An unusual case of predation: dog-pack or cougar attack?

Abstract

Injuries produced by animals are capable of leaving severe patterns and in some cases may result in the death of the attacked individual. Law enforcement authorities may come to erroneous conclusions about the source of the bites based on their awareness of animals present and similarities of the injuries to the untrained eye, with dreadful consequences. Expertise of a carnivore biologist and an odontologist that indentifies the particularities of bite marks may be useful for identifying the attacking species. We present the investigation of a fatal dog pack attack involving a 43-year-old man in Bell Ville (Argentina) where the evidence provided by a forensic dentist and a biologist was categorical for establishing the animal species involved. Because of the unusual characteristics of the wounds and the initial hypothesis made by local authorities of a cougar attack, habits and specific patterns of both dog pack and cougar predation on humans are discussed.