Cow Mutilations!? Again?

Cattle mutilation stymies ranchers, investigators
By KAREN OGDEN
GREAT FALLS - Valier rancher John Peterson and his wife were recently headed out into the twilight to do chores when they spotted her.
The healthy young cow lay dead in a stubble field, just off the road.
Stopping the truck to investigate, they found the sickening, telltale signs.
The cow's udder, genitals and rectum were cut out with stunning precision. The left side of her face was carved off, the exposed bones stripped as clean as if they'd been boiled.
Peterson, who discovered a similarly mutilated cow on his neighbor's ranch five years ago, knew he was the latest victim in one of rural Montana's greatest mysteries.
Since the 1970s, Montana ranchers have found dozens of cattle carved up in similar, macabre fashion.
The first known incident was a mutilated steer reported near Sand Coulee in late August 1974. By December 1977, sheriff's deputies had investigated 67 mutilation cases in Cascade, Judith Basin, Chouteau, Teton and Pondera counties.
In each case, the cuts were made with surgical precision, often in circular shapes.
Similar cases have haunted ranchers in the Southwest since the 1970s, when a 300-page federally funded report concluded the killings were the work of natural predators.
Peterson, a lifelong rancher, says he knows a predator kill when he sees one. Grizzly bears, wolves and coyotes aren't suspects in this case, he said.
"It's the weirdest thing," he said. "A guy hates to say too much because I don't know how far you can go before they'll put you in the nut house."
Others theories, besides predators, involve pranksters, satanic cults and space aliens.
Whoever, or whatever, is responsible has left precious few clues for Pondera County Sheriff Tom Kuka. At least not the kind of clues lawmen are used to.
Like the others, Peterson's cow was found with no blood spills or splatters, no footprints and no sign of a struggle.
Nor were there footprints in past cases when the ground was muddy or snow-covered.
"There's no reasonable or rational explanation for this," said Kuka, who is investigating the case as felony criminal mischief. Peterson's cow was worth up to $1,200.
"I'm hoping to find anything that would show how did this animal come to get there," he said.
Perhaps the most unsettling hallmark of the mutilations is that hungry predators leave the carcasses untouched.
Peterson discovered the cow Oct. 9 and the birds are just now starting to peck at it.
"We had a cow die a week after this one about a half a mile away and there's nothing left of that other cow," he said.
Those oddities - no blood, no footprints and no predators - were all part of a similar spate of mutilations in the area in 2002, when ranchers reported at least 15 killings.
In one case, a rancher west of Dupuyer found a carcass with the skin peeled off the left side of the face and nose in similar fashion to Peterson's cow. The left eyeball, rectum and genitals were cut out. Part of the left ear was cut off, but the udder was intact.
On a ranch between Fort Shaw and Cascade, a carcass was missing its left eye, one teat, its genitals and rectum.
But in this latest case at Peterson's ranch, Kuka found an intriguing clue.
A few feet south of the carcass there was an impression in the stubble field, like the cow had lain down there. But there were no footprints or drag marks between the impression and her final resting place.
It was as if the bovine had fallen from the sky - and bounced.
Could she have been pushed from an aircraft?
There are numerous farmhouses in the area, and none reported hearing low-flying aircraft.
Aliens?
Even Peterson, a down-to-earth sort, admits he's pondered extraterrestrial explanations.
"You never know," he said. "I ain't gonna say they're out there. But I ain't gonna say they're not."

This story reappears like bigfoot sightings and other silly stories. I did write a letter to the editor about this very topic maybe five years ago. I need to find it and post it. I'm wondering if its the same people behind this again.
Why in g-ds name would space aliens want with so many cow parts, why not sheep? Are they not yet done with thier experiments? Its been over thirty years. Are they stupid.....
Why drop the evidence. Or is it a sick joke against those poor ranchers. Those space aliens are sooo funny. haha

My Email to Wal_Mart

Christmas Shopping Comment.
I hope the Wal-Mart Greeters only say "Merry Christmas" on Christmas? Since,I am not a Christian and if I have to hear "Merry Christmas" from Wal-Mart greeters for the next 45 days. I and my family will stay away from Wal-Mart and Shop elsewere.

I wrote this in response to Wal_Marts decision to replace "Happy Holdays" with "Merry Christmas" whenever a shopper walks in the door. 45 days of this! Boooooo
I have already stopped shopping there for some months now that my husband is in Iraq. My grocery bill has been cut in half, so now I shop at Albertson's instead. But now I really have a reason to stay away.
I ask everyone who agrees with me to email Wal_Mart with the same complaint. I am not asking you not to shop there, but to at least comment on thier policies.

Thanks Stan Jones

If Montana goes Blue it is only thanks to Libertarian Stan Jones he pulled in 9,647 votes. Those almost 10,000 Montanans would have either stayed home or voted for Republican Conrad Burns. Thanks Mr. Jones!
Watching the really close elections nationwide it seems to me no one has won. The Republicans lost. The Democrats have been elected, barely.
The Demos will have to save the world in the next two years to keep the house and maybe the Senate and White House.
It is a 50/50 chance for either side 2008. Then there are the wild card third party candidates. This make everything much more interesting for both sides.

Many in Montana complain and whine about how their vote does not count. Well, after yesterday that was proven very wrong. The entire Nation is watching us and Virginia. How fun!

Stan Jones fans? What is going through your minds. Mr. Jones skin turned blue in 99 becuase he thought the world as we know was going to end New Years Eve 2000!
LOL take a breath LOL again. I can't stop.....................too funny............so sad

The Rightous Right

The president of the National Association of Evangelicals resigned after accusations by a male prostitute that the pastor paid him for sex over three years. The Rev. Ted Haggard said he also is temporarily stepping aside from the pulpit of his church in Colorado Springs. The church official filling in for Haggard said there has been "some admission of guilt," but not to all of the allegations.

I squirm with glee whenever someone from the Religious Right leadership is exposed for what it really is. TWO-FACED

Female Circumcision

The practice crosses ethnic and cultural lines and is not tied to a particular religion. Activists say it is intended to deny women sexual pleasure. In its most extreme form, the clitoris and parts of the labia are removed and the labia that remain are stitched together.
Since 2001, the State Department estimates that up to 130 million women worldwide have undergone circumcision.
Knives, razors or even sharp stones are usually used, according to a 2001 department report. The tools are frequently not sterilized, and often, many girls are circumcised at the same ceremony, leading to infection.
It is unknown how many girls have died from the procedure, either during the cutting or from infections, or years later in childbirth. Nightmares, depression, shock and feelings of betrayal are common psychological side effects, according to a 2001 federal report.

It is so very hard not to become very cynical of humanity after seeing news like this. 1/3 of the worlds population or more are still living in the dark ages. And that is being positive its hopefully only 1/3 not 1/2.