| It is frequently necessary to skin animal carcasses to determine whether injuries have occurred. The lamb on left was bitten in the throat and killed by coyotes and the lamb on the right died of non-predation causes. |
This Angora wether exhibits injuries typical of predation with tooth punctures and hemorrhage in the jaw and throat. In this case the wether was killed and fed upon by coyotes. |
The throat of this whitetail fawn exhibits the injuries typical of predation by several carnivore species, including lacerations in the area of the larynx and rear of the jaw. During necropsy of carcasses, the larynx and trachea should be opened and checked for the presence of foam that indicates that the animal was alive and breathing when the injuries occurred. The fawn was killed by a coyote. |
| A second view of the same whitetail fawn demonstrates the injuries to the skull caused in this attack by coyotes. |
Evidence of predation may persist for days or weeks after death as long as certain portions of the carcass remain intact. This sheep had been killed by a coyote several days earlier but the tooth punctures and hemorrhage in the skin of the throat area persist and are evidence of predation. |
In many instance evidence of predation will persist as long as certain portions of the skeleton are intact. In this instance, the jaw bone on the left is from a goat killed by a coyote attack at the throat. The injuries to the rear of the jaw are typical of this type of kill. The jaw bone on the right is that of a goat that died of non-predation causes. |
