Last Friday I saw more elk than ever in one day, including along a 20 - 25 minute path I take from my car to the river. Went opher-two, but that's not what this is about.

Sunday I hoped to better my fishing result and took the same path again, only this time there's a dead spike elk laying nearby. I have pictures, but I don't have the same software to downsize them on this computer. Anyway, it looks like some critter done him in and chewed a lot on the rib cage and one hind leg, said leg laying about a half dozen feet from the carcass.

Two questions, who done it? That is, what predator, a cougar? I thought cougars mainly kill deer and prefer venison above other prey. Lacking wolfs on the OP, could coyotes have done it? The elk doesn't have a ripped open neck and jugular, which is what I'd have expected for a cougar kill.

Second question, I thought elks shed antlers in February and March, and this guy has 8" spikes still firmly in place. Did he not get the memo, or does shedding occur over a longer time period?

Nuther interesting thing is that on my return from river to car late that afternoon, the carcass was still there, but that hind leg was no where to be found. Somebody visited between my coming and going and hauled it off a good long ways.

Sg