Cryptomundo » Something’s Savaging Lee Straw’s Sheep

Something’s Savaging Lee Straw’s Sheep

Posted by: Loren Coleman on June 8th, 2007

Something’s killing Lee Straw’s sheep.

Most of his flock is kept safe on remote islands, just off the rugged New England coast. But many of the rest, over the past week, have been slaughtered by a mysterious and vicious killer.

If this were most parts of rural North America, dead livestock would just be part of the cycle of life. But in Maine — where Stephen King-approved dark imagery covers every unexplained and bloody happening — the twin mass killings of Straw’s flock is quickly becoming the stuff of legend and speculation.

Last Sunday [June 3, 2007], the frustrated herder stacked the carcasses of more than a dozen dead sheep along the road near a Wiscasset, Maine, ranch. Straw’s animals had been allowed to graze and keep the grass trimmed and fertilized for a free stay on a local man’s spread.Things were largely peaceful on the coastal land, until last weekend’s reckoning.Sunday morning, 14 animals were found bitten to death — the killer or killers making their way over a one-metre-high electric fence.Local officials quickly ruled out coyotes, because only a couple of the bodies showed signs of being eaten.They were simply chewed up and left.Straw believes domestic dogs attacked at night, though no one heard or saw the predators.”I wanted to show people what happened — that if it was their dog, to lock them up — so I put the (bodies) along the road,” the 52-year-old rancher explains, on the phone from his home in Newcastle.Sunday morning’s attack brought back memories of finding 17 of his sheep dead in 2004. What animals were responsible then is still a mystery.If the latest attack was hard to stomach, the fact that whatever it was that killed the 15 came back the next night to finish the terrible job has made Straw livid.By Monday morning [June 4, 2007], another 14 sheep were found slaughtered.The survivors of Sunday’s attack were checked on into the night, but some time after 1 a.m. on Monday, almost all were taken down in the same gruesome way as their brothers and sisters. Other than the sheep who are on the islands, only two members of the original flock survive.Locals found the dead animals — including many pregnant ewes — slaughtered throughout their neighbourhood.Hair samples were taken from the scene, but no results have come back.The local department of inland fisheries and wildlife also thinks a group of dogs is likely responsible — memories of Stephen King’s famous Cujo, where an average Maine pet becomes a blood-thirsty killer.Others have even more novel ideas. Among the fraternity of those who believe the state harbours more than its share of secrets and unique beasts, some are pointing an accusing finger at a breed of a ghostlike black panther rumoured for years to be living and hunting in solitude.”Local officials always quickly … assume it’s dogs,” says Loren Coleman, a Portland, Maine, an author and North America’s most recognized “cryptozoologist,” who for years has tracked animals which are only hypothesized to exist.The fact that these were large kills may suggest something more alarming, he adds.”They weren’t eaten; they were simply killed (for fun).”

Internet chat sites and specialized “crypto” web sites have been closely following the story. For them, the phantom black panther is an obvious suspect, having been spotted around livestock kills in past years.

They’re not so sure one of the big cats will ever be caught. But rancher Straw, cursing dogs for bringing his meek and mild animals down, is convinced the truth is out there — likely asleep on someone’s living-room carpet.”I think we’ll get the animal responsible. I think we’ll find out what killed them.”by Thane Burnett, “Counting sheep a nightmare - Flock savaged in Cujo-esque attack,” Toronto Sun, Friday, June 8, 2007

With regard to the phrase “for fun,” which was added by the Toronto Sun reporter, this was not mentioned by me. Motivation was neither implied nor noted. Why an animal, known or unknown, might kill 29 out of 30 sheep in a flock over two nights is something that I would not be able to get into the mind of the as-yet-unidentified animal or animals and place a a reason on such a behavior, especially in the early stages of this investigation, if ever.

Coincidentially, while the above was happening in Lincoln County, Maine, other “Lincoln” (name game alert) sheep killers were being discussed at the same time in the media, during this second week in June 2007.

In Wyoming, there’s been a new call to figure out if the return of wolverines is behind the killing of sheep and other livestock with new incidents that are within a context of others:

In 2004, a midnight call to Game and Fish wardens led to the discovery of a dead wolverine on State Highway 30 near Kemmerer. The discovery caused quite a stir in the small Lincoln County town and surrounding communities. The animal was eventually mounted by a Green River taxidermist and is now used for educational purposes at the Green River regional office.

In 1998, a wolverine reportedly killed several sheep east of Buffalo and was sighted by an area rancher. And in 1996, a wolverine was caught in a trapper’s snare set at a site about 20 miles north of Cheyenne.Star Tribune, Casper, Wyoming, June 6, 2007

Meanwhile in Alabama, the killers being blamed as the source of sheep attacks there is one heard the most often, in some cases because it’s truly the source of the rampages:

Animal control in Talladega County is still in question. The issue stems from problems Lincoln residents are having with dog packs attacking and killing animals. Last month dogs killed a foal and attacked a turkey at one residence. At another Lincoln residence, dogs killed eight sheep and attacked a goat.Daily Home, Talledega County, Alabama, June 7, 2007.

What is going on in several Lincoln locations in the USA, however, may be anything but mundane.

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This entry was posted on Friday, June 8th, 2007 at 12:08 pm and is filed under Breaking News, CryptoZoo News, Cryptomundo Exclusive, Cryptotourism, Cryptozoologists, Cryptozoology, Forensic Science, Media Appearances, Mystery Cats, Out of Place. You can follow responses via our RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is not allowed.

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14 Responses to “Something’s Savaging Lee Straw’s Sheep”

bill green responds: June 8th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
hey loren , wow this definetly a very interesting article about something or animal killing sheeps. i could say as some form of food resource but to early to say that for now. thanks bill green. i wonder if its wildlife related or sasquatch related case. i guess all we can do is keep our eyes open for new updates in near future.
dogu4 responds: June 8th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
What seems like senseless killing by predators (wolves especially, but other canids and mustelids) doesn’t seem so senseless when you take the human out of the picture. A small pack of wolves (or dogs) killing and injuring a lot of sheep, for instance, does seem like a waste to the shepherd but the wolf will have an easy meal later (if the shepherd doesn’t interfere) and will find that other predators will leave the wolf alone, to feed itself and it’s pack-mates and young, thus maximizing the utilization of a food source in a competitive and crucial situation as they have for a very long time. Those predators that don’t express or possess the instinct to overkill and instead only take what they will use at the time, thereby appearing much more sensible to the shepherd, will be at a disadvantage when things get rough and are less likely to pass their “genetically controlled “sensible” behaviors” to another generation. And I’m guessing that the officials in Maine are presuming it’s dogs, since they’ve never seen any wolves or coyotes around, again thinking that people are alert to the critters with whom we share the boundless landscape or that those poor stupid wolves or whatever dumb animals are instinctively driven to run under the first set of automobile tires it sees approaching it on a roadway. Pretty lame and fairly representative of the level of understanding we have of animal behaviors, so many of which were generated a long time ago when we attributed much different motives to animals.

I’ll be curious to see how the stories here unfold.
DARHOP responds: June 8th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
That’s a lot of sheep for one animal to kill. I would go with a pack of dogs theory.
Daniel Loxton responds: June 9th, 2007 at 1:37 am
As a long-time professional shepherd, I have to say that dogs are certainly the most likely culprit. Wolves generally just quietly pull down a lone stray; bears just wade in, absently swat a couple (often causing severe injuries) and then walk off with one at random; dogs really will chase down many sheep just for the fun of it.

This is often a problem in hobby farm areas where there are lots of small flocks and also lots of pet dogs. People will leave their dogs out at night, unable to believe that Fifi and Rex from next door and Fluffy from down the street could possibly be running down sheep all night.

This is not only common knowledge among sheep professionals (such as the shepherd in this article), but also something I’ve observed first hand.

We used Great Pyrenee and Hungarian Kuvasz guardian dogs in the flocks I managed. These are typically raised with the lambs, have minimal human contact, and identify strongly with — and therefore protect — the sheep. In rare cases, a young dog will exhibit too strong a chase instinct toward their lamb-brethren (not too surprising, since this is the natural drive for canines, which we have suppressed through breeding). Those dogs will start to “play” with the lambs, will be gratified by the dramatic response they get from the lambs, and a conditioning spiral takes off from there.

In one unfortunate case from my own career, a lovely fully-grown pup named Twinkie (nothing like a silly name for a gigantic dog) decided one day to run down an almost market-ready lamb (about 60 pounds) in the pasture. This she did, killing the lamb—and suddenly beginning a daylight killing spree.

I pursued the dog at high speed on a quad ATV as she got right carried away with her fun, running down one lamb after another in front of me. It was just a lark to her, but also terribly swift and efficient. In each case, she would simply bite the throat of the lamb while running, and leave it to die without even bothering to stop. I kept stopping to put down stumbling, dying lambs all the way through the back fields. She must have executed ten lambs in the space of just a few minutes, all while I was watching and screaming at her to stop.

As you may know, shepherds are very attached to their flocks, so this was a terrible, terrible day for me. I can relate to the sorrow and anger Lee Straw probably felt. (All the same, dog lovers may be relieved to know that we placed Twinkie, who was actually a very nice dog — there’s a lesson there in relation to the “lethal pack of domestic dogs” thing — with a family. She had the wrong instincts for working, but she was perfectly well suited to life as a pet.)

Which brings us back to the shepherd in Maine. In sasquatch cases cryptozoologists often urge us to trust the witnesses in the field, those who best know the area and its wildlife. In this case, I can only say, experienced shepherds are highly qualified professionals who know their subject extremely well. If the shepherd says his animals were brought down by dogs — a known, common danger with known characteristics — I’d be very, very reluctant to second-guess him without compelling concrete evidence to the contrary. He’s the expert in his field; we’re the amateurs in our armchairs.
Loren Coleman responds: June 9th, 2007 at 7:45 am
Daniel, well stated and compelling, of course.

Nevertheless, I will remain skeptical of “what” animal(s) might be killing these Maine sheep until I see more evidence (eyewitness accounts, footprint casts, DNA analysis, a body of the varmint) to convince me, one way or the other. (Sound familiar?)

I will remind you of your above statement the next time I hear of a report of animal collectors and ranchers, who know their animals, and say they have had an encounter with a creature they cannot explain in terms of the animals they know.
sschaper responds: June 9th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
I know that dogs can do this. Do wolverines do this?

Here in South-east Minnesota, a wolverine was video taped by security cameras checking out the new cars at a dealership in Zumbrota, about 25 miles north of here, a couple of years ago. A couple hours west of here, near Mankato, a female cougar has been known to have lived and had litters for several years now. The coyotes are back, and can be heard singing at night, east of town. An hour and a half south of Mankato, my Dad saw “a coyote the size of a Scots collie” at the end of the hayfield, and spare male yearling wolves have been known to travel down from the packs in the BWCA. Meanwhile a black bear and cub are known to be living in the southern part of town in the woods along the streams in that area, and further south another black bear is known to be hanging around.

But when there are deer kills, the local county conservation officer blames dogs, and angrily insists that farmers should never have more than one dog - even though dogs are not house pets, need a lot of room to run, and need company - our collies would hang out with the horses and cats, as we only had one at a time.

Now, couldn’t a wolverine, or a cougar, or even a bear, be responsible for these kills?
We are talking about one or two, not and again, not like a dog’s running wild around sheep. I’m suspecting a wolverine, simply due to Jack London tales, but that isn’t the same as having an expert’s opinion.
Daniel Loxton responds: June 9th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Loren writes,

Nevertheless, I will remain skeptical of “what” animal(s) might be killing these Maine sheep until I see more evidence (eyewitness accounts, footprint casts, DNA analysis, a body of the varmint) to convince me, one way or the other.

Very proper.

I will remind you of your above statement the next time I hear of a report of animal collectors and ranchers, who know their animals, and say they have had an encounter with a creature they cannot explain in terms of the animals they know.

I thought it was likely that someone would make this argument. In my view, it’s probably best not to turn it around in this way.

What I’m recommending is that we give more weight to the considered opinion of field experts, within their field of expertise (and regarding a typical event!), than we give to any other more speculative interpretation. But a rancher who is unable to describe something in terms of what they know is by definition working beyond their expertise.

A shepherd is a kind of field biologist of sheep and their known predators. To date, there are no biologists of bigfoot, alien big cats, chupacabras, or any cryptid.
mystery_man responds: June 10th, 2007 at 5:16 am
Daniel Loxton- I can personally kind of see what Loren means. If a shepard can be seen as a biologist of sheep, then they also can be counted on to know when they see something that is truly unusual and does not fit into their experience, which may point to interesting possibilities. I don’t think anyone has to be an expert on a cryptid animal to know that what they saw is something out of the ordinary, merely an expert enough on what they know to realize that what they saw does not fit. They might not be able to tell what excactly it was, but if they say it was an unknown animal that does not fit into their expertise of sheep and known predators, I think we can trust somewhat what they saw wasn’t a common predator of sheep. In that scenario, their expertise is telling us an unknown something was sighted. If they are knowledgable enough to know what common predators ARE, then they are knowledgable enough to know what common predators AREN’T as well. This is an interesting line of inquiry because it is a bit biased in my opinion to trust a sheep expert to make judgements on mundane animals, yet question them if they say it was nothing they had ever seen before. They are the experts right? Just a thought.
dogu4 responds: June 10th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Well, there are biologists and then there are biologists. Mr Loxton has a particularly enlightened perspective and I applaud him and those other stewards of the land who share his attention to adopting an intergrated view of managing animals on the range. A scientifically based understanding applied towards a holistic approach to that most holistic system, our planets living ecological systems, is a goal that people like Mr Loxton go great distance towards achieving. There is a lot of damage to repair to our rangeland as a result of bad (unscientific and short sighted) policies and practices (many of them based on input from not so good, though very experienced, ranchers and hearders). I really think that having aware land managers with practical experience and both empirical and scientific understanding is key to understanding how we can best know and best interact (manage) those systems on which ultimately we all depend and best know how to interpret the unknown when the previously un-recorded appears and makes itself known.
Got any good stories to share, Mr Loxton?
mystery_man responds: June 10th, 2007 at 11:09 am
I agree, Dogu4. One of my primary interests outside of cryptozoology is the preservation of ecological systems so I would be interested in the ways in which shepherds can take an approach to maintain sustainable ranges with little impact on the environment. Unfortunately, there are those out there that do not give the ecosystem much heed when pursuing their ranching or herding. One of the prime reasons for the disappearance of the Hokkaido wolf (Canis lupus hattai) from Japan, for example, was the short sighted work of the poisoning campaigns of ranchers. I don’t know how much that would be in keeping with the cryptozoological nature of this thread, but I would like to hear some of Mr. Loxton’s ideas on the matter as well.
Daniel Loxton responds: June 11th, 2007 at 1:19 am
dogu4, mystery_man: Nothing delights me more than telling stories from my sheep career (which was mostly far in off the Cassiar Highway up along the British Columbia side of the Alaska panhandle, as well as other remote places in the BC interior). But I think you’re right that we shouldn’t take the thread off topic.

I will mention, just in passing, that my career was in “sheep vegetation management” on tree plantations. (Sheep will discriminate between crop-tree conifer seedlings and herbaceous weeds, and preferentially eat the weeds. Handled properly, sheep can therefore be wide-scale weeding alternative in areas where broadcast herbicide treatments are unavailable or undesirable.) Anyway, this meant we worked within the highly-regulated Canadian timber industry, so we were contractually bound to very specific rules for dealing with streams, predators, wild ungulates, disease, and all other aspects of our operation.

I actually do have an anecdote that bears on your question, mystery_man, about farmers and their habit of eradicating wild predators. (Short version: my dogs and I were featured in a documentary cosponsored by a French insurance provider and a wildlife conservation organization. The film was meant to persuade French farmers to employ Great Pyrenees guardian dogs to deter predators rather than killing newly reintroduced wolves and bears. The punchline is that these highly effective French dogs are no longer a working breed in France, because the large predators are all gone.)

And perhaps that’s enough of my personal anecdotes for one thread…
dogu4 responds: June 11th, 2007 at 8:21 am
Thanks for sharing that Mr Loxton. I’m familiar with the Cassiar and delighted to know that an enlightened understanding to managing the resources is exemplified by this approach. But..uh…no giant primates?
Daniel Loxton responds: June 11th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Actually, yes — sort of. But that’s a story for another thread…
dogu4 responds: June 11th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Well, we haven’t seen much in the way of news on Kushtaqah lately. Maybe we’re due. Thanks again for the insights.

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