Wounded Muley

Well, I brought the boys out with me this morning to see if we could "shoot" any deer with my camera (You all got me hooked on this shutterbug stuff). We weren't out there for more than 15 or 20 minutes when we came across this young Muley with a severely injured back leg. You can see by the photos that she's probably pretty bad off and will more than likely become a winter casualty rather shortly (She couldn't put any weight on it and it swung around rather nastily when she ran).
If I would have had my rifle with me I probably would have put her out of her misery (I'd take the chance anyway. I know...the game department still frowns on that stuff but I've done it before. I came across a 3x3 one year that had been hit by a car and was laying in the ditch. I couldn't let him suffer a long, slow death so I sped up the process). Unfortunatly I left my rifle at home today.
Anyway, here she is:
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DeadI
If ya ask me, that looks like it escaped from an animal. Looks like something bit it from the back end.
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bigbuck92
well that sucks. thanks for sharin the pics though Hawk
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AGCHAWK
DeadI, I was wonderin' that myself. The first thing that came to mind was maybe a cougar or a coyote had taken a nip at her but the more I looked at the pics I came to the conclusion that she probably slipped and broke it on the steep rocky ground.

The leg is broken and I BELIEVE that the large red buldge is a compound fracture. I don't see a lot of other damage that would lead me to believe that a predator took a snap at her (No other damage to her hind end anywhere that I can see. The rest of the leg is just stained from blood which has ran down from the fracture point).

It was pretty icy out there and I know all too well that those hillsides can get rather nasty when there's ice. Again, I THINK she just took an unfortunate spill and snapped the back leg (In the last pic you can see the leg bending at the fracture point).

Who knows though...my assumption could be way off base.
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MuleyMadness
bummer, that does look nasty!
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DeadI
I see what your saying. Ouch.
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ABert
As much as we may dislike it, such is the way of nature. If she doesn't recover, odds are she will provide substanence to others.
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79Ford
That really sucks. I hate to see animals suffer like that.

Back when I was in school I would skip class a lot and go for drives in my jeep to look at the deer and elk in their winter range. One day I ran across a very nice six point bull elk. He was just standing there in a clearing, not moving at all. I decided to go up the road and get a closer look. When He finally started to move, his front leg was flopping and waving around, clearly broken. He was anly a couple of hundred yards from a main highway and must have been hit by a car. All I could do is watch him and feel sorry for him as he wandered off. I hate to see animals suffer like that.
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Nice pics Hawk. Too bad you didn't have your rifle. It is a little hard to say what happened, but you may be right in that it was some sort of accident. Or maybe some hunter made an errant shot and crippled her. None of us want to think that though. I hate that stuff, but it happens. A few years back while turkey hunting I heard a bunch of commotion in a draw and went to check it out. A doe and a yearling were being chased up and around a bowl by what at first I thought was a coyote. I watched this for quite a while and realized that it was a German shepherd. We were nowhere near any house or dwelling. I couldn't stand to watch it anymore and about that time the deer ran right by me, tongues hanging out, dead tired. I beaded up on the dog and sent a load of #5's into his chest. My friend thought I was crazy, and I was a little worried. We told the landowner about it and he thanked us for it. That dog had been killing his sheep for the fun of it and leaving them to rot. I don't know if it is anything to be proud of, but I think at the time it was the right thing to do.
Whenever I go out for a hike like that I always bring along my 10/22.
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AGCHAWK
OregonEric, I would have done the same thing! Feral dogs do as much damage to domestic and wild animals than most other predators! They kill indiscriminately (sic) and leave most of the carcasses to rot. At least wild predators kill to survive!
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Not to start anything, but wild predators do kill for "fun" or "sport" just like their domestic cousins.
Just ask any sheep or cattle rancher that has has thier flock/herd decimated by coyotes or bears. Often times many animals are killed in one night and only choice parts (if any) are eaten. Sometimes the animals are not even killed in the attacks.
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huntinggal may have a point. But from what I understand from local sheep ranchers, what the coyotes are doing is teaching pup's to hunt. For the mother coyote, a lamb is much easier than a fawn for training purposes.

I usually always have a rifle with me and think that I too would have ended it for the doe. Weather some preditor drags her down at that point or shes shot and left lay, she becomes a part of the food chain. The difference is, she doesn't have to suffer to get there.
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AGCHAWK
Agree Don on all points.

Huntingal, Good points although I still think that the feral animals are by far the worse as far as killing just to kill. In fact, I don't think it's even a close contest.

I will agree that it does happen with wild predators at times also.
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As sad as it is to see, it's usually best to let nature run it's course. I've seen 3 legged deer running around the woods on several occations. There was a Doe with 3 legs running around our PA camp for 3 years or so. I dont think that deer warrents culling it may be just fine. Nature should decide on that one. just my $0.02.
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