My buddy I deer hunt with arrowed an 8 point buck around Cloquet Mn. It was getting dark so before tracking it he went and got a friend to help. When they started following the blood they heard some animal sounds that he said he had never heard before. It was about 1-1 1/2 hours from the time that he shot it to the time they found it and something had already been eating it. The one hind quarter was completly gone, part of the guts were gone and part of the front shoulder and front leg were stripped to the bone. I know there have been some mountain lions around in the past and that is the only thing I can think of that would tear a deer up that fast. Coyotes would have made more noise and I don't think a Bobcat could consume that much. The only other possibility would be a timberwolf and I have my doubts that even he would be on it that quick. My buddy said the deer was in an area with many overhanging branches so if it was a cat it could have been sitting in the trees undetected. Either way it makes my hair on the back of my neck stand up. I know 3 years ago I shot a bear and a week later one of our other hunters was sitting there and had a black mountain lion come in. At first we didn't believe him and he said it was as bigger or bigger than a black lab and had a tail that was 2 1/2- 3 feet long so it had to be a mountain lion. I wish I would see one when I was bear hunting in Mn because I would sacrafice my hunt just to get a picture of the big cat in the wild.

 

Is he sure that it was the same deer he shot? --- Could it have been a bear?

Did the deer have teeth holes on the neck? A lion will kill something by suffocation by biting the wind pipe area. I guess a lion might have found the deer dead. A lion also might have finished it off because it was hurt.

Were there any scrapings and scat in the area? Cats will scrape a round area with their feet. Then they'll drop scat in the area. I think they kick debris over the scat after. I think the diameter of the scat would be around 1 & 1/4".

I don't think a cat would eat as much of the deer hair as a coyote or bear. So there shouldn't be too much deer hair in the scat.

 

I am not sure of all the details, But I will try and get some more this weekend when we go hunting for the rifle opener. It definately was the same deer because the followed the blood trail to it and from what he said it was a good hit. I don't know anything about mountain lions that is kind of why I posted this in hopes of some input. From what I have seen out of black bears they are more leisurely about eating and cautious. I don't think they would of tore it up that fast. They said they heard sounds that they never heard before and described them as what they thought to be a cat sound. I don't know what sound a mountain lion makes other than the snarl or whatever you would call it so I couldn't tell you what they heard. My first thought was bobcat until he told me how much meat was consumed. It would of had to be more than one bobcat to consume that much, But I suppose it is possible. Bears are very opportunistic (spelling ? ) animals so I suppose if he happened up on it that is possible . I know even the conservation officers have confirmed lion sightings in and around this area so who knows. I probably will never know, But my curiousity sure has me going. It had to be a bear, big cat or multiple animals to consume that much that fast. I gotta believe multiple anything would have made a ruckess over the deer at some point leaving know doubt that there were multiple animals. My buddy said they heard some noises right up until they got there and then all was quiet so it made a quick and quiet get away. All the details I have are second hand and we all know how that goes. My wifes cousin said that his friends brothers sister said her boyfriend ..... So the info may not be 100 % accurate and may even be exaggerated ( Spelling ? ) , I am only telling what I was told just trying to get input onwhat it could have been or most likely was and just to share the story. It would be to bad to have my deer eaten, But it would be neat to know for sure what was eating it or better yet to see it eating it. Thats just nature doing its thing showing that animals will take advantage of any opportunity they can to survive.

 

thats crazy i am from duluth so did he still take the deer and is there any good gravel pits done by cloquet i went riding down by moose lake and that was a blast

 

Yes he took the deer. He figured he shot it so it was the right thing to do. I honestly don't know if there is any riding places around Cloquet. Where him and I hunt is near McGregor and Wright. I have never ridin in Moose lake either and my property is only 27 miles from there. How do you like Duluth ?? My wife and I like to visit Duluth and we usually stay in Two Harbors at Superior shores resort. I live in North Branch and Duluth is only about 110 miles from me.

 

I would be willing to bet that it was wolves. The wolf population has been spreading throughout Minnesota and we are even seeing them in n. Dakota now.
Usually bears and mountain lions will drag their kill off and try to hide it. Wolves will eat it where it lies. @ or 3 wolves can strip an animal in no time at all. It's an amazing sight and very messy. Cats don't like to make a mess. I'm sure if you had the chance to look around you would have seen some tracks.

 

Thunderbolt,

That is quite interesting, I know that there are mountain lions around here, but I have never seen one and I am not sure if I want to. I still think that I would go with starkys theory here. I hunt 45 miles north of Duluth and I have seen timberwolves while hunting almost every year. I think if they see wounded deer, they see it as an easy meal. Then again I hear that the mountain lions are very big and aggressive. Who knows for sure.


Yamahawarriormods,

If you are looking for somewhere to ride, I would head north. I would get a plat map and go up Hwy 4/Rice lake road. One you get north of island lake, there are many dirt roads and trail to hit. Also, If you find the Whiteface truck trail you can ride for days without going down the same trail twice. I am just not sure if you can find it on a map. In the area of my hunting shack we have approx. 50 miles of trails (all public land) that we have made over the years. Those are a little farther in the woods though. My shack is about 12 miles NW of Whiteface resevoir.
I actually lived/worked in duluth from sept. 03-Aug. 04. If it wasn't heading up there tonight to go deer hunting, I would invite you to come riding. I did a bunch of riding the last few weekends. Now it is hunting time though.

Ryan

 

Starky,

I thought maybe it was wolves too so I asked some questions this weekend. The guy said there was no mess at all and that the deer wasn't ripped apart it was eaten with finness. The noises that he described to me were the sound of a something like a cat purring. The other sound he thought they heard was the sound the always use on tv when a mountain lion is after something. I don't know how to describe it, But it would be their roar I guess. His dad had some friends check into it and there have been numerous sightings of a mountain lion in and around that immediate area. One woman even had it standing in the middle of the road so she got a real good look at it. There is only one cat that big with a 2 1/2 - 3' tail that I know of. We will never know for sure, But the details that I have all point towards a cat. Again all the info is through the grape vine so thing could be exaggerated or even wrong so I have no facts to back it up and even I am not convinced that it was a cat, But it sounds like a good possibility. It would be kinda cool if it was, But who knows.

 

Cougar attacks target near Pierz, MN Conservation officer Paul Kuske recently said that cougar sightings have become more common in the Pierz area. Apparently, there's one cougar that's not real smart. In his weekly report, Kuske stated that one hungry cougar was plenty surprised recently after trying to make a meal out of a life-sized deer archery target. "It was found dismembered and dragged into a nearby woods," Kuske said. "Claw marks and tracks indicated a cougar-not a real smart cougar-was the culprit."

 

If the time was only an hour and a half, the cougar/mountain lion was probably not the culprit. We have alot of them here in New Mexico, but they don't do anything fast. If a cougar found the kill, it would first drag it somewhere more secure to feed on it, the it would bury it and come back the next day or so. Your culprit is most likely wolves or bears (mom and cubs) to eat that much in that short of time....

We don't have wolves here, just plenty of bears an mountains lions...

dave