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Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:21 pm
by Big Horn Posse
Yesterday when I was out lion hunting I came across this freshly killed badger. Take a guess what killed it.

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:39 pm
by jkcasey
A flock of killer blue jays? Ok I give up, what was it. I'm guessing something pretty hungry. I've dealt with more than my fair share and you have to want to kill a badger.

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 8:01 pm
by FullCryHounds
I don't know but it sure messed up a nice hide.

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 8:38 pm
by Big Horn Posse
What kind of bad ass animal can kill a badger? Took me a few minutes to figure it out but the signs are there. Look closely guys and take your best guess :wink:

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:01 pm
by bency
bobcat?

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:06 pm
by jasonrinebold
I'd guess wolves? There about all I know that would eat the bones and all. I would've thought they would have eaten the hide also though?

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:19 pm
by Mike Leonard
Lions kill them although many times they eat very little of them and abondon them but whatever ate this one looked hungry. I found a large badger killed by a little 70 pound female lion a couple of weeks ago. She evidently encountered him just bailed on him and killed him nearly no struggle(head bite) opened him up a little in several spots and then pulled him under a small juniper and just walked off. For a critter like a lion who think skunks are a delicasy I don't know why this one turned it nose up at the badger. Maybe not hungry just wanted to crunch the pesky little grump. LOL!


Badgers are not as tough as many make them out to be, but they run a hard bluff on a lot of things. They are not excactly fast or agile they dig out their food and kill it in the ground. I had an old English Pointer bird dog named Doc that could kill badgers even big ones by himself and do it in short order. He just knew the technique. Lions are such perfect killers if they really decide to kill something it usually ends up dead.

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:32 pm
by Big Horn Posse
Was not a lion, wolf, or bobcat. Look closely at the photos. I learned what it was that killed it by a game warden not to long ago. He showed me the signs to look for when I find an animal that was not killed by a lion or winter kill. You Wyoming rancher guys should know this one. :wink: There was significant bruising on the back. The animal picked it clean hide and bones. Even 3 of the legs were gone and this badger kill was VERY fresh. The animal that killed it made quick work of eating it.

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:36 pm
by Rimrock
Eagle??

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:41 pm
by white
I know thats a female lion cub that a houndsman treed and a dude from new york shoot awesome trophy.

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:44 pm
by Big Horn Posse
Rimrock you got it! :) Yes, eagles kill antelope, deer, sheep, rodents, snakes and even badgers amoung countless other animals they can sink their talons in. I never realized the were such great hunters until the game warden showed me what to look for and now any kill I find that I know is not a lion or wolf kill I look for the signs of eagle, winter kill, and poaching the game warden taught me. :D It is pretty interesting if you know what to look for what kind of story the signs will tell you. :wink:

As for looking closely to the photos you will see bird poop all over the pine cones, needles and rocks.

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:45 pm
by tman308
Golden Eagle make a big mess like that and they have been killing the badgers and prairre dogs like crazy around here.

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 12:35 pm
by jkcasey
Big Horn Posse wrote:Rimrock you got it! :) Yes, eagles kill antelope, deer, sheep, rodents, snakes and even badgers amoung countless other animals they can sink their talons in. I never realized the were such great hunters until the game warden showed me what to look for and now any kill I find that I know is not a lion or wolf kill I look for the signs of eagle, winter kill, and poaching the game warden taught me. :D It is pretty interesting if you know what to look for what kind of story the signs will tell you. :wink:

As for looking closely to the photos you will see bird poop all over the pine cones, needles and rocks.

See I was close. Killer blue jays are bad buisness. :lol:

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:28 pm
by BAYDOGG
The third photo told the story. The small tuffs of fur removed with a scalpal like beak.
Nice find.

Re: Guess what killed this

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 4:32 pm
by B&T man
Because there is bird droppings at a kill that means an Eagle killed it? Who knew. I'll have to start looking for bird droppings around all the dead animals I find.