For over thirty years, ranchers, veterinarians and official investigators have
been searching for explanations for animal mutilation cases. Local authorities,
FBI, Bureaus of Special Investigators, and ad-hoc committees have conducted
intense investigations to gain more understanding about these phenomena.
Unfortunately, the results of these investigations did not provide the
public with solid answers to their questions. Ranchers continued to
feel helpless, confused, and frustrated, while their resulting economic
losses caused serious concerns. In 1975, Colorado Governor Richard D.
Lamm called animal mutilations "one of the greatest outrage in the history
of western cattle industry." (1)
Scientists involved with researching animal mutilations have attempted
to provide logical explanations, and in some cases, these explanations
were contradicted by the evidence gathered by police investigators.
Generally, scientists attributed mutilations to commonly accepted factors
such as natural causes, predators, and scavengers. These explanations
have caused dissatisfaction among ranchers and some investigators.
Although some official investigators had been around livestock all
their lives, they stated that they have never seen the characteristics
that are now attributed to animal mutilation. They concluded that at
least a part of the animal mutilations were "definitely not made by
predators." (1) Sometimes, investigators were
puzzled by their findings. Even today, some animal mutilation cases
are simply classified as unexplainable. (2)
The investigation of animal mutilations and the peculiar circumstances
in which they occur require gathering of physical evidence immediately
after the event, but this is not always possible. Published data on
animal mutilations have been used to establish patterns. (3,4,5,6,7,8)
Those who decide to study the subject are still faced with several
crucial unanswered questions. Some of the most significant are:
- What causes the death of animals that are found mutilated?
Some evidence suggests that the mutilation takes place after the animal has
died. Otherwise, the body and the surrounding areas would be stained
with a great deal of blood because if the animal were alive, the heart
would continue to pump blood through the open vessels. Reports reveal
that compared to the severity of the wounds, blood traces are scarce.
Natural causes of death in animals include: infectious diseases, severe
accidents, poisoning, bloat, birth-related accidents, predators, electrocution,
etc. which can be diagnosed through macroscopic examination and laboratory
analyses. In most mutilation cases, it has been reported that animals
died suddenly. This is based on the testimony that they were seen by
the owner in good health and body condition shortly before being found
dead.
If predators caused the death, teeth marks would be found around the
hocks and the nose because those areas are usually attacked first. Tissues
would be torn, arteries and veins would be open and bleeding would take
place—which would be easy to see. Especially during the winter season,
blood traces are easily detected on snow covered terrain. In other seasons,
the soil and vegetation in the vicinity of the carcass would show tracks,
hoof prints, and/or signs of ante-mortem struggle—signs which are difficult
to miss.
During an investigation, authorities will conduct a thorough examination
of the mutilated body and the surrounding areas using more or less standard
procedures. Their findings are documented in legal reports. If no signs
of predator attack or ante-mortem struggle are revealed, then the question
is: how did the animal(s) die? One answer is natural causes,
but if natural causes were not evident, the animals may have been euthanized
somehow and mutilated later. What could have silently killed them
without leaving any traces on the body and in the inflicted tissues?
Regardless of the cause of death, normally there is an agony phase
during which the animals display contractions in different parts of
the body, especially in the legs and in the neck muscles. Pedaling,
for instance, will cause tracks on the soil—which would be noticeable.
If tracks are not present, then the animal(s) probably died instantly
without going through the agony phase. Possible causes of an instant
death are lightning, gun-shots or paralyzing factors. Weather conditions,
characteristic lesions on the body, and signs in the surrounding area
can confirm or exclude the possibility of lightning. Gun-shots can be
easily detected through a thorough necropsy. Paralyzing factors are
more difficult to identify. However, a laboratory examination would
have a good chance to clarify such a suspicion. If none of these
possibilities exist, what else could be responsible for the death?
Special attention should be paid to situations when more than one animal
is found dead under similar circumstances. When three or four animals
are found in the same position, as if they were walking in the same
direction, or when the position of their legs suggests that they were
running, then the question remains what caused the sudden death?
Some reports have mentioned that mutilated animals were found laying
in the middle of perfectly round areas where the vegetation looked as
if it had been burned. What could have caused this strange occurrence?
Other reports mention that large allegedly mutilated animals (cows,
steers) had all four legs fractured with no plausible explanation. If
one or two legs had been broken, it could be easier to understand.
According to a recent report (private communication, Dec. 1996), issued
by the Criminal Investigations Division in Fort Pierce, Florida, tissue
and blood samples from a mutilated animal were submitted to a state
diagnostic laboratory. By using gas chromatography, they found three
unusual compounds in the liver and the aortic blood: Furaltadone (an
antibacterial compound), Oxipronolol acetate (a beta blocker), and Amfetaminil
(a psychotropic drug).(9) How did these chemicals
get into the blood stream when the necropsy report did not mention signs
of intravenous injection? Their presence suggests, however, human
intervention.
- What is the logical explanation for the missing body parts and
the way in which they were removed?
The most plausible interpretation which has been reflected in veterinary reports
is that animal mutilations are the work of scavengers. The kind of tissues
removed suggests a preference for soft easily accessible body parts
(teats, udder, tongue, external genitalia, ears, etc.). In such situations,
it is likely that the animals died of natural causes and were scavenged
afterwards. However, scavengers do not kill animals.
A strange feature in animal mutilation reports is the apparent precision
by which the tissues were cut. Examination of the remaining tissues
gave investigators the strong impression that they were cut with surgical
precision. However, how this was performed could not be established
with certainty. In some instances, the edges of the remaining skin looked
so regularly serrated that it could not be caused by a predators’ bite
or tearing.(8) For example, portions of 20-25
cm skin edges were straight and regularly serrated, which suggests the
use of an instrument. What kind of surgical instruments could have
been used to leave this kind of cut?
In some cases, it was suspected that laser beams were used.(7,8)
However, with currently available laser technology, cutting a 3-5 mm
thick cow hide would require equipment weighing several thousand pounds.
How could that equipment have been deployed and used in usually remote
areas without being seen or leaving tracks in the surrounding environment?
- Is the blood in the mutilated animals indeed missing?
Some reports have stated that blood was missing from the body or was only present
in small amounts. In 1971, an Idaho veterinarian necropsied a purportedly
mutilated horse and found that all internal organs, including the heart
and the lungs, had been completely desiccated.(8)
At necropsy, by compressing parenchymal tissues such as liver, lung,
and kidney, one would expect that a certain amount of blood is expressed
even if post-mortem coagulation or hemolysis had occurred. This is true
under normal conditions when animals die without being exsanguinated.
If massive ante-mortem bleeding had taken place, these organs would
appear pale and the amount of blood obtained by compression is significantly
reduced. But if there is no indication of extensive internal or external
hemorrhage which is capable of draining blood from the circulatory system,
then the lack of blood looks peculiar.
The main task would be to establish whether the blood was removed by
artificial means. A thorough examination of the central and peripheral
circulatory system, including the heavily vascularized tissues, should
establish the correlation between the macroscopic aspect of the tissues
and the microscopic images, which give more detailed information on
the status of the capillary vessels and their blood load.
- What are the morphological changes in the tissues from mutilated
animals?
In some cases, tissue samples were examined in well-established diagnostic
laboratories. Histology performed on over thirty skin samples from the
excision lines by Dr. Altshuller, a Colorado pathologist, revealed lesions
suggesting overheating. Although there were no data on the degree of
autolysis of the samples, collagen and hemoglobin were significantly
changed in the proximity of the excision. (7,8)
In a 1991 report, the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory of Corvallis
(Oregon State University) determined that skin sections from a suspected
mutilated steer showed lesions consistent with electro-surgical excision.(10)
Another element that could bring a better understanding of these kinds
of processes is the bacterial load of tissues. Post-mortem decomposition
usually involves a variety of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria which cause
tissues to decay. Compared to the surface of the affected skin, where
numerous bacteria can be identified in the areas of coagulation necrosis,
there is no such bacterial population. What could have caused such
morphological skin changes? Only further systematic histological
and molecular biology examinations, to study intimate cellular and chemical
changes, could give valid clues on how these lesions were inflicted.
- What causes the domestic and wild animals in the vicinity of
mutilated animals to behave strangely?
Anecdotal reports from ranchers indicate that after an animal has been mutilated
the rest of the herd behaves strangely and will keep their distance
from the carcass for days. They look afraid and are in visible distress.
A Utah rancher reported that the horse he was riding became very nervous
when it saw a mutilated cow. The horse started to snort and would not
go near the cow.
Wild animals, including predators, scavengers, and birds seem to display
a similar reaction to mutilated carcasses. According to ranchers, mutilated
animals will remain untouched even in areas where wild animals are commonly
seen. On a Utah ranch, a carcass of an allegedly mutilated cow was in
the same position with intact hide, except for the initial missing body
parts, for over 9 months. The animal was laying in a wooded area which
was populated with coyotes and other predators.
Animals that die of natural causes do not seem to trigger the same
type of reaction from other animals. On a recent trip to a Nevada ranch
(Dec. 1996), a dead cow was found on a pasture close to the highway.
The cause of death appeared to be distocia. Part of an oversized calf
was engaged in the pelvic tract, but the birth could not be finalized.
The exhausting efforts of the cow resulted in her death. The carcass
was not removed for over ten days. Animals grazing in the immediate
area were not bothered by the carcass.
- What causes the disappearance of animals?
The disappearance of animals can be attributed to a variety of causes such
as rustling, running away, predator attacks, etc.
When animals are stolen, a legal investigation is usually initiated.
In some cases, tracks or other clues lead to a firm conclusion that
the animals were stolen even if perpetrators are not identified.
When animals run away, there are indicative signs such as broken fences
and tracks. Later recovery of the animals is a chance to verify such
situations.
When predators are the cause of animal disappearance, different tracks
are left behind such as blood, hair, skin portions, body parts, foot
prints, etc. In most cases, it is not difficult to come to a conclusive
answer from these findings.
Reports of unusual animal disappearances have been filed with sheriff’s
departments and other investigators.(1) Certain cases were finally clarified,
but there were situations in which no traces could be found and the
cases remained unsolved. In the last couple of years, there have been
some reports of disappearance of large numbers of animals under circumstances
in which theft was ruled out by authorities.
- Could individuals or cult organizations be involved with animal
mutilations?
Over the years, investigators have focused on the possibility of certain individuals
or groups being involved with animal mutilations. Officials have even
obtained confessions. However, the confessions came from imprisoned
persons who were seeking lenient treatment. If satanic cults were involved,
this would not explain the widespread and high incidence of mutilation
cases throughout the years. In spite of all police, FBI, and other investigators
efforts to gather solid evidence, no one has ever been arrested or convicted
for such a crime.(1)
In order to answer these questions, thorough clinical, morpho-pathological
and laboratory examinations need to be conducted. Only by carefully
analyzing the results of such scientific research can pertinent conclusions
be drawn. By looking for intimate changes in tissues from mutilated
animals, down to cell and molecular levels, can valuable findings be
correlated to help us define what in fact had happened to these animals.
The first requirement to accomplish such a goal is to have necropsies
performed as soon as possible after the animals’ death, and to have
proper tissue samples collected for complex laboratory analyses. The
second requirement is to perform an expanded array of tests when the
animal tissue samples are in pristine condition. No matter what the
outcome of an in-depth research on animal mutilations would be, economic
losses and ranchers’ worries make searching for the answers to these
questions perfectly justified.
An important conclusion from a recent National Institute for Discovery
Science (NIDS) survey indicates that necropsies were never performed
and samples were not collected for laboratory analysis on any of the
reported animal mutilation cases. This suggests an urgent need for veterinarians
involvement in investigating animal mutilations.
We hope that we will acquire more information on this matter with future
endeavors. By expanding our inquiry, and with the help of bovine veterinary
practitioners, we hope to have a broader picture of the facts as far
as incidence, patterns and ways of investigating such cases are concerned.
Unfortunately, there still lingers among veterinary practitioners the
practice of choosing the most conventional explanations, even if no
concrete evidence supports them. This tends to obscure the real circumstances
and causes of animal mutilations. By preferring to follow commonly accepted
diagnostics, veterinarians are inclined to simplify the process of justifying
the cause of death and avoid being exposed to additional, sometimes
unpleasant questioning.
Acknowledgment: Sincerest thanks to the President of NIDS, Mr.
Robert T. Bigelow, for his steady support and to the NIDS staff for
promptly reviewing and editing this material and for their valuable
suggestions.
- Vallee J., Messengers Of Deception, And-Or Press, Berkeley,
Ca. 1979, 165-188
- Blokesmith P., UFO - The Complete Sightings, Appendix 6,
Animal Mutilations, Barns & Noble, Inc., New York, USA, 1980, 162-163
- Clark J., Strange Cases Of Cattle Killings, Fate, 1974, 27,
8, 79-90
- Clark J., Books, News And Reviews, Reality Mutilation, Fate,
1984, 37
- Clifton C. S., Mutilation Madness, Fate, 1988, 41, 6, 60-70
- Hall R. H., Livestock Mutilations: A National Mystery, Zeletic,
Scholar, 1988, 7, 43-51
- Howe L. M., An Alien Harvest, Pioneer Printing, Cheyenne,
WY. 1993, 62-102
- Howe L. M., Glimpses Of Other Realities, Pioneer Printing,Cheyenne,
WY, 193, 126-195
- Florida Department Of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Kissinnee
Diagnostic Laboratory, Results Of Laboratory Examination, 11/25/1996
- Rae M. A., Report On Laboratory Examination, Corvallis, OR., Veterinary
Diagnostic Laboratory, College Of Veterinary Medicine Oregon State
University, Feb. 22 ,1991
