CATTLE MUTILATIONS

When Dr. Joseph Allen Hynek came for the first and only time to Argentina, to participate in an international meeting convened by FAECE in the city of Rosario, Province of Santa Fé, we met at the Jorge Newbery airport, in Buenos Aires.

After exchanging salutations his first question was: “Do you have cattle mutilations?”

At that moment, 1982, the issue was at the top of the attention of Ufologists in the United States.
When Dr. Hynek came to Montevideo, he gave to CIOVI 4 videotapes under the general title “A Strange Harvest”, a work of the journalist Ms. Linda Moulton Howe, where the problem was quite well illustrated.

At that time, cattle mutilations have been already documented in Idaho, New Mexico, Iowa, Colorado and some other states in the USA.

After a while, the issue subsided.

Now, it reappeared, again in Colorado.

The Associated Press, recently reported this:

Weird Cattle Mutilations Continue in Southern Colorado
Published on November 26th, 2009

SAN LUIS, Colo. (AP) – A creepy string of calf mutilations in southern Colorado has a rancher and sheriff’s officials mystified.
Four calves were found dead in a pasture just north of the New Mexico state line in recent weeks. The dead calves had their skins peeled back and organs cleared from the rib cage. One calf had its tongue removed. But rancher Manuel Sanchez has found no signs of human attackers, such as footprints or ATV tracks. And there are no signs of an animal attack by a coyote or mountain lion. Usually predators leave pools of blood or drag marks from carrying away the livestock.

Four calves were found dead in a pasture just north of the New Mexico state line in recent weeks. The dead calves had their skins peeled back and organs cleared from the rib cage. One calf had its tongue removed. But rancher Manuel Sanchez has found no signs of human attackers, such as footprints or ATV tracks. And there are no signs of an animal attack by a coyote or mountain lion. Usually predators leave pools of blood or drag marks from carrying away the livestock.

Two officers from the Costilla County Sheriff’s Office have investigated the mutilations but say they don’t know what’s killing the calves. “There’s nothing really to go by,” said Sanchez, who’s ranched for nearly 50 years. “I can’t figure it out.” A spokesman for the sheriff’s office told The Pueblo Chieftain that investigators doubt a person butchered the calves because there is no blood at the scene.

“I’ve butchered a cow before and I know what kind of a mess it leaves,” Sgt. James Chavez said.

Some in the area believe the mutilations are the work of aliens. An area UFO chaser, Chuck Zukowski of Colorado Springs, has been to the Costilla County pasture to investigate. He told the paper there have been other unexplained calf mutilations in the area, including three in March. One of the other calves, found dead on a ranch near Trinidad, had its ears removed, Zukowski said.

"We're trying as much as we can to find a pattern," said Zukowski, who runs a UFO Web site called ufonut.com.

Sanchez said he has sold off his 32 remaining calves out of fear more would be mutilated. He hasn't decided how he'll manage the remaining 40 animals in his herd.

"It's a big loss for a small rancher," he said.

Following the news, I went to the web page of Mr. Chuck Zukowsky, http://ufonut.com/wordpress/?p=763#comment-513 and found a full report on the case with very eloquent pictures.

The report is followed by many and quite different comments. As usual, human stupidity is not a privilege of any country, and there are always people ready to say absurdities instead of thinking seriously about any subject.

But from all the comments, I chose two of them that I have found interesting and that deserve consideration.

Here they are:

I would like to see a tissue sample put under a microscope of the edge of the cut area. If some kind of laser was used there should be a smoother edge with evidence of cauterization at 40-100X (400-1000). The duller the instrument the more jagged and ripped the edge will appear under a microscope.

Did any bones appear to be broken or shattered? This might suggest being dropped from a great height (i.e. aircraft).

Was the body cut open to see if any blood remained inside a cavity? This might mean the body was drained and mutilated somewhere else and dropped there.

Left by Frank Healy on November 26, 2009

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One thing that seems to be overlooked is motive by whoever the perpetrators are …

Why not just take the entire calf? Limited room for transport?

Why the precision surgical methods? Why not just butcher it quickly?

What is obtained by taking these specific organs? Why these specific organs?
What is the value?

If some if these questions can be answered, maybe that will lead to the source.

Left by Pete Collins on November 28, 2009

I sent a brief message to Mr. Zukowsky introducing myself and asking him to keep me posted.

Also I suggested him to gather a group of ranchers and to develop a discreet sky watch operation during the night, using photographic and video cameras plus binoculars, that may be could help to solve the mystery.

I personally do not think that the cattle mutilations are in any way related to the activity of extraterrestrial beings. On the contrary, it would be relevant if it could be documented that terrestrial technology is behind this problem.

Milton W. Hourcade