Original headline: Farnam cow found mutilated
FARNAM - Larry Jurjens was checking his herd of about 100 cattle Aug. 19, when he found a dead 11-year-old Black Angus.
Jurjens said the cow's left eyeball was removed, the bag and udders had been removed and there was a large excision in the rectal region. None of the internal organs were removed and he said the cuts seemed to have been made with surgical precision.
The tongue had also been removed, with the incision made far back into the throat.
Jurgens said two puncture wounds were on the cow's chest, each about an eighth of an inch in diameter.
Jurjens, who has been a rancher for more than 35 years, said he has never seen anything like it before.
Jurjens said no blood was found on or near the cow.
He said he estimated the cow had been dead about two days before it was discovered.
The estimated time of death corresponds with unexplained noises heard in the area. On the night of Aug. 17, Jurjens wife Joanne heard what sounded like a large, low-flying aircraft going over their house. The low, rumbling noise was heard by several other witnesses as far away as Gothenburg. Witnesses reported the noise persisted from a minute to as much as five minutes in some areas.
The cow's death is being investigated by Linda Moulton Howe, an international investigative journalist and documentary film producer from Jamison, Pa. She visited the Jurjens' ranch Aug. 25, accompanied by Jefferey Willerth, a Los Angeles producer. Jurjens said they interviewed witnesses and various samples were taken for scientific analysis.
The case will be featured on a documentary special for the History Channel, currently slated for broadcast in November.
Jurjens said this is not the first report of unexplained apparent mutilations of cattle in Nebraska. More recently, in April 2003, two cows and a bull calf were found dead in a pasture three miles west of Valparaiso. The cattle, belonging to Mike Benes, were described by a veterinarian as possibly being killed by electrocution. A teat was cut off each cow and the bull calf's scrotum and rectum were removed. Similar to the recent Farnam case, no blood was found around any of the dead animals.
Ernest and Catherine Wempel of Overton found an apparently mutilated cow on their property June 23. The cow's calf has been missing since the incident.
Ernest Wempel had checked the cows the evening of June 22 and the cow was alive then. At about 7 a.m. June 23, he said he found the cow dead, with an udder removed in a similar fashion as the Jurjen's cow.
The cow was removed by a rendering service by 9 a.m. June 23, so no tests were performed.
Wempel began wondering about the incident after the cow's calf was discovered missing. Now, he said, he wishes he had contacted authorities to do tests on the cow, and plans to do so if another mutilated cow is found.
