Was ground hog hunting yesterday and came across a dead fawn in the middle of the field. It was a very fresh kill. The odd thing

[pjsabella]

Was ground hog hunting yesterday and came across a dead fawn in the middle of the field. It was a very fresh kill. The odd thing was that the only thing that was eaten was the stomach region. All of its organs were gone and nothing else was touched. Do coyotes do this or is this possibly the work of another animal? I'm in southern Maryland btw.

[Mdhunter1]

Hi. I am from Mid-western Md and i have seen something similar, but when i saw it, it was a vulture that picked at a does organs, and left her other body areas intact. Was this a kill or a death? Is it possible the fawn died and a vulture saw an easy meal? -Jack

[JM]

Could've been a domestic dog that killed it and like MD said, a vulture or some other scavenger that ate on it. A coyote would not leave much of a fawn behind.

[pjsabella]

thanks for the answers. I can't say for sure if the fawn was killed or just died. It was in an open field and there wasn't much disturbance in the grass. It was a very clean cut around the abdomen and the cavity was completely picked clean. I didn't think vultures but that could be a huge possibility.

[JM]

A vulture would not make a clean cut(rip and tear)...were the eyes gone? Vultures usually peck out the eyes right away.

[huntfishtrap]

Were there any bite marks on the rest of the carcass? If so, I would say dogs are the best bet, because as JM said, there's not going to be much left of a fawn by the time a coyote's done with it. BTW, do you have bobcats in Maryland? Because they usually kill and eat their prey more cleanly (i.e., the clean cut around the stomach) than canines.

[Gary Devine]

There are many possible scenarios.
Vultures, crows, and ravens would have eaten out the fawn's eyes first. A bear could have killed the fawn but in most cases they bury their kill. The fawn could have been abandon by its mother and died of starvation. It could have been hit by a vehicle and died later. A bald eagle could take down the fawn. A member of the canine family could have killed the fawn.
Next time send in a close of photo to the Outdoor Life Bragging Room and comment that you did that in your question. We all could check out the photo of the dead fawn's body for clues to identify the cause of death.