Animals attacked, snake to blame?

[ziggybond_007]

How about something from the Mustelidae family? Mink? Wolverine? Pine Marten? They have been known to maim and kill just for the joy of it.

That's what I was thinking as well.

I say its a bird of prey. My mom's friend has a farm and frequently has kittens and small cats taken by red tailed hawks in the area.

Maybe, but wouldn't there be more than two puncture wounds from a hawk grab?

 

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Would a mustelid cause those puncture wounds, though? And the scalping?

 

[Brewster320]

Sounds like a larger cat to be like bobcat or maybe even a lynx. Cats kill with a bite to the neck and claws could definately cause scalping. To add to that, larger cats(predators in general, especially cats though) don't like smaller predators on there territory and will kill one if they get the chance. If thats the case it could explain why it left the bodies.

 

[Raptor]

Sounds like a larger cat to be like bobcat or maybe even a lynx. Cats kill with a bite to the neck and claws could definately cause scalping. To add to that, larger cats(predators in general, especially cats though) don't like smaller predators on there territory and will kill one if they get the chance. If thats the case it could explain why it left the bodies.

The woulds were described as perfectly round though. Teeth and claws would cause ripping.

 

[Kekmet]

Unfortunately I don't have any more information on the attacks than already given, but I don't believe there was any crushing damage, which is why I want to rule out *local* snakes.

They were described as more of puncture wounds than tearing. I have been bitten by my own cats before and they can leave perfect little holes. I'm pretty sure we do have bob cats around here, so that's a thought.

Again, thank you all for your input. I think at this point we can safely absolve the snake of blame.

 

[tricksterpup]

Has the actual cause of death been established? If it was a constricting snake, you'd be looking for broken bones and crush injuries with suffocation as the cause of death. There's no way a non-venomous snake could kill a cat just by biting it and I assume snake venom has been ruled out?

Can't figure out the scalping part. No snake would have the "equipment" to remove patches of fur from a cat's head.

This is a myth.. they do not crush bones. Plus if a snake did kill the cats, there would be no bodies.

When a constrictor kills its prey, it doesnt cause the animal to break. It causes them to stress and essentially have a heart attack and die.

 

[bitsy]

A constrictor suffocates its prey. It tightens around the ribcage every time the animal breathes out, until the animal can no longer expand its chest to take a breath in. Crushed bones can sometimes result, presumably occasional heart attacks also. However, I don't think constrictors primarily kill their prey by scaring it to death (although it'd work on me alright!).

 

[Raptor]

Bitsy is partially right. Besides suffocating, they also cut off blood flow due to the extreme strength that they have.

 

[Kokopelli]

As far as I know, the cause of prey's death is usually due to suffocation and internal injuries caused by broken ribs/internal bleeding.

 

[Susan]

I'm leaning towards a sick human. If it was any other non-human life form, the marks would not be identical in placement and shape. Predators, be they reptile, mammal or avian will not make wounds in the same place twice and no where else, plus will usually eat, part or whole, what they kill. A human, however, that is whacking the local feline population with, say a garden tool, would leave identical marks as well as be apt to hit in the same place...on the head/neck as the feline approaches when calling "here kitty, kitty" with a tasty morsel in their other hand.

 

[bitsy]

Bitsy is partially right. Besides suffocating, they also cut off blood flow due to the extreme strength that they have.

Actually I've looked into it since posting as it sounded really interesting. The cardiac arrest theory seems to have been proposed in 1994 (Hardy, D.L., Sr. 1994. A re-evaluation of Suffocation as the Cause of Death During Constriction by Snakes. Herpetological Review).

A 2000 paper on constriction in Gopher and Kingsnakes concludes that these snakes may possibly exert enough force on mice to induce cardiac arrest as well as causing suffocation, but that research wasn't conclusive and the paper stated that further work was needed to confirm the hypothesis. (Moon, B.R., 2000. The mechanics and muscular control of constriction in gopher snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) and a king snake(Lampropeltis getula). Journal of Zoology).

It doesn't seem that there's been further publication on the subject, so at present it remains a strong theory. Very interesting one though - let's hope there's some research funding for more study.

 

[vetusvates]

How about something from the Mustelidae family? Mink? Wolverine? Pine Marten? They have been known to maim and kill just for the joy of it.

Agreed. Exactly. Precisely. A Mustelid : i.e., a weasel or marten or mink. I don't know if wolverines live around there, but if that were the culprit, the cats would NOT have walked away.

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=weasel+mink+rampage+kill&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

You see incidents like this on TV all the time. No mystery. No Chicken Little, no 'sky is falling'. No nocturnal psycho with a cat fetish on the loose.
When I hear hoofbeats, I think horses before unicorns.

Although, I do like the "El Chupacabra" theory, Josh. My personal favorite.

 

[Tavia]

Although, I do like the "El Chupacabra" theory, Josh. My personal favorite.

I have to say that was my first thought on reading the description of the cat bodies.

 

[Raptor]

Actually I've looked into it since posting as it sounded really interesting. The cardiac arrest theory seems to have been proposed in 1994 (Hardy, D.L., Sr. 1994. A re-evaluation of Suffocation as the Cause of Death During Constriction by Snakes. Herpetological Review).

A 2000 paper on constriction in Gopher and Kingsnakes concludes that these snakes may possibly exert enough force on mice to induce cardiac arrest as well as causing suffocation, but that research wasn't conclusive and the paper stated that further work was needed to confirm the hypothesis. (Moon, B.R., 2000. The mechanics and muscular control of constriction in gopher snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) and a king snake(Lampropeltis getula). Journal of Zoology).

It doesn't seem that there's been further publication on the subject, so at present it remains a strong theory. Very interesting one though - let's hope there's some research funding for more study.

Snakes are fairly efficient hunters. Everything about them is designed to kill quickly. Comparing them against say a lion, the snake is going to live longer. The lion, compared to the snake is fairly messy and inefficient with great bodily risk (it isn't uncommon for a lion to get killed by a kick to the head).

Speaking from personal experience, snakes (at least with my corn) can strike hard enough to cause nose bleeds in live prey items. We all know that the constrictors kill, at least partially, from suffocation. Each time the prey breathes out, the snakes can constrict that much tighter. They also can cut off blood flow (read this on a constrictor forum). I've experienced this personally. I attended a show last year and got the pleasure of handling a red tail boa. It wasn't full size. Probably about four foot.

The show was small, but fairly packed. Since the boa probably felt insecure, it coiled around my arm for security. My lower arm quickly lost feeling, and started turning red. When I got the boa off, it was very easy to see where it had been. The areas where it had coiled were white and the areas in between were red. This was not a killing constriction either.

 

[airenlow]

I don't know if wolverines live around there, but if that were the culprit, the cats would NOT have walked away.

Wolverines in Michigan...:nope::grin01:

Although, I do like the "El Chupacabra" theory, Josh. My personal favorite.

:cheers:

 

[SnakeAround]

I have read that snakes do constrict by tightening up every time the prey breathes out, but the actual cause of death is caused by the blood stream being cut off. The heart just stops functioning then, so will everything else in the body. Of course the lack of oxygen does help a lot to kill the prey. But from suffocation only I think it would take a lot longer to kill the prey. I once tried to drown a poisoned, already quite phased out mouse but it took way long and in the end I had to let it go and it ran off. It had been under water for quite some time then.

 

[SnakeAround]

Oh, and about the subject: the punctures do remind me of a blood sucking bat though I don't think their teeth are that far apart, nor do they scalp I think. At the other hand, they would not bruise the area around it.

 

[vetusvates]

So...we have not ruled out el chupacabra...???...

 

[Tavia]

I think that does sound more reasonable that that it is a snake doing it ...

 

[vetusvates]

Tavia, although no one but you and I would know otherwise, you just got big rep for being such a good sport. :laugh: