So story about calf in the tree, as told by landowner, pet cow that normally eats out of his hand went to a cedar thicket to drop her calf. When he went looking for her.....she was in a fighting mood. Went after him and he used his 4 wheeler as shield. Butting him and it. Clearly had calved, but no calf. She stayed put and was bawling and looking up a tree. Did that for about 2 days. Day 3, the half eaten remains of calf was found on the ground beneath the tree.

He did say all kills looked like bites to the back of the neck. And again, all this after a recent sighting within a mile or so of his place.

Not sure if MO regs takes all that evidence into account before you go hunting, or have to catch them in the act. Would be good to get clarification. Put the word out to neighbors and somebody will eventually shoot a cat.......but would it be "the" cat? Even if you trapped it, how would you know?

BTW, northern Ozarks between Hwy 50 and I-44, about 50 miles east of Jefferson City.

lion mighta been in that tree

A possibility is mama left that calf to graze. Lion got it by the throat before it could bawl. Mama comes back and puts the cat up a tree. Friend shows up and mama is still wound up. Friend did not see the calf lying on the ground. Big maybe but certainly possible.

Me and a guy that posts as Bigfoot here found a set of lion tracks on the MO river not far from Jeff City some years ago. In mud. Clear as a bell. One turns up there every once in a while. He has a picture of a black bear. Clear picture. Daytime.

I'm in Gasconade county and I have had the misfortune of losing a couple calves to lions. I wish your friend luck. Thankfully I don't think I've had any repeats in the last decade. Hopefully your friend ain't in the Bay or Mt. Sterling area.

I would consider the possibility of it being a bear. I have worked a lot of lion kills of cattle and big game over 30+ years in 3 states here in the Southwest and have never seen a lion take a kill up a tree. Although big toms often kill by biting into the brain case of small calves most lion kills are done by a strangle hold on the throat. Bears are sloppy killers and biting along the back is common. I was sent some photos years ago by a county sheriff's department in SE Ohio when they thought they had a cat killing calves. The photos they sent me of the kills and tracks was obviously a bear. Amazing how often people mistake front foot tracks of bears for a big cat. Lion kills are normally buried with the entrails buried separately and they usually move and rebury each time they feed. If it isn't covered up the cat most likely won't be back to that kill. Banana peel type stripping of the hide (essentially peeled off the meat and bone) is also a sign of a bear. I am told grizzlies routinely bury kills but all the black bear kills I've worked and seen have never been buried.

As seen on Yellowstone

If i had pictures of calves skinned out necks showing bite marks, crushed windpipe, calves covered up with dirt sticks whatever, and a dead lion, i would call the game warden and tell him to come get the thing.

Closer to Bland, but same area......and close enough if I was having fall calves, I'd be on the lookout.

So if a lion doesn't take it's kill up a tree......it very well may be it was still up that tree. But seems odd for a cow to stay fixed on something up a tree. If calf remains that showed up later had been covered over, he may have missed it. He did describe what got et and what didn't for all the calves, but I can't remember that well enough now to accurately describe it, so will try to get clarification.

But otherwise sounds like if he wants to legally do harm to the cat, he needs to document all the damage......and with photos.......then try to get a permit to go hunting. I doubt MDC is going to worry about it even if it is confirmed.

In that area, a bear could also be a remote possibility. Like a lot of scavengers, I'd think what comes out of a cow with a calf would attract a bear.

BTW, when these lion stories first started, MDC was claiming all these cats had walked here from South Dakota. Even those with tracking collars or other tracking devices. But if they have tracking devices of some kind, they ought to know where they all are. Or at least the ones they are tracking. Be interesting to know if that is public information that can be asked for. How many of them are out there, and where.

Oh, you can ask for the information , but I'll bet the farm they'll never give it out. Need to protect them from people wanting to do them harm would probably be the answer.

Cows looking up ? might want to check and see if the farmers got a black headed vulture problem.

There was some discussion about those guys too. Also capable of killing calves, also wearing tracking devices and on endangered species to boot.

If these agencies want this stuff, they need to be willing to pay for the damage they cause. My livestock taking one for the team don't cut it.

Not saying it wasn't a lion , but the buzzards i have seen many times do this and worry the cow to exhaustion trying to fend them off ,days after would wonder around looking up and balling, these things are the worst livestock predator i ever delt with in Ky. they should be extinct. Lots of problems to Midwest farmers also. alot of reading on it on the net.

Wouldn't the tree have claw marks in it's bark?
Here calw marks in nay tree bears etc. climb.

Get real evidence of what killed the calves. That's the first step. Before then everything is speculation and has zero value in helping fix the problem. Been around ranchers all my life, what they think killed a calf isn't always what did it. Disease and birthing issues are by far and away the greatest killer and unless found before the scavengers get to it, which can be very quickly, can be difficult to determine.

I take lion sightings with a grain of salt. Way too many sightings around here for how few there likely is.

Kansas can’t have as many sightings as they do down here, lol. All ours are Black too. I’d bet at least 50% of the folks you talk to down here have all seen a “Black Panther”. And it’s about as elusive as Sasquatch too. No tracks, grainy pics at best, and no one has ever shot one regardless of whether it’s legal or not.