Evidence of cougar attack

I have never seen a cougar (although, it may be that a cougar has seen me).

I suspect that cougars are few in number around here, primarily because deer abound. After all, cougars are deer specialists. While I see a great many deer, it is rare to see evidence that cougars have attacked them. Out of a great many pictures I have taken of deer, few showed evidence of cougar attacks.

Two years ago, I photographed a doe that had flesh wounds from cougar claws. Then in late September of this year, I photographed more evidence of a cougar attack on deer. But, as the final pictures reveal, those pictures only show deer that survived an attack. In the end, the present number of cougars does not seem to have a significant impact on the number of local deer. 

A white-tailed survived a cougar attack that ripped flesh off her side.

Last week’s doe showed claw marks on her side. The deer’s left side showed more marks.

Those two pictures only showed deer that escaped a cougar. How many didn’t escape? In the snow are the remains of one deer that didn’t make it.

And, one more victim.