This investigation was initiated following a telephone conversation September 17 with a rancher whose bull had been found dead three days earlier on his property at El Cerrito. The owner said he thought the animal had been mutilated.

He said he found the animal lying on its right side, approximately 25 yards from the road and 150 yards from his house. According to the owner, the animal was last seen alive on September 12. He then described the damage to the carcass, which consisted of a hole in the anus, approximately three inches in diameter; a partial loss of the tongue; and the removal of the penis and testicles.

I conducted an on-the-scene investigation September 17, accompanied by the owner. When I approached the area, crows were visiting the carcass. There was bird defecation on the animal as well as numerous flies, and the carcass had an extremely foul odor.

I observed blood stains on the mouth of the animal and on the ground below. The damage to the carcass was exactly as the owner had described it. However, as in past examinations, the damage was noticeably jagged to the naked eye and even more so when viewed through a magnifying glass.

Other than bird defecation, there was no obvious evidence to indicate the presence of other scavengers. But the owner said there had been a lot of rain when the carcass was found, which he felt would have obliterated any animal tracks.

He further stated that when he first found the body it had possessed a very strong sulphur smell similar to the odor of a rotten egg or the smell produced immediately after a match is struck. However, when I examined the carcass, this odor was no longer present.

The owner also told me that the day following his discovery of the carcass, it was examined by Frank Gallegos, a New Mexico Livestock Board inspector assigned to the Las Vegas area. On September 19, I interviewed Gallegos, who told me that he had examined the bull on September 15. He said by this time the bull had already been dead for several days. He examined the animal for gunshot wounds but could not find evidence to suggest it had been shot. However, the tongue was partially gone and flies were working on the anus. In addition, the penis and scrotum were already missing. He also pointed out that the carcass had a decisive rotten odor which he said was the normal odor for dead cattle.

Curious about the origin of the sulphur smell, I contacted several of the veterinarians who have been serving as consultants on this project. They were unable to come up with a logical solution. On May 6, 1980, I contacted Dr. J. Sherrod, D.V.M., Valverde Animal Clinic, Cortales. He explained that this odor is very common when a bovine dies lying on its right side. The rumen then has a tendency to vent to the outside and -- depending on what the animal has been eating -- a definite sulphur odor may be noticeable. Dr. Sherrod noted that some of the grazing plants in New Mexico typically produce such a reaction. He also pointed out that this condition is unlikely to occur if the animal dies lying on its left side.

Figure No. 30 shows the area of the penis, and again the jaggedness is very noticeable.

Figure No. 31 shows the anus area and likewise reveals the jaggedness of the damage.

In conclusion, there is no evidence here, whatever, to link this mutilation to "strange and mysterious circumstances." The damage to the carcass was probably inflicted by the crows which were prevalent at the scene. Birds appear to be among the first arrivals to feast upon a dead animal, and seem possessed with ravenous appetite that can soon wreak a surprising amount of damage to a carcass.

This particular case also shows that there is usually a logical, common sense solution to even the most puzzling aspects of a mutilation case. While a more imaginative, headline-seeking investigator might have sought to link that strong sulphur odor to some mysterious or occult happening, the answer turned out to be a very natural and logical one.