# Do the wounds called "mutilations" need any cause beyond scavengers, decomposition or people with knives? · Skinwalker Ranch > Four answers have been proposed. Scavengers, insects and bloating after a natural death produce the classic picture of missing soft tissue,… leads, with… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/skinwalker-ranch/questions/QST0D014E9G5Z6R/do-the-wounds-called-mutilations-need-any-cause-beyond Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T15:41:03+00:00 --- **0** # Do the wounds called "mutilations" need any cause beyond scavengers, decomposition or people with knives? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·Part of [What happened to the Shermans' cattle?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/skinwalker-ranch/questions/QST0D0147YC7V7H/what-happened-to-the-shermans-cattle)·4 answers·0·0 following **Most likely: scavengers, insects and bloating after a natural death produce the classic picture of missing soft tissue,…** Ahead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted. ## Where it stands Four answers have been proposed. Scavengers, insects and bloating after a natural death produce the classic picture of missing soft tissue,… leads, with evidence 4 for: supported by its tests. Three are still possible. ## Why it matters The ranch's cattle claims borrow their force from the 1970s mutilation wave, when reports from across the West were investigated by sheriffs, a district attorney and the FBI⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D01422W50YM/wave-of-mutilation-the-cattle-mutilation-phenomenon-of-the)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0142AP2ZJM/the-1970s-cow-mutilation-mystery)⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0141K85Q30/operation-animal-mutilation-report-of-the-district-attorney). If that literature explains the classic features, the ranch's cases need no new cause. ## Answers 4 [**Scavengers, insects and bloating after a natural death produce the classic picture of missing soft tissue,…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/skinwalker-ranch/answers/ANS0D0150KE1ED0/scavengers-insects-and-bloating-after-a-natural-death) Supported by its tests Evidence: 4 for Most likely [**Some carcasses were cut by people, after death or killing, for whatever motive.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/skinwalker-ranch/answers/ANS0D0151TG68F3/some-carcasses-were-cut-by-people-after-death-or-killing-for) Partly supported by its tests Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Most likely [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/skinwalker-ranch/answers/ANS0D01539C2X2W/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible [**Some wounds were made by an unknown agent using heat or energy, beyond what scavengers or ordinary tools do.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/skinwalker-ranch/answers/ANS0D0152HY1NVQ/some-wounds-were-made-by-an-unknown-agent-using-heat-or) Failed a test; not refuted outright Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Disputed ## History 1. 1980[Rommel puts forward: scavengers, insects and bloating after a natural death produce the classic picture of missing soft tissue,…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0141K85Q30/operation-animal-mutilation-report-of-the-district-attorney) 1. 1999[Kelleher et al. puts forward: some carcasses were cut by people, after death or killing, for whatever motive.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0140VT3BB1/final-report-investigation-of-the-unexplained-death-of-a-cow) 1. 1999[Kelleher et al.: pathologists found the 1998 Basin cow's eye and ear were removed with a sharp instrument, and a…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0140VT3BB1/final-report-investigation-of-the-unexplained-death-of-a-cow)For: Some carcasses were cut by people, after death or killing, for whatever motive. 1. 2000[Onet puts forward: some wounds were made by an unknown agent using heat or energy, beyond what scavengers or ordinary tools do.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0141BE3VB1/animal-mutilations-what-we-know) 1. 2000[Onet: despite many cases and official inquiries, no one has been arrested for a mutilation.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0141BE3VB1/animal-mutilations-what-we-know)Against: Some carcasses were cut by people, after death or killing, for whatever motive. 1. 2000[Onet: nIDS's own pathologist noted the same changes could come from drying and oxidation of exposed tissue.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0141BE3VB1/animal-mutilations-what-we-know)Against: Some wounds were made by an unknown agent using heat or energy, beyond what scavengers or ordinary tools do. 1. 2000[Onet: a Colorado pathologist and a 1991 Oregon State laboratory report found lesions consistent with heat or…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0141BE3VB1/animal-mutilations-what-we-know)For: Some wounds were made by an unknown agent using heat or energy, beyond what scavengers or ordinary tools do. 1. 2011[Goleman: the historian of the wave finds most cases were scavengers, misdescribed by officials unfamiliar with…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D01422W50YM/wave-of-mutilation-the-cattle-mutilation-phenomenon-of-the)For: Scavengers, insects and bloating after a natural death produce the classic picture of missing soft tissue,… 1. 2021[Janos: the FBI closed its inquiry in 1980 having found no case of mutilation by other than common predators.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0142TA4P9A/the-mysterious-history-of-cattle-mutilation)For: Scavengers, insects and bloating after a natural death produce the classic picture of missing soft tissue,… 1. 2024[Killingbeck: rommel's New Mexico inquiry concluded that the most credible sources attributed the damage to normal predator…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0141V20ZJ9/cattle-mutilations-across-wyoming-and-the-west-in-1970s)For: Scavengers, insects and bloating after a natural death produce the classic picture of missing soft tissue,… 1. 2026[Cole: arkansas sheriff's officers watched a dead heifer in a ravine and recorded scavengers producing the reported…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D0142JG7C0P/cattle-mutilations)For: Scavengers, insects and bloating after a natural death produce the classic picture of missing soft tissue,… 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## 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