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I have heard of people that can tell a lion kill from other causes of death a good time after an animal was killed. I thaught it would be interesting to hear how this is done. and see pictures of lion kills with descriptions of the area the kill was found or any other information that might be useful in guessing how an animal may have been killed.

Look for the stomach. Lions kills i've seen just move it out of the way to get to the good stuff. And in our neck of the woods (utah county) cyotes will more than likely be the cause of death if that can't be found. And also lions alot of times will cover their kills with dirt and whatever else they can cover it with.

Here is a picture of a lion kill I found last weekend. This was an old draft horse that we have had for many years on the ranch. You can see where the lion ate from the ass end to get to the guts and then again he ate from the neck. This is a great example of how they try to cover the horse with tall grass. This lion ate on this horse for two days before I found it.

Tony

tony, sorry about your horse I hope you catch the lion before he gives you more trouble.

Pawsnpads I have seen only 2 known lion kills both were very similar to what you described both were doe mule deer right in the bottom of small side canyons. both were laid on their side with a 15" hole just in front of their rear quarter. Neither animal had been covered with grass or dirt like tony's picture and both looked like the lion had opened them up ate the guts out and left the rest. One thing I noticed on both was that the rear most ribs had been chewed down to half their original length I thaught that this might be a tale tell sign on a kill months after.

What about the location of old deer bones? I once walked up the bottom of a small side canyon and found old deer remains every 50 yards or so. Both kills I have seen were in similar places.

It seems like around here that if a coyote or coyotes gets a deer down, by the next morning there isn't enough left of the deer to identify much of anything at all. Usually all that is left are a few remnents of hide and the ponch. I have noticed that usually nothing will eat the "ponch" or stomach weather the deer was taken down by a coyote or a lion. The only time I have ever been able to call lion kill on an old left over carcass was once when there was still hide left on the neck. I peeled the hide back and I was able to actually see where a lion had bit into the deers neck. Location of the leftover carcass would probably tell you more than anything of what killed the deer. When coyotes kill deer around here in the mountains it usually happens in the creek bottoms where the snow is deep and crusted over. Deer kills from coyotes seem to be concentrated in these areas for obvious reasons.

Last spring I was trailing a female a two kittens. The night before the trio had passed by a cow that had evidentally died from calving complications. Strange thing was the kittens stoped by to have a snack but the only thing they fed on was the head of the cow. My guess was mabey angus cheeks are delicussy in a lions world?

Would be intersting to know if anyone has ideas on you question.

Thanks Trackntree your post reminded me of something I noticed on one of the kills that I saw.

This doe had been drug maybe 15 yards by the back of her neck. this had caused her head to be rolled under her body.