Hundreds of Sheep Killed for their Livers

nivek

As Above So Below
A ‘Mysterious Animal’ in India Is Killing Sheep and Taking Their Livers

Something has been prowling the rural farmlands of Eastern India, mutilating and eating hundreds of poor, defenseless sheep. Well, only eating parts of them – the delicious internal organs to be precise.

In many of the attacks, the unknown predator was found to have removed only the animals’ livers with near-surgical precision. Speculation about the killer’s identity runs wild, and officials have yet to catch the elusive beast – or whatever it is.


sheep2.jpg


Just this week, farmers in the Kendujhar District of eastern India discovered more killings to add to the recent sheep death toll. Local news station Odisha TV reports that a “mysterious animal” has killed two of local farmer Sidhu Munda’s sheep in Kasia village, and as in previous cases, the livers of the sheep have been removed. One local official reassured the public that while the offending creature is still out there, farmers will be compensated for any similar mutilations:

An unidentified animal seems to have attacked the sheep in Kasia village last night. It attacked five sheep, of which two are dead and three others have been injured. I will inform the matter to higher authorities and the farmer will get compensation as applicable.

Good ol’ government bailouts. There’s always money for those fat cat sheep farmers, but what about the little guy? While any news of an unidentified creature lurking about at night eating sheep livers is excellent fodder for the imagination, the reality is that this is likely another unfortunate side-effect of human activity.

As humans continue to multiply and take over more and more of the previously natural world, it’s inevitable that we will begin to have contact and conflict with animal populations which were once elusive.

Could these mystery predators simply be wild dogs or large cats whose typical sources of food have been lost to urbanization and/or climate change? Is that any less frightening than a large mystery beast?





 

Castle-Yankee54

Celestial
Tigers with an appetite for liver?...

In a target rich environment its possible.......during salmon runs in Alaska a brown bear will only eat the salmons skin and leave the rest because it has the most fat. Also the liver is usually the first thing coyotes go after.

In this case its likely an older tiger that can't hunt its former prey.
 

August

Metanoia
To much liver for a cat big or small is not good for them. In small doses, liver is good for cats. However, feed them too much liver and they can end up with Vitamin A toxicity. So if this tiger/s (?) has been doing this its not a good prognosis for it.
 
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Castle-Yankee54

Celestial
Why haven't one of these farmers installed a camera or cameras?
Set bait and camera traps.

Eastern India is rather poverty stricken........maybe they can't afford them. Maybe that's something the government can help with.

Are there any real news reports?......did the guy in the article even check the area or what Kasia looks like?
 

FFH

Honorable
So what does "near-surgical precision" mean here? Knife cuts? I think that word confirms it's just a guy sneaking in killing those animals.
 

August

Metanoia
So what does "near-surgical precision" mean here? Knife cuts? I think that word confirms it's just a guy sneaking in killing those animals.

I would say it may mean humans took the livers Tigers would tear it all to shreds. They can eat 40 pounds of meat in a sitting and this doesn't sound like big cats going the munch on a sheep and just eating the livers. Yes some local restaurateur getting in for his chop of free livers for his high paying customers.
 

CasualBystander

Celestial
To much liver for a cat big or small is not good for them. In small doses, liver is good for cats. However, feed them too much liver and they can end up with Vitamin A toxicity. So if this tiger/s (?) has been doing this its not a good prognosis for it.


It is like this. Your kitty weighs 9 pounds. A tiger weighs 500 pounds. A tiger can eat 56 times more liver than your kitty.

Further, two types of incidents are conflated: what seem to be tiger kills and something a little more specific.

The liver is rich in iron and is used in Chinese medicine.

So about half the incidents are some combination of restaurant/anemic/Chinese kills.

If some Chinese are spotted in areas that have the more precise kills I would bet on the Chinese.
 

August

Metanoia
It is like this. Your kitty weighs 9 pounds. A tiger weighs 500 pounds. A tiger can eat 56 times more liver than your kitty.

Further, two types of incidents are conflated: what seem to be tiger kills and something a little more specific.

The liver is rich in iron and is used in Chinese medicine.

So about half the incidents are some combination of restaurant/anemic/Chinese kills.

If some Chinese are spotted in areas that have the more precise kills I would bet on the Chinese.

Your forgetting Tigers do not use use surgical instruments to remove said livers.
 

CasualBystander

Celestial
Your forgetting Tigers do not use use surgical instruments to remove said livers.

In many of the attacks, the unknown predator was found to have removed only the animals’ livers with near-surgical precision. Speculation about the killer’s identity runs wild, and officials have yet to catch the elusive beast – or whatever it is.

It is about 50/50. Some of the sheep look like they were mauled. That is a tiger. Some of the sheep are in better condition (other than the holes and such). That could be something else.
 

Castle-Yankee54

Celestial
It is like this. Your kitty weighs 9 pounds. A tiger weighs 500 pounds. A tiger can eat 56 times more liver than your kitty.

Further, two types of incidents are conflated: what seem to be tiger kills and something a little more specific.

The liver is rich in iron and is used in Chinese medicine.

So about half the incidents are some combination of restaurant/anemic/Chinese kills.

If some Chinese are spotted in areas that have the more precise kills I would bet on the Chinese.

The liver is often the first thing eaten by many predators......and since many black bears are killed for their gall bladders perhaps the Chinese are a possibility.

Besides the fact that some animals only eating the livers or one part of the animal isn't uncommon in nature. Since the article in the OP is questionable reporting I doubt its to precise.....and if he is actually right its most likely is the Chinese.
 

August

Metanoia
In many of the attacks, the unknown predator was found to have removed only the animals’ livers with near-surgical precision. Speculation about the killer’s identity runs wild, and officials have yet to catch the elusive beast – or whatever it is.

It is about 50/50. Some of the sheep look like they were mauled. That is a tiger. Some of the sheep are in better condition (other than the holes and such). That could be something else.

So a mixture of mauling ? Some severe some not Tiger would chew up 40 lbs of meat in a sitting that's a fair bit of sheep they would not just eat the liver and run. But saying that Indian wolves could be more selective in what they are eating and would not devastate the carcass as a Tiger would. There are over 3000 tigers roaming India and 3000 Indian wolves.
 

August

Metanoia
In Niali village India 200 sheep mysteriously slaughtered over a 45 day period . Its seems some rascals are spreading these fears and rumours so people will keep away from that area so they ( whoever they are) can steal the sheeps organs without getting caught.
 
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