About a week ago I had a fawn deer killed in my back yard..food plot really, about 130 yrds from the back of my house. We live in the country in northern Wi. Over the years I`ve seen a lot of deer that had been killed by coyotes. They are not the neatest of killers, so this one has me stumped.
Looked like the deer had been held just below the head, throat area, tooth marks visible, ears and nose eaten. Guts and stomach in the field about 10 yrds from the body. The deer was then drug into tall grass by the plot. the hind quarters, heart, lungs gone. All very neat..no hair or other parts scattered about. No tracks I could find. The most interesting thing about the kill was the near precise cutting of ribs just in front of where the diaphram would be, through the backbone and round to the start. An almost perfect circle. Other than the ears and nose, nothing touched on the front half. Whatever is was did not return the following evening. The deer was not covered in any fashion either.
We do have wolves in the area, and lion, and bear.
Anyone ever see anything like this and could ID the killer?

Time for a camera set up.

Nothing on the camera...I have one set up about 60 yrds from the kill site.

Sounds like a Cat kill, Cat will eat the nose first. Rio7

Thats what I thought...that + the neatness...only concern was no hair lying about...which would make sense if the cat dragged the kill from the spot it was killed in.

Saw a lion killed porcupine once, skinned out as neat as it could possible be, and licked completely clean of all meat.

Deer was dragged only 5-7 yrds from where it looked like it was killed. Just very impressed as to how the carcass was so damned clean. Lions have been on cameras within 5 miles of the house. Actually the Mi. DNR, Mi. border is a mile away as the crow flies, has finally had to admitt their presence. Not sure about Wi.

WI my mom and dad had one in there back yard, gammy came out and verified the tracks in the snow. Spooner area.