. Somebody is bound to suggest it, the local authority will say that no panthers live in this area, then somebody will be out hiking and get killed.

By: scotty425

scotty425 — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 03:46:24 +0000

Sounds like a cougar to me. I’ve been hearing basically the same story for about 5 years here in Southern Illinois that someone’s horse had come in all clawed up and bitten and the attack was attributed to a cougar. Now, I used to believe that there were NO wild cougars in Illinois, that is until a buddy of mine showed me pictures taken with his trail camera that while a bit blurry, clearly show a cougar, not a bobcat, coyote or big yellow tomcat. The pictures were taken less than a month ago near a small town called Johnsonville. Also, I have a good friend whose father actually saw a cougar near Salem, less than 10 miles from where I live. I believe this sighting was sometime summer 2006. He also has horses. Coincidence?

By: jules

jules — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 03:10:50 +0000

There are still a few states that allow people to own exotic cats. Sure sounds like a cat attack to me.

By: Crypto-Chrib

Crypto-Chrib — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:20:41 +0000

There was a similar story from Washington, CT a few years ago. A district court judge’s horse was scratched up a bit. I wish I could find that article. Also, a mother and son waiting for a school bus in Shelton, Ct reported seeing a cougar that scared them into their car. It hung around until a policeman showed up and then ran off into the woods. That was just a couple of weeks ago. Of course, local Fish and Game officials gave the same tired statement. No Eastern Cougars, possible released pet or misidentification.

By: mrbf2007

mrbf2007 — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 22:40:33 +0000

Bill Green, I do not think this attack has ANYTHING to do with Sasquatch. The animal in question was not seen, so we do not know for sure exactly what attacked the horse. It sounds more likely to be a big cat of some sort. The animal had claws and it bit the horse. It would be pretty easy to get DNA from that and determine that it is more than likely a big cat, NOT a Sasquatch.

By: Daryl Colyer

Daryl Colyer — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:56:28 +0000

Sounds like cougar to me.

It would not be the first time I’ve heard of it happening.