What would eat the tongue out of a cow that was calving???

My neighbor called this evening, and said he found a cow that was trying to have a calf, and something had eaten her tongue out... He hauled the cow to a vet, and I didn't talk to him, my mother talked to his wife this evening...

He also lost a ewe and a lamb last night also...

I haven't seen any sign of killing on my place... and we share a common fenceline...

Any ideas???

New one on me, be interested in hearing other's reply to this.

Never heard of that before BB.Hope somebody knows something.Give us all a chance to learn.

Holy cow... New one on me. Seen buttholes, navals, ears, and etc but never a tongue..... Better get the BBQ fired up and a bottle for the young un...

Dang that sucks.

COYOTEDOG/WILDDOGS, Delt with this 3 times this year here in East Tx. and once in the Hill country. Need to start paying closer attention while checkin livestock...carry your gun.

couple years ago neighbor had a problem with yotes killin calves. Heck they were comin in and killing it as soon as it was born. they said the one was killed before it even hit the ground.They shot the yote befoe it could get away but they had saw it .

Never saw or heard of it before either. I could see how it could happen if the cow was down and had her back side in heavy brush or close to some big obstruction. A cow in labor will often lay with her tonque hanging partly out as she struggles, so something certainly could grab ahold of it and not turn loose. I would go along with dog, or coyote theories too, as unlikely anything else would rush up and grab a cow by the tonque

ive never had it to happen to any of my cows but i have had a farmer in the past to tell me of a similar situation and it was wild dogs. well i just assumed they was wild he didnt say. coyotes normally dont operate that way. but again, its not a normal occurrence.

A single dog will seldom attack alone.
Two or more dogs is a different story.

If, the cow had ear damage,facial damage or hind quarter...Yes, i would say dogs. Dogs seldom eat what they attack or kill.

How about the sheep, ear,head, or back leg damage ?

I'm not saying it was a wolf but it is very typical of a wolf to grab a moose by the nose. So I wouldn't be surprised to see a coyote grab a cow by the tongue. Pretty big weight difference there and the tongue offers a good place to hang on, and safe from the back feet.

Yeah, Up north of you...we started having these cattle mutalations...no explanation to this day...good luck..shoot to kill...adious

Wow,whats weird,if it was around here i would say an eagle...i know that sounds goofy..but

Last year I had a rancher who said he had problems with coyotes and I never could find any sign of them. I did the whole routine of tryin to locate the source of the problems...using sirens at night...bait stations etc,never could find out if yotes were in the area. I happen to be driving thru that area one day on my water line and saw a pack of dogs chasing a momma cow that had just given birth and had not released her afterbirth. They as a pack were able to get her down and pretty well did a number on her. She survived but her calf did not. Although they did eat some of the calf they were more in it for "the kill". This problem was taken care of within a week due to they did not have much of a territory.

I have more calls for wild dogs than I do for coyotes in this area.

Something to ponder about BB.......

Bullet I have had dogs take a tongue out of a cow. Luckly they were seen doing it. I couldn't save the cow but I did get my problem solved.

Anymore Ideas??

I just got this thing to let me back on to read what you boys think......

Wolfer,

My neighbor said, he thought the ewe was killed by dogs the way the killed looked....

I will ask him about the cow tomorrow... he turns in pretty early.....

This one sounds weird to but heard about black vultures killing calves in Texas when they are being born.

start hauling your rifle Blake... I assume the cow died in the attack, I would guess canine of some sort. Or a fence jumper looking for an easy meal.

Had a farmer call me and swear it was coyotes killed his cow and newborn calf. Closer inspection found dog tracks all over the lot. Found out his wife let their dogs lose and went to town...he took care of one problem with a gun and the other with a lawyer....Dog is my guess from what you have described. Tom

He found the cow alive... and took her to the vet... I don't know as of yet if she is still alive or not...

But I plan to keep a close eye out.....