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Mystery Animal Attacks Horse in NJ


Purplos

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New Jersey wildlife officials hope to determine what kind of animal severely wounded a South Jersey horse on Friday night.

"We're investigating whether the injuries were caused by a domestic animal or a wild one," said Darlene Yuhas, spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Something jumped on the back of a large white thoroughbred at the DD Ranch on Watsontown-New Freedom Road in Winslow, said Capt. Michael Bartuccio of township police.

Its underside was ripped open "from armpit to armpit" and its back was covered with gashes, he said.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20090929_What_type_of_beast_clawed_S__Jersey_horse_.html

They had this on the news last night. I can't find a pic on the net right now. The slashes on the back where several inches long, the legs looked chewed on and the underbelly was all a mess. It was a big horse too. Would dogs/coyote jump on the horses back and slash it somehow? Would a bear?

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There are reports of puma in Vermont, I believe, as well as PA. Don't quote me on it though, and I don't have a source handy. It would be helpful if the horse could talk. It being still alive, I doubt it would have been a big cat--the injuries aren't consistent with a cat attack anyway. The wounds wouldn't heal remarkably fast either, if it were attacked by a cat. Feline saliva is laden with bacteria to speed up infection, a cleaned wound would still fester for a long time. So yep, I'm not going with cougar on this one.

Bear, possibly. If it were that large of a horse and it put up a good fight, the bear might have wound up getting put off and decided to go for something smaller. But I don't know why the bear would have attacked it in the first place unless it was starving.

What about kids?

Edited by Ebonykrow
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What about kids?

I can't imagine kids getting under a big horse long enough to tear up its underside.

Just found a vid with the horse in it - http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Is_the_Jersey_Devil_on_the_Attack__Philadelphia.html

They showed closer pics of the horse on the news I saw. The legs looked bitten up.

We have black bears around here but would they be able to get up on top of a big horse like that? A pack of stray dogs could get the underside, but do they jump up on backs?

Edited by Purplos
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I can't imagine kids getting under a big horse long enough to tear up its underside.

Just found a vid with the horse in it - http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Is_the_Jersey_Devil_on_the_Attack__Philadelphia.html

They showed closer pics of the horse on the news I saw. The legs looked bitten up.

We have black bears around here but would they be able to get up on top of a big horse like that? A pack of stray dogs could get the underside, but do they jump up on backs?

If they were able to subdue the horse while it was sleeping, never know. Some hooligans can go to extremes. They could drug it or, really, any number of things. Why they wouldn't have finished it off, again, anything could have happened.

The lack of injury around the head and neck is just not cat-like behavior, they're programed to go for the throat almost immediately. The claw marks on the back look cat-like, it is typical of a cat to pounce on the rear and work its way forward, but how would it have managed to get under the horse? Even being thrown off and caught under the hooves, the injuries sustained on the underside aren't typical of a puma. It would have no way to hang on. In order to inflict that much damage to the horse's stomach, the cat would have had to've hugged Buddy, and there are no claw marks around the shoulders or ribcage to suggest it did. The lack of evidence, such as fur or tracks, is also strange. The horse would have trampled the cat once it was under him, and that surely would have left enough fur, blood, or flesh to come up with a pretty quick conclusion.

Without any clear pictures of the underside, I have no idea, but I don't think it was a cat. There are other, smaller horses and prey animals it could have taken instead of Buddy. Unless it was rabid, starving, or confused, I don't see a cougar or even an exotic cat, doing something that stupid. I could see a rabid cat doing it, possibly, but that still doesn't explain why they didn't find fur, blood, or anything else.

Edited by Ebonykrow
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wouldnt be surprised if the JD made another apearence. as Ebony said if it was cougar the horse would have its neck ripped up. the scratch marks dont look to feline. they would look more like the below pic. so what is it? :huh:

post-82563-125424767238_thumb.jpg

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I was watching one of those Animal Cops shows late one night on Animal Planet and nearly threw up. They did an unexpected story about a bunch of young men that took a horse, tied it down so it couldn't move, and carved it into pieces with a chainsaw while it was still alive. They photographed the entire procedure, and presumably worked from least lethal to most lethal injuries to prolong the terror.

People are just like any other animal, you NEVER know what they're going to do.

That being said it doesn't sound like people to me. It could have been any number of animals, really. It could have been a cougar or such and the horse managed to hurt it enough to discourage it after it took a wounding of its own. I once saw a video of a horse purposefully fall when a cougar landed on its back. It landed on the cougar. The cougar tore the horse's back up trying to get away, and when the horse moved, it shot off and gave up on a horse dinner.

It could have been dogs, coyotes or wolves - they prefer to target the legs of big animals and, if the horse fell as a result, they would not be above getting some wounds in on its belly and back while it was down. With very large animals the tendency is usually to wound the legs to prevent the animal from running or fighting back as effectively, then keeping it occupied and delivering further bleeding wounds until the animal tires from blood loss and the effort in continued defense.

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how would the dogs or coyotes or what ever it is stay on the legs. the horse would freak out and kick its legs. if they were at that level they would have been kicked and probably been killed. the marks on the legs could have been scratch marks to...maybe

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I've also seen cougars attack horses, but it doesn't make sense that in this case, the cougar would go for the biggest, burliest horse in the lot and be able to inflict serious injury to the stomach, while not inflicting injury to the lower neck. Remember that there are other horses, and other livestock and pets, in the immediate area. A starving cat, dog, or bear, isn't going to resort to attacking a massive prey item when there are much easier options.

The flank also isn't as torn up as I'd expect from a cougar attack. I would lean much more toward some sort of canine, but it still confuses me as to why any predator would target this particular horse. Aside from it being noticeable there isn't a good reason why a rational predator would attack this beastly thoroughbred. (Again, rational. If rabies or some other neurological disease was involved, I would be inclined to believe any of the above. But then there's also the lack of fur, blood, or otherwise to support an attack from any natural predator.)

However, it being the Jersey Devil is as near impossible as impossible can be. I distinctly recall Piney explaining how the JD was a not so intricate joke played by Benjamin Franklin, that was blown out of proportion.

Edited by Ebonykrow
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Benjamin Franklin? rofl how does he play into it?

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how would the dogs or coyotes or what ever it is stay on the legs. the horse would freak out and kick its legs. if they were at that level they would have been kicked and probably been killed. the marks on the legs could have been scratch marks to...maybe

Bait and safety in numbers. Four wolves come in to bite its legs, it can only realistically kick at one, who backs off. The others are then out of range before it can ready another kick, having done their job. Wolves and coyotes - and even the really hardcore feral dogs - know what they're doing, and they're very good at it.

And getting kicked isn't usually fatal. Broken bones are a more common result, but usually it's just tissue damage; cuts and a Hell of a bruise. I know a small dog, twenty pounds at the most, that's been repeatedly kicked because he HATES horses. He goes berserk at the sight of them. Been officially kicked three times, probably more. Usually just spends a while limping.

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horses dont usually see what they are kicking do they? i thought they just kicked repeadedly when startled

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bears never attack horses,cause horse is taller or something like that,wolves only if they were in pack,also with cougar but i am not sure that they attack in pack... :D

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They did an unexpected story about a bunch of young men that took a horse, tied it down so it couldn't move, and carved it into pieces with a chainsaw while it was still alive. They photographed the entire procedure, and presumably worked from least lethal to most lethal injuries to prolong the terror.

That is just sick and disturbing.It makes you think whats wrong with people. :angry2:

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bears never attack horses,cause horse is taller or something like that

AURORA — It's rare enough for a bear to attack a horse, but this bear is believed to have traveled many miles from the mountains before it had its encounter with Cody.

The attack happened just east of Buckley Air Force Base early Friday.

Cody's veterinarian says he believes the horse will be OK. The horse, which is boarded at the home where the attack occurred, has deep cuts on its neck and claw marks on its side. The homeowner found Cody with the injuries Friday morning.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_13378977?source=rss

Edited by evancj
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  • 3 weeks later...

I can give you our recent experiance. We have a horse that was pastured while being trained. It was along with several other horses being harassed by as many as 9 coyotes at once. While the other horses broke through fence lines and escaped our horse was cornered and attacked by the group of coyotes. The pasture is close to a highway, in the early daylight hours someone drove by and noticed the other horses out and stopped to secure them. They than witnessed the attack of our horse by the coyote pack. It had been cornered and had one coyote on its back biting its neck as it stood, and the rest were attacking from various positions on the ground. The rescue person attempted yelling and waving them off and they did not leave. She than threw rocks and they started to scatter. One Coyote charged her from the bushes. The horse had a blanket on and I believe it is the only reason it is alive today. it protected its back, belly, and neck from this attack. He has bites and scratches all over his body. His mane has been torn off in a few places as well as strands of his tail.

This incident is the first I have ever heard of or experienced in regards to a coyote pack attacking a horse. Which would include my time growing up on a cattle ranch in Eastern Wash. Coyotes would frequently by out amongst our livestock and we never experienced trouble. Could it be Starvation? Rabies? Hybrid (coyote / dog)? Or an unusual pack mentality?

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I've heard if one has rabies and attacks, the others will follow simply because it's their nature to follow suit. It certainly isn't like a coyote to charge a person, at least not from what I've heard...

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lowflyin: Around here, coyotes are one of the most hated nuisances farmers/ranchers can have. They have absolutely no qualms getting into small livestock like rabbits and chickens, they freak cows the hell out which can cause all kinds of problems on its own, and while I haven't heard of them going for horses too often, it's been done. Coyotes generally won't bother healthy cattle in a herd.

Calving season, /all bets are off/.

Also, during hunger seasons for coyotes or during population booms, all bets are also off. They'll attack... Pretty much anything at that point out of sheer desperation.

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Man is not a creature that cannot do this but we have more and more possibilities...But I thle title says it was a Feral dog that did this...i dont understand whats the confusion here....Atleast the experts said it

Thanks

B???

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I was talking with a friend of mine. They have no real qualifications, they just like to read a lot. Very smart woman. Anyway, she has this idea that when man pretty much wiped out wolves in this country, that they opened up a niche that coyotes are starting to exploit by learning more wolf-like behaviors and going after bigger prey than they're usually noted for chasing.

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