Of late, the press has been reporting that a great many cattle, both bulls and cows, are being killed and mutilated, in the state of Oregon. If nothing else, this is a somewhat welcome change from the reports of the political gong show in Washington. Aside from that, the speculation as to the cause of the death of these animals is nothing less than an embarrassment.
In the eastern part of the state, there are very few ranches, but those which do exist are huge, covering many thousands of acres. The cattle are allowed to range freely. It is on these huge estates that the cattle are being discovered, dead and mutilated. There is no shortage of theories to explain these strange events.
Each time this happens, the local police are called in to investigate. In one case, the police report stated, there was ”no indication it had been shot, attacked by predators or eaten poisonous plants. The animals sex organs and tongue had been removed. All the blood was gone”.
Here we have an example of an incomplete police investigation. In fact, just because there was no blood around the wound sites does not mean that the ”blood was gone”. The blood was precisely where it was supposed to be, inside the carcass. If the police had conducted a proper investigation, that would have been confirmed.
In the case of four bulls being discovered dead, the local press reported that: ”There were no tracks around the carcasses. Ranch management and law enforcement suspect that someone killed the bulls. Ranch hands have been advised to travel in pairs and to go armed”. As there were no tracks or signs of human activity around the carcasses, the conclusion is illogical. The bulls were clearly not killed by people.
In almost all cases, the genitals of the bulls have been removed, with ”surgical precision”, so that it is speculated that the bulls were ”killed to get the organs of the free ranging bulls”. It is further speculated that the bulls were ”darted with tranquilizers that knocked them out. While some people acted as lookouts, others bled the animals by inserting a large gauge needle into the tongue and into an artery, then removing the organs after the heart quit beating.”
Once again we have an incomplete investigation, in that it is assumed that the blood is missing. Also, there was no sign of human activity, a fact which was conveniently ignored. As the country is supremely dusty, any tracks are immediately apparent. That rules out human involvement. As well, they are correct when they say that ”It is not bears, wolves, cougars or poisonous plants. Nor were the animals shot….not one drop of blood”. Yet they are determined that people were responsible for this!
Strangely enough, these same people are the first to admit that it is simply impossible to move around that ”dusty country” without leaving tracks. On the one hand, their investigation rules out human activity, yet on the other hand, they still blame people.
In the case of the death of one cow, according to a deputy conducting the investigation: ”No dart puncture, no bullets, no strangulation marks, no rope burns, no tire tracks, no signs of poison”. From that rather thorough investigation, the same deputy reached a rather strange conclusion: ”definitely foul play involved in this animals death”. Once again, we have incorrect conclusions derived from incontrovertible facts.
Then there is the idea of ”people attacking the animals to cause financial harm to the ranchers”. We could point out that there are easier ways of causing ”financial harm”, but even that brainstorm is better than the more popular belief, that ”the animals are being levitated into a space ship, mutilated, and then dropped back to the ground”.
It is to the credit of one of the ranchers that he joked about this. He said he was ”flattered that aliens from distant galaxies would travel all the way to planet earth, just to kill and mutilate my cattle.” He is one of the few ranchers to still maintain a sense of humour.
As local law enforcement is stumped, the FBI has been called in. They in turn report that a similar situation took place in the 1970’s. As they put it, at that time, ”in the West and Midwest, thousands of cattle were killed and mutilated, from Minnesota to New Mexico. There have been sporadic cases since then”. The investigation of that august agency concluded that ”there is no indication that anything other than common predators were responsible.” As the investigations have proven conclusively that the animals are not being killed by bears, wolves or cougars, it is clear that the FBI considers some other ”common predator” to be responsible. They neglect to say just what predator that may be.
Here we have a very clear cut example of well meaning, honest, professional, highly respected people, including members of various law enforcement agencies, stating the problem clearly, investigating carefully, and then coming to conclusions. The trouble is that the conclusions they reach are in complete contradiction to the facts. This can only be described as shoddy work.
All are correct when they note that there is no blood around the injury sites. They are also correct when they note no sign of human interference, such as ”bullet wounds, puncture wounds, strangulation marks, rope burns or foot prints”. Also no sign of predation from ”common predators”. From this they conclude that the ”blood was drained from the animal”, or ”foul play was involved”, or as the FBI stated, ”common predators were responsible”. All are mistaken, although the FBI is closest to the truth.
Perhaps someone should tell these Dick Tracy sorts, these ace detectives, that which all school children know. Once an animal dies, the heart quits beating. There is no blood around the wound sites because the animal was dead when it was mutilated! Dead animals do not bleed! They correctly point out that there is no indication of the animal being killed by a human, of ”foul play”, because there was no foul play. The police have done a fine job of ruling out the impossible, but failed to take the crucial step of facing the one and only alternative! The animals are being killed by poison gas!
There is only one animal which can release poison gas, strong enough to kill cattle. This poison gas, commonly referred to as a ”cloud of smoke”, is not smoke at all, but supremely toxic. The fact that it uses this poison to kill cattle is proof of that. Then it consumes the parts of the animal it can easily gather, including the tongue and genitals. It also frequently rips out the large intestine, a very nourishing part of the anatomy. It is strange that the press does not report this, perhaps because they are concerned with the sentiments of the readers. Or perhaps the animal has changed its behaviour.
Of course the animal to which I am referring is the pterosaur, commonly called the pterodactyl. As it is nocturnal, it is rarely seen. It also flies, so that it is very light, with huge paws, to that the tracks it leaves are very difficult to spot. It has also clearly developed a taste for beef, at least in Oregon. As long as livestock is left outside after sunset, those animals will continue to be preyed upon by this prehistoric monster. I regret I do not have better news.
To the law enforcement officials, I can only say that there is no law against wild animals killing livestock. In other words, no ”foul play” involved. To the FBI, I can say that the pterosaur is hardly a ”common predator”, but it is certainly a predator.
That brings us to the not so little matter of proving the existence of this ”not so common predator”. May I suggest taking a sample of the blood from the carcass and sending it to a laboratory. As long as the blood is extracted from the animal within 24 hours of the death of the animal, then it is very likely the lab can determine the poison used to kill the animal. At the same time, swab around the wound sites and send the swab to a lab, for a DNA analysis. No doubt the test result will confirm that the wound was made by a reptile. Equally without doubt, those test results will be challenged, so it may be best to send the samples to three independent labs. This is my idea of a thorough investigation.
These test results will confirm that the livestock is being killed by a blast of poison gas and consumed by a reptile. Law enforcement personnel can take comfort in knowing that the ball will then be taken from their court and placed where it belongs, in the court of the scientists. The death and mutilation of this livestock is not a crime. It is a problem to be faced by the scientists. It is high time they did their job.
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 