Recent livestock mutilations have Gunnison area ranchers shaken and on the alert for more strange attacks on cattle and horses.
In recent weeks, a horse was shot and had its head skinned at the LeValley Ranch property, which is part of the Esty Ranch holdings about eight miles east of Gunnison. The horse also had its tongue and anus removed.
Less than two months ago, a prize heifer in the same heavily traveled area just off of Colorado 50 and Colorado 114 had its tongues, lips and anus removed.
"To me it looks like a ritualistic issue. Either that, or they are high on drugs. There is just no logical explanation for it," said Esty Ranch owner Mike Clarke.
Two other incidents took place on other ranches in that vicinity in May and July.
The four mutilations have prompted the Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association to offer a $500 reward for any information that will lead to a conviction. The Colorado State Patrol has also been alerted to watch for strange activities in that area. The Gunnison County Sheriff's Office, the agency investigating the mutilations, did not return phone calls asking for comment.
Clarke's ranch foreman, Allen Roper, told the Gunnison Country Times that the mutilated animals appeared to be shot, but no bullets were found and that the mutilations were done with knives and were not a result of predators.
The recent mutilations have similarities to mutilations that occurred in the 1960s in neighboring Saguache County. The most famous incident was reported in 1967 when a horse that became known as Snippy" had its head and neck skinned. Like in the most recent cases, there was no blood at the scene or tracks. The mutilations were never solved.
In 2009, a San Luis Valley rancher found four calves with their tongues sliced out, udders removed, eyes cored and faces skinned. Those cases were never solved and there also was no blood nor tracks around those animals.
Clarke said if there is another incident he expects "the ranching community will really be up in arms."
"What concerns us is what they are going to do next?" Clarke said.
LAURA KNIGHT-JADCZYK AND JOE QUINN
Since the 9/11 attacks, no book has provided a satisfactory answer as to WHY the attacks occurred and who was ultimately responsible for carrying them out - until now.
I live about an hour and a half from Gunnison and have had a good look around. I have done some photography which I use to look for remnants of ancient archeology, There is plenty to see. Stepped mtns, high places, massive stone effigies, sphinxes and more. There have been highly advanced stone carving civilizations here that have left their mark on the land. When I first discovered this I was so excited I tried to tell everyone but almost no one wanted to hear People are very content in their ignorance.
These ancient ones were wiped out in extinction level events. This has happened many times in the past and will happen again. The thing to consider is that humans are a frail species, mortal, but not everything perishes in these events.
The idea that some coven or the like did this makes for good shock journalism, if it bleeds it reads, but whats happening here if far more interesting. If men did this there would be foot prints, hoof prints, tire tracks, cigarette buts, etc. A thief would take the tender loins and back straps and the hind quarters at least. Why are there no tracks? Where is the blood?
What the ranchers of Gunnison need is a good shaman to look into this for them and see what can be done. I would go and offer my help but they will not listen. They don't know whats going on because they don't want to know.