Lion or Coyotes?

[tsaw15]

I'm a little late on this as this story is from last season, but there has been plenty of debate at the ranch house since then so I am putting this out to the TBH'ers.

I shot this deer last December at my lease just south of Freer in web county. I was sitting in a tripod about 25 yards away in a clump of mesquite, when this guy turned broadside. The shot felt good but as he turned a ran I saw that I had hit him a good ways farther back than I would like.

I watched which way he went and got a good eye on where he entered the thick South Texas Brush. I called my Dad who was nearby and told him what had happened, and we decided to wait an extra hour on top of the hour we usually wait after a good hit.

So, after two hours, we started on the trail. A good spray and solid trail led us about 150 yards to the thicket that I saw him enter. It was very thick stuff. My dad and I were forced to belly-crawl through the scrub brush at times, but after about 20 yards of hard going, we found him. Like this.

We couldn't find tracks of coyotes and didn't hear them, albeit being less than 200 yards away the whole time. We didn't find any lion tracks either. Remember this deer had been on the ground for just over two hours at the most.

Notice how the hams are all eaten out from behind, and the stomach ripped out as well.

What do y'all think? We have had cat sightings on the ranch but very few in the last 5 years. However, we know there are some there. Alot of coyotes as well, of course. Which was the culprit here? Y'all let me know what you think.

[Playa]

yote

[austinRecurve]

My guess would be coyotes. I think a lion would carry it off or cover it.

[tbgascorer]

Coyotes

[Encinal]

Lions kill them by grabbing their throat. If they have time, they try to cover them with dirt/brush. This is yote all the way.

[bone]

Coyote

[elkbowhunter]

dang!! Id say that was a Rage broad head!!
seriously could have been either one of them. No tracks?

[denimdeerslayer]

Yotes

[Dave_S]

Nice Buck,Glad you found him. Yote

[PROUDREDNECK]

I would say cougar or big bobcat.

Yotes tend to rip the hide and bite here leaving chunks of hair and there while lions and bobcats are more like selective and they both eat like if they are using a knife and a fork, I mean clean edge bite cuts where they eat.

This buck may have been found already dead by the predator and that`s why there arent`any neck bitting marks of killing by suffocation he found and opportunity for an easy meal and start eating.

Yes Lions tend to hide their preys covered by brush, leaves or something and come back later to keep eating, bobcats do the same but not finding any of these above the deer doesn`t mean it wasn`t any of them since any animal who was eating this buck must have had left in a hurry when he heard you and your dad coming.

Both lions and cats like to start eating right at the bump and legs first just the way your buck shows the marks.

JMO

[Rack Ranch]

I've seen hogs tear into a dead deer too... Just throwing that out there since there we no tracks...

[bows08]

I've seen hogs tear into a dead deer too... Just throwing that out there since there we no tracks...

This. I would say hogs or coyotes.

[Fergeris]

That is coyote

[PROUDREDNECK]

As a matter of fact both yote and cat could have been bitting and eating the buck carcass two hours are lots of time...

I would say a yote started in the paunch area and then a lion came scaring the yote and started eating the legs... see the difference in the way both parts were eaten, paunch was ripped off, legs were like sliced.

And most of the time yotes start with the inners since they`re easier to bite and eat quick

Oh man this peyote works sooo good I can almost recreate the event jeje

[Muddy Bud]

Looks like yotes. They can make quick work of a wounded deer. Like mentioned above. I helped a guy on my old lease track a buck he stuck a few years back and walked up to a heard of hogs belly deep in his buck.