THE UNKNOWN: Animal Mutilations

Summary

So Supernatural – THE UNKNOWN: Animal Mutilations

Podcast: So Supernatural
Host: Audiochuck | Crime House
Episode: THE UNKNOWN: Animal Mutilations
Date: December 12, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the chilling and perplexing phenomenon of animal mutilations—the ongoing reports of livestock and farm animals discovered dead under extraordinarily strange and grisly circumstances. The hosts analyze famous cases, possible explanations (from cults to government conspiracies to extraterrestrial involvement), and government investigations. They balance skeptical and supernatural viewpoints, weaving firsthand accounts, historical context, conspiracy theories, and personal insights into an engaging exploration of one of true crime’s most baffling mysteries.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Unnatural Deaths of Animals: An Introduction

• Ashley Flowers (01:57): Sets the stage by reflecting on nature’s cycles, and how these mutilation cases disrupt our understanding of life and death, calling into question what is truly “natural.”
  • “When something dies in such an unnatural way, it really calls everything we know about the cycle of life into question. It disrupts the quiet balance when nature doesn't behave the way it's supposed to. It's unsettling.”
• The hosts stress the distress and confusion felt by animal owners encountering such inexplicable deaths.

2. The Case That Started It All: “Lady” the Horse (aka “Snippy”)

• San Luis Valley, Colorado, 1967
  • Racha Pecorero (05:07): Shares the unsettling discovery by Harry King of his horse, Lady, found dead with flesh and skin missing from her torso to her head.
  • No blood, no tracks, missing organs like lungs and brain, with a “perfect hole right at the top of her head, like someone drilled through it” (06:56).
  • Yvette Gentile (07:43): Comments on the surgical precision of the wounds; farmers and local experts could find no logical explanation.

3. The Spread and Pattern of Animal Mutilations

• Racha Pecorero (09:23), Yvette Gentile (09:50):
  • Reports multiply across the US through the 1970s: Nebraska, Colorado, California, Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Montana and more.
  • Shared characteristics:
    • No cause of death determined
    • No signs of struggle or animal attack
    • Organs removed with extraordinary precision
    • No blood or tracks near the bodies

“Some of them have no blood in them at all, almost as if they were completely drained of every drop in their bodies...cuts are perfectly straight and precise. Almost like what you'd expect if a surgeon had removed everything with a knife or even a laser.”
– Racha Pecorero (10:44)

4. Early Theories: Government Involvement & “Unmarked Helicopters”

• Unmarked helicopters as a recurring theme spotted at mutilation sites (13:30-16:08).
  • Farmers report being tailed, sometimes even shot at, by helicopter occupants; speculation arises about secret government projects.
• Yvette Gentile (16:08): Describes conspiracy theories involving government bioweapon testing, but notes logical inconsistencies:
  • Experiments could be performed in labs, not farms.
  • Some mutilations precede chemical weapons bans.

5. Official Investigations: FBI, DCI, and Mounties

• Racha Pecorero (20:41):
  • 1979: FBI and other agencies formally investigate due to mounting pressure and persistent rumors.
  • Animal mutilations documented as early as the 17th century (e.g., sheep deaths in 1606 England).
  • By 1970s, some sources estimate 1,000+ cases in the US alone.

6. Cults and Satanic Panic

• Yvette Gentile (23:32):
  • Iowa DCI and RCMP suggest culprits could be human—specifically, a satanic cult called the “Sons of Satan.”
  • Sensational rumors: Midnight rituals, cannibalism, rumored missing fingers among cultists, none of which are substantiated.
  • The rumor appears to stem from a poorly researched student paper that made its way into local press.

“So the FBI goes looking for these satan worshipping cult members who are allegedly missing fingers. And guess what? They can't find anyone who fits that description.”
– Yvette Gentile (25:35)

7. FBI’s Official Explanation (1980) & Backlash

• Racha Pecorero (26:43; 30:32):
  • FBI concludes mutilations are due to ordinary predators and decomposition (e.g., blood “drained” is gravity coagulation, precise cuts are animal bites).
  • Farmers and ranchers reject this, citing lack of tracks, blood at the site, and anomalous details that don’t fit predation or scavenging.

“But the farmers who have found mutilated animals say that's just not the case. The death sites have been described as pristine. So I have a very hard time with this whole predator theory.”
– Racha Pecorero (33:02)

• Yvette Gentile (34:13): Notes FBI reports lacked toxicology or full autopsies, fueling suspicion of a government cover-up.

8. Alien Conspiracy Theories

• Racha Pecorero (36:12):
  • UFO sightings frequently coincide with mutilations.
  • In Lady’s case, local judge and officers see mysterious orange lights above the region; ground near the carcass appears scorched.
• 1975: Minnesota case with dead mules at centers of burnt crop circles displaying high radiation.

“Each time mutilation reports roll in, people consistently spot strange craft in the sky, either right before or right after the dead animals are found.”
– Racha Pecorero (39:50)

• Yvette Gentile (40:20):
  • Mentions famed UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek, ties in Project Blue Book, speculation that government is either investigating or covering up alien involvement.

9. Modern Recurrence and Ongoing Mystery

• Texas, 2023: Seven cows mutilated across different counties, all missing tongues; no cause of death determined, no signs of scavengers; in two, genitals and surrounding hide removed in a perfect circle.
  • Yvette Gentile (46:10): Similar cases in Oregon (2024) and Montana (2025).
  • A recent Oregon case: Cow found dead, sitting upright, which is atypical for deaths by predation or illness.

10. Discussion and Theories: Hosts’ Conclusions

• Hosts share their views (42:18-43:32):

  • Racha is convinced by the alien explanation:

    “But as for me, and I can assume my sister, I believe it’s aliens. Aliens. Aliens, aliens.”

  • Yvette is similarly skeptical of government explanations, citing lack of evidence for natural predation and the precision of the wounds.

    “I absolutely believe it was intelligent being that did this...the precision that these animals were killed, it just doesn’t make sense.” (42:57)

• Regardless of the cause, the financial and emotional damage to farmers and ranchers is significant (Yvette Gentile, 44:13).

11. Open Questions & Final Thoughts

• The phenomenon dies down in the ‘80s but resurges in the 2020s, leaving the mystery as open and unsettling as ever.
• Yvette Gentile (47:50): Raises questions—Are we witnessing evidence of hidden truths, supernatural forces, or simply misunderstanding nature?

  “Farmers are the heartbeat of America. They understand the rhythms of nature better than anyone else. And when those rhythms are disrupted, they feel it first.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ashley Flowers (01:57):

  “When something dies in such an unnatural way, it really calls everything we know about the cycle of life into question. It disrupts the quiet balance when nature doesn't behave the way it's supposed to.”

• Racha Pecorero (10:44):

  “Some of them have no blood in them at all, almost as if they were completely drained of every drop in their bodies...cuts are perfectly straight and precise. Almost like what you'd expect if a surgeon had removed everything with a knife or even a laser.”

• Yvette Gentile (16:08):

  “Nobody knows for sure, but conspiracy theorists say that top secret government divisions use unmarked helicopters to do off the books operations.”

• Yvette Gentile (42:57):

  “I absolutely believe it was intelligent being that did this, because the precision that these animals were killed, it just doesn't make sense...”

• Racha Pecorero (47:50):

  “So what should we make of all of this? Are these strange deaths part of a bigger hidden truth about the mysterious universe that we live in? Or is there something we have yet to understand...?”

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Important Timestamps

• 01:57: Introduction to animal mutilation phenomenon by Ashley Flowers
• 05:07 - 08:46: The mysterious case of Snippy/Lady the horse
• 09:23 - 12:00: Accounts of similar mutilations spreading across the US
• 13:30 - 17:52: Unmarked helicopters, government conspiracy theories, and official responses
• 20:41 - 26:43: FBI, DCI, and Mounties’ investigations and conflicting reports
• 30:32 - 34:54: FBI’s “natural causes” explanation and ranchers’ skepticism
• 36:12 - 42:18: UFOs and support for alien theories; references to Project Blue Book
• 45:00 - 47:50: Recent cases (2023–2025), ongoing mystery, and emotional impact
• 47:50 - end: Philosophical wrap-up, open questions, and closing thoughts

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Tone & Style

The hosts maintain a balance between earnest skepticism, respectful curiosity, and the playful, sometimes incredulous tone that defines the paranormal-true crime intersection. They present the facts, challenge official narratives, and invite listeners to draw their own conclusions—all while clearly expressing their personal leanings toward supernatural explanations.

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Summary

“So Supernatural: THE UNKNOWN: Animal Mutilations” explores a true crime mystery that straddles the line between the inexplicable and the unimaginable. Though theories run the gamut—from mundane predators to secret government agents to aliens—the phenomenon remains unsolved, its true nature hidden deep within the unknown. The episode thoughtfully examines the evidence, the historical record, expert and eyewitness accounts, and the persistent gaps in all official explanations, leaving listeners both haunted and hungry for answers.

Transcript

[Yvette Gentile]

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[Racha Pecorero]

You get your podcasts.

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[Racha Pecorero]

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[Ashley Flowers]

Do you ever stop and think how incredible the natural world is? The idea that when we die, our bodies are absorbed back into the earth, the soil. That we become one with Mother Nature again. She has a funny way of coming full circle like that. So when something dies in such an unnatural way, it really calls everything we know about the cycle of life into question. It disrupts the quiet balance when nature doesn't behave the way it's supposed to. It's unsettling. Which is why today's case is one.

[Yvette Gentile]

We need to explore.

[Ashley Flowers]

For centuries, farmers, mostly in remote areas, have reported finding their livestock dead without explanation. Like, come bedtime, they're fine, but by the next morning, they have suffered the most gruesome fate. I'm talking tongues or eyes removed with surgical precision, every single drop of blood drained from the animal's body, and no tracks or footprints leading to or from the animal signaling who could have done it. And this hasn't just happened to a few animals. Thousands have been reported over the last several decades in the United States alone. Which has me wondering, is it some sort of occult ritual? Hungry predators? A bizarre disease? Some top secret government project? Or are the answers not of our natural world? I'm Ashley Flowers. And this is so supernatural.

[Racha Pecorero]

Animal lovers beware. Because today's episode is a hard one to stomach. But it's also so bizarre and mysterious that we just couldn't look away. I'm Racha Pecorero.

[Yvette Gentile]

And I'm Yvette Gentile. And if you're into the eerie, the unexplained, and the downright strange, well, that's probably why you're listening to this show. But chances are you've also heard about a chilling phenomenon, one where perfectly healthy animals, especially cows, mysteriously turn up dead. Not only is it devastating for the owners who've cared for and depended on these animals, but it also leaves them with a deep, unsettling feeling, like something unnatural is happening right there in their backyard. That's exactly how a man named Harry.

[Racha Pecorero]

King felt in 1967. Harry's family owns a farm in the San Luis Valley in Colorado. He works there with his mother and his sister. And around September 7th of that year, he starts his day like all the rest by opening his barn and letting a horse named lady out to graze. Everything else that afternoon is business as usual. But at the end of the day, Harry goes back to the barn to make sure lady made it home. Only she hasn't. She's not eating at the trough or off drinking water or roaming free somewhere on the property either. In fact, there's no sign of her at all. For the next day or so, lady is nowhere to be found, which is really concerning because Harry knows this isn't like her. Lady might wander off from time to time, but she always comes back on her own. Harry tries not to dwell on it. He assumes she'll be back eventually. That day on September 9th, he's taking care of some other matters about a quarter mile away from his farmhouse. And that's when he finally spots lady. And not in the way that he had hoped. She's lying on her side, but she isn't breathing or moving. It's clear she's already dead. As Harry gets a better look, he realizes lady suffered an incredibly gruesome fate. From the middle of her torso to the top of her head. She doesn't have any flesh or skin. She's just sun bleached bones. Could a predator or a scavenger have eaten away at the flesh?

[Ashley Flowers]

Sure.

[Racha Pecorero]

But if another animal had attacked lady, you'd expect to find at least some blood nearby and probably tracks from whatever had killed her. Except there's no blood on the ground near her body. No sign of any kind of struggle. No footprints either. But it gets even stranger because Harry notices her lungs and other respiratory organs are also missing. And her brain is gone. But her skull isn't shattered or broken open. Instead, there's a perfect hole right at the top of her head, like someone drilled through it just to get at the insides.

[Yvette Gentile]

Now, you might be wondering, how do you remove an animal's brain through a tiny little hole? Well, Harry's best guess is that someone must have used a suction tube or some type of similar tool to suck it out. The same thing is true of a lot of the other missing organs. The holes and incisions on Lady's body are just too small for them to have been removed without surgical equipment.

[Racha Pecorero]

Harry's been farming for a very long time, but he's never seen anything like this before. None of this sounds like something a wild animal like a coyote, a wolf, or a bear would even be able to do. But Harry just can't think of a reason why a human being would do this to a horse. So he actually reaches out to some friends, farmers, vets, and other experts to ask what they think happened. And no one can make any sense of it.

[Yvette Gentile]

And before you know it, word of the mystery spreads around town, then through the county and the state. Eventually, the case is making headlines all across America, and everyone gives Lady a new nickname. They call her Snippy, which breaks my heart, because, you know, horses are so precious, right? And as more and more people learn about lady, other animal owners begin coming forward. People who say they've also found animals mutilated in similar ways on their own farms.

[Racha Pecorero]

For example, in 1970, three years after Lady's death, California newspapers say that someone discovered a headless goat dumped in a canyon. The wounds were clean and precise, meaning it likely wasn't a scavenger or a predator. It appeared to be removed purposefully and by an intelligent being.

[Yvette Gentile]

In 1974, over the course of about eight months or so, five different animals, a mix of cows and horses, are found butchered in Nebraska. Their internal organs have been removed, and in one case, a steer is found, but it's missing its sex organs. One eye, one ear and its tongue. That year there are so many animal mutilations in Colorado that state officials can't even keep track of them all. There are also reports out of Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Montana, and the list goes on for the rest of the decade. Countless reports start appearing from farms and ranches all over the US and the accounts are eerily similar.

[Racha Pecorero]

An animal is found dead, but there's no sign of what killed them. They didn't look sick and there's no no evidence of a predator either. Their cause of death is often impossible to determine. There's also no indication that there was a struggle before their death. In fact, the ground around them is always pristine. No sign of a fight, no tracks, no blood. But I'm not just talking about the ground around the animal like you would expect to see after the injuries they sustain. Some of them have no blood in them at all, almost as if they were completely drained of every drop in their bodies. On top of all that, these animals are often missing their internal organs. Things like their tongues, their eyes, or even their genitals. And if you look at the wounds near where the organs were removed, the cuts are perfectly straight and precise. Almost like what you'd expect if a surgeon had removed everything with a knife or even a laser.

[Yvette Gentile]

Again, this does not seem like a natural phenomenon. It feels like something that was done intentionally. And if that is the case, there's one obvious follow up question. Who is responsible? Between work, family and everything else, finding time to make dinner can feel nearly impossible. Meet the new Blue Apron. Now with no subscription, it's easier than ever to get delicious, high quality meals delivered right to your door without the commitment. Blue Apron has shipped over 600 million meal kits and now it's more convenient than ever. You can shop a la carte, order what you want when you want, discover low prep recipes and pre made meals that make dinner fast, fresh and stress free. After a long day of recording, the last thing I want to do is go to the grocery store. So tonight's Creamy Pesto Tortellini with Blue Aprons. Assemble and bake. All you have to do is set it and forget it. No fuss needed. Try the new Blue apron today. Get 40% off and free shipping on your first two [e-mail] with code SUPERNATURAL40 Terms and conditions apply. Visit blueapron.com terms for more.

[Racha Pecorero]

Here's the typical holiday pattern. You tell yourself you'll be thoughtful. Panic at the last minute. Buy a gift card this year. Skip the panic and give an aura frame Enjoy unlimited free photo and video uploads. Every gift can be personalized with a custom message that appears when it's first turned on. The Aura frame is the perfect gift for your ohana and pili aloha, your family and friends, because you get to share memories with them all year long. For a limited time save, save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com to get $35 off or as best selling carver mat frames named number one by wirecutter by using promo code supernatural at checkout. That's auraframes.com promo code supernatural. This deal is exclusive to listeners and frames sell out fast, so order yours now to get it in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. In the 1970s, dead mutilated farm animals began popping up all over the United States. No one knows exactly who's responsible for this, but a bunch of rumors and theories start appearing in newspapers. Because many farmers and ranchers say that when they found their dead cows, dead horses, and other dead animals, they also spotted unmarked helicopters in the sky. This is important because by law, helicopters must have certain placards and markings displayed on them. Flying an unmarked aircraft would be like driving a car with no license plate. You're just not supposed to do it. Except the farmers keep seeing these unidentified helicopters near mutilation sites. A lot of times, they're literally hovering over the dead animal, not just passing over by chance. And when the ranchers and workers drive away from the site, the helicopters sometimes tail them. Some have even reported that the people in the helicopters fired guns at them. Like they really don't want anyone to know what's going on with these mutilated animals. So the question is, who's in these helicopters and what in the hell are they up to?

[Yvette Gentile]

Nobody knows for sure, but conspiracy theorists say that top secret government divisions use unmarked helicopters to do off the books operations. Which is why a lot of people suspect that federal agents are the ones killing, dissecting, and removing organs from these animals. As for why they do that, one popular theory is that they're developing chemical weapons and they're secretly testing them on these animals.

[Racha Pecorero]

Yeah, but the problem is, it's not clear what department is actually responsible for all of this. If it's the CIA, the FBI, the military, or some other group entirely. But I can tell you this. Some farmers are so freaked out that they start patrolling their land with guns and firing at any helicopter that passes overhead, even ones that are clearly marked and not part of a secret Operation.

[Yvette Gentile]

Damn, that sounds like an episode of Yellowstone. Anyhow, it's unclear how often this happens, but it's a big enough deal that politicians start getting involved. A senator of Colorado asked the FBI for help in settling the matter. Over in Nebraska, a government agency recommends that if anyone has to go out in a copter in their airspace, they should fly at a much higher altitude than usual, just to avoid the risk of getting shot.

[Racha Pecorero]

Some farmers and ranchers believe those unmarked helicopters might have doctors or scientists on board. They could identify animals they want to study, then infect them with some kind of top secret disease or or chemical weapon that they're developing. Once enough time has passed for the experiment to take effect, they return to the farm or the ranch. It's believed they shoot the test subject with a dart gun loaded with poison, which kills the animal instantly. Then the scientist can land nearby, perform a quick autopsy, removing key organs to study them later. Finally, these agents wipe away their footprints and destroy any sign they were ever there. Except for one. These scientists have to leave the animal's carcass behind because a full grown cow or horse can weigh over a thousand pounds, sometimes even close to 1500 pounds, which is a lot of weight to add to any helicopter. So the animal is left for farmers to find and wonder about.

[Yvette Gentile]

Okay, so I could totally buy that because that is a lot of weight to put on a helicopter, right?

[Racha Pecorero]

For sure.

[Yvette Gentile]

Now, some people believe these alleged operations are completely top secret for a few reasons. The first one is that the military doesn't want the general public and hostile nations to know exactly what they're capable of, which, okay, makes 100% sense. But it's also worth noting that in 1969, President Nixon declared it was illegal to manufacture and transport chemical weapons. So if an agency is conducting these kinds of tests, of course they need to hide what they're doing. But there are some really big issues with this theory. The first being reports of animal mutilations began before the chemical weapons ban. Lady, the horse died three years earlier in 1967. So it's just unclear why they'd be so secretive and mysterious when their work isn't even illegal yet. And if government agents are testing bioweapons, why would they choose to experiment on random farm animals? It seems like it would be much more efficient to conduct those studies in controlled laboratory settings with their own test subjects. That way the scientists wouldn't have to leave butchered carcasses on farms all across.

[Racha Pecorero]

The US I couldn't agree more. Of course, they could do this in Their own labs. Like, why go after farmer's property? Makes no sense to me. But here's where it gets wild. In 1979, there are so many people spreading rumors about a government conspiracy involving these mutilations that the FBI actually gets involved. They decide they need to investigate on their own to see if the US Government or anyone else is doing anything illegal. In fact, a few other divisions run their own investigations alongside the FBI. For example, IA's Department of Criminal Investigations, or DCI, looks into a bunch of mutilations that happened in their state. So do the Royal Canadian Mounties, because this is going on north of the border, too. These researchers find that animal mutilations are not a new phenomenon. There are documented cases going back all the way to the 17th century. Apparently, in 1606, various sheep were found dead outside of London. Their internal organs and layers of fat had been removed, but their hides were untouched. That case and older ones like it didn't get a whole lot of news coverage at the time. Lady the horse's story really brought the phenomenon into the mainstream.

[Yvette Gentile]

Well, it does seem like after Lady's case, the events either started happening more or people were just noticing it a lot more frequently. Because throughout the 1970s, reports just skyrocketed. Some estimates say that roughly 1,000 animals were killed and mutilated over the course of a decade, though other newspapers speculate that a lot of these incidents never get reported to the proper authorities, and the number could be much higher. Think thousands of cases by the mid-1970s alone.

[Racha Pecorero]

So it's more important than ever to figure out who's doing this and why. And after reviewing all of the evidence, the DCI and the Canadian Mounties both come to the same conclusion. There's no sign that a government bioweapon study was to blame. But they do believe the animals died at the hands of humans, particularly a cult, possibly with lynx, to Satanism.

[Yvette Gentile]

The FBI reports cite a bunch of Texas locals who say there's a devil worshiping cult in the state called the Sons of Satan. But it's not only active in Texas, it's apparently a nationwide movement. It's unclear how many members there are, but this group supposedly performs animal sacrifices. Rumor says the ritual begins at midnight and lasts until dawn. And it involves ritually slaughtering a farm animal like a cow or a horse. And that's not the worst of it. Apparently, the Sons of Satan also perform cannibalism. And according to one report, members are encouraged by to cut off their own fingers and eat them to show their dedication to the cult. So the FBI goes looking for these satan worshipping cult members who are allegedly missing fingers. And guess what? They can't find anyone who fits that description. But supposedly there is a California based motorcycle gang called the sons of Satan who killed people by cutting out their hearts and offering them to the devil. Problem is, these rumors are completely unverified. At least one supposed member of the California gang confessed to killing a woman in 1970, putting her heart in a car Than burning it as part of a black magic ritual. But again, there's no hard evidence to back this claim up. And nobody is willing to come forward and say they know any members of the group. There certainly isn't anyone claiming to be an active part of the cult themselves. So eventually, after a lot of digging, Researchers learn where these rumors about the sons of Satan originated. Apparently, sometime in 1974, a community college student wrote a research paper on the sons of Satan for a classroom assignment. But it's kind of misleading to call it a research paper because the student didn't do much research. He just repeated a story he'd heard from a friend and failed to verify it. His paper claimed that the sons of Satan were responsible for the cattle mutilations. And he went into very graphic detail Describing the ritual torture the cultists supposedly performed on these farm animals. Somehow his paper began circulating outside the classroom and even made it into the local papers. And that's what sparked the rumors and caught the FBI's attention.

[Racha Pecorero]

So after reviewing all of this evidence, the FBI disagrees with the Iowa dci. The bureau does not believe satanists are responsible for the mutilations. They're not even convinced that the sons of satan are real. Instead, on January 15, 1980, the FBI releases a document with their own conclusions. And their findings kick off a brand new conspiracy theory. The best TV comes in many forms. From real life mysteries to blockbuster dramas, Family favorites, and buzzworthy reality shows, Philo makes it easy to stream them all with one simple, affordable subscription. For just $33 a month, Philo offers more than 70 live channels, including favorites like AMC, AE, MTV, Discovery, and Nickelodeon. Plus on demand TV like the entire AMC library. Whatever the mood, there's always something new to uncover. Philo subscribers also get access to hbo, max basic with ads and discovery at no extra cost, along with unlimited DVR that saves shows for up to a year. No long contracts, no complicated setup, Just endless entertainment ready to stream anytime. Ready for a better way to bundle all the TV you love? Get started at philo tv. That's p H. I L O tv. Your next obsession is waiting. Here's the typical holiday pattern. You tell yourself you'll be thoughtful. Panic at the last minute. Buy a gift card this year, skip the panic and give an Aura Frame. Enjoy unlimited free photo and video uploads. Every gift can be personalized with a custom message that appears when it's first turned on. The Aura Frame is the perfect gift for your ohana and pili aloha, your family and friends, because you get to share memories with them all year long. For a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com to get $35 off Aura's best selling Carver mat frames named number one by Wirecutter by using promo code Supernatural checkout. That's a U R A frames.com promo code supernatural. This deal is exclusive to listeners, and frames sell out fast, so order yours now to get it in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. From 1967 to 1980, at least 1,000 farm animals were killed and mutilated in the United States. And those are just the cases that we know about. No one could tell who was responsible, but the FBI investigated, and in 1980, they announced their conclusion. And I have to warn you, it's frustrating. They say the mutilations are a natural phenomenon and people are just overreacting when they find ordinary cow and horse carcasses. They think the dead livestock were all killed by predators. They're saying there was no secret dart gun, no biological weapon, just your typical bear, bobcat, or wolf attack. They also say these predators probably just ate the missing organs. As for the cuts that were super straight and precise, the ones that looked like they were made with a knife, well, they say they were likely just the super sharp teeth of animals like bobcats and bears, which can leave straight, precise lines. According to the FBI, professional veterinarians all agree the supposed cuts on the mutilated animals are all consistent with bite marks. The fact that the dead animals were apparently drained of their blood, well, the FBI says that's just an optical illusion. Blood coagulates after death. Basically, once your heart stops beating, the blood thickens and gravity pulls it to the lowest part of the body. So if you're cutting a dead animal from the top or the side, it'll look like all of its blood has been drained because it's all pooled and hardened at the bottom of the quartz. This whole process takes anywhere from six to eight hours, which is important because some ranches are hundreds of acres across, owners don't always find their animals right after they die. Sometimes the corpses are several days old, so they only appear to be bloodless due to the advanced state of decomposition.

[Yvette Gentile]

The FBI also says there's a psychological explanation for the huge uptick of reports that came out in the 1970s. The idea is that lady the Horse made major headlines all across the world. A lot of farmers read the story about her mysterious death. When they later found their own animals dead in similar circumstances, they panicked. So they contacted the press. That led to even more news coverage and even more media attention. From there, the idea of an animal mutilation epidemic just grew. So much so that in 1975, the Colorado Associated Press announced that the phenomenon was the top news story of the year. But according to the FBI, there's nothing to worry about. This is all completely normal. Sort of a case of national mass hysteria, if you will.

[Racha Pecorero]

Except there are a few details about their conclusion that just don't add up. For one, a lot of the ranchers and farmers who found mutilated livestock say they didn't see any footprints near the carcasses. And there's no way that coyotes, bobcats, wolves, or bears could have gotten at these animals without leaving prints behind. Plus, like we mentioned before, in most cases, there was no blood around the dead body either. Not with lady the Horse and not in any of the other mutilation reports that came afterward. Usually, if a wild animal kills livestock, the victim will bleed before it dies. You'll see the blood spots on the ground. Even if the blood inside the body coagulates afterward, there would still be blood around the body. But the farmers who have found mutilated animals say that's just not the case. The death sites have been described as pristine. So I have a very hard time with this whole predator theory.

[Yvette Gentile]

Well, the other thing is, the FBI reports are pretty sparse. There's no toxicology analyses or any sort of autopsy performed. They don't address the biggest concerns or the most baffling elements of the mutilations. The FBI says it's because it's impossible for them to verify these things conveniently. The state of decomposition makes it difficult to perform an autopsy or test for drugs or infectious diseases. But of course, to skeptics, that all sounds like an excuse.

[Racha Pecorero]

On top of that, a lot of farmers and ranchers think the FBI theory is a bit condescending. The bureau claims that the animals owners aren't well trained or well educated enough to recognize the signs of an animal attack. I mean, come on. But many of These people have been working around livestock for their entire lives. They know better than anyone what it looks like when a bear or a wolf picks off one of their stock. And they all agree these animals were not attacked by ordinary predators. In fact, the official explanation is so dissatisfying that lots of people begin to suspect the FBI findings were, you guessed it, a cover up, that the government is just pretending this is a natural phenomenon to hide the truth. And before long, another conspiracy theory emerges, one that offers an alternative explanation about what the government could possibly be hiding. Lots of people believe these mutilations were performed by aliens.

[Yvette Gentile]

All right, let's unpack the evidence, starting with the incident that brought animal mutilations into the mainstream. Lady the horse. A bunch of ranch workers and law enforcement officers noticed something strange in the days after her death. Unidentified lights kept appearing in the sky all through the region. It started just one day after her body was found. A local superior court judge spotted three orange lights zipping across the sky. And here we go again, y', all, in a perfect triangular formation. That same night, a pair of police officers were driving around in their squad car when they also saw an orange light. It actually followed them for a little bit before racing off into the sky, which isn't the kind of behavior you'd expect from an ordinary airplane or even an unmarked helicopter. Harry King, Lady's caretaker, also pointed out that when he first found Lady's body, he noticed that the grass around her looked singed or scorched, almost like a flying saucer had landed and burned the vegetation around it. We talked about a similar thing happening in our episode on the Westall UFO sighting.

[Racha Pecorero]

The point is that Harry really, truly believed that lady had been killed by aliens. But he didn't have any solid proof. All he knew for sure was that there were a lot of odd details that pointed to a possible visitation from outer space. Again, there's no blood near her kill site and no possible way that a person or an animal could have killed and skinned her without making her bleed. And the cuts on her body are so precise and careful, it seems like something intelligent sliced her up. They worked intentionally and possibly with advanced equipment.

[Yvette Gentile]

It might be tempting to dismiss Harry's claims entirely. It is a huge assumption to make. However, Lady's death was not an isolated incident. Once the animal mutilation trend began, so did another one, the UFO sighting trend. In March of 1975, a bunch of reports came out of Minnesota people who saw strange unidentified lights in the sky. That same month, a local farmer found two of his mules butchered. Only he didn't discover the mules in their pen or on grazing land. They were out in a wheat field further away, and there's no sign of how they got there. Even spookier, there was a crop circle in the field, a 15 by 30 foot oval. And inside the circles, all of the wheat was completely burned away. Each dead mule was found at the center of one of those circles. And when investigators examined the scene, they brought out a radiation detector, only to learn that the levels inside the circles were unusually high.

[Racha Pecorero]

As bizarre as that sounds, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Each time mutilation reports roll in, people consistently spot strange craft in the sky, either right before or right after the dead animals are found. Unfortunately, I don't have hard numbers, but apparently experts agree this happens frequently enough that there must be some kind of connection.

[Yvette Gentile]

And let's just remember something we mentioned earlier, that lots of farmers spotted unmarked helicopters flying near the animals kill sites. They assumed this was the sign the government was responsible for the mutilations. But if aliens did, seems just as possible that these helicopters belong to agents who are investigating or covering up the UFO phenomenon. In fact, we know that J. Allen Hynek investigated some animal mutilations. Longtime listeners will recognize his name because he ran Project Blue Book. That was a government sponsored program meant to investigate UFO sightings and possible alien encounters. Now, Blue Book shut down in 1969, and Hynek had mixed feelings about this because he really believed in aliens, and he thought it was important for people to take UFO reports seriously and investigate them. On the other hand, he was frustrated with the way Blue Book had been run. He felt like the officials were pressuring him to dismiss legitimate sightings or peddle obvious cover stories. So around 1970, he began doing his own independent research. And in 1974, Hynek was looking specifically into cattle mutilations, which implies aliens were involved with these cases, or at the very least, that Hynek thought this was a possibility. And I have to say, remember Racha on Netflix? There was that documentary. It was called Investigation Alien. And George Knapp talked a lot about this as well.

[Racha Pecorero]

He sure did. The fact of the matter is, there's no way to completely prove or debunk any of the theories we hear today. Going by the evidence, it seems possible that the animals could be falling victim to visitors from outer space or a biological agent that the government is testing or members of a highly secretive culture. But as for me, and I can assume my sister, I believe it's Aliens. Aliens. Aliens, aliens. What do you think, Yvette?

[Yvette Gentile]

I absolutely believe it was intelligent being that did this, because the precision that these animals were killed, it just doesn't make sense. Right, that the scientists wouldn't take these animals to a controlled laboratory.

[Racha Pecorero]

Exactly.

[Yvette Gentile]

Like, why would they do it right there on the farmland? It just doesn't all add up.

[Racha Pecorero]

And why would they take the. The animals from these farmers when they could do this? Like you said, like, in a controlled environment, in a lab.

[Yvette Gentile]

Yeah.

[Racha Pecorero]

I mean, they test on animals sadly all the time.

[Yvette Gentile]

Right. And the fact that there's no, you know, evidence, like you don't see any footprints of bears or coyotes, it just. It doesn't add up. So I definitely believe aliens. But there is one thing that is undeniable. These mutilations are very real and very much a serious problem. After all, a fully grown cow or horse is worth thousands of dollars. So each time a farmer or rancher's animal turns up dead and mutilated, that hurts their bottom line. And to us, the animal itself is more important than the finances behind it.

[Racha Pecorero]

Absolutely.

[Yvette Gentile]

Well, some estimates say that the American agricultural industry has lost millions of dollars to the phenomenon. And it gets worse. See, mutilations like these common waves after the death of lady the horse in 1967. There was a huge uptick in these reports all through the 1970s. But by 1980, it seemed like the world had moved on. There were fewer and fewer farmers and ranchers saying they'd lost livestock in this bizarre way. Maybe whoever was responsible had all the information they needed by that point. So they were. Who knows? Winding down the experiment.

[Racha Pecorero]

Except fast forward to the spring of 2023. In the course of a few weeks, seven different cows were mutilated in the state of Texas. They are all in different counties, all owned by different farmers, and all found on different properties. But their deaths are eerily similar. Every one of them is found lying on its side. Each one is missing its tongue. When vets come to the scene, they're not able to identify a cause of death for any of the cows. And there's no sign that scavengers have touched them. Almost like something is scaring off birds of prey, coyotes, and everything else from the remains. On top of that, two of the cows are missing their genitals, and the hide around their sex organs has been cut off in a perfect circle. Almost like someone used a knife and a compass to trace it.

[Yvette Gentile]

So when this news breaks, a bunch of Texans tell the press they're afraid that this will kick Off a new wave. And sure enough, after they make headlines, more reports roll in. A bull is killed and mutilated on a ranch in Oregon in December of 2024. Its owner finds it, but it's missing its snout, tongue, eyes, and some of its reproductive organs. And the cuts to remove those organs were all precise and surgical. And then there's a cow in Montana in April of 2025. As of this recording, the police are still investigating, but I do know its tongue and all of the skin on its face had been removed.

[Racha Pecorero]

Sorry, I have to take a deep breath. This is a lot for me. On July 23, 2024, another mutilated cow was discovered in Oregon. It was dead, but it was still in a sitting position, which isn't a pose you'd expect to see if predators had killed it or if it collapsed after an illness. We could go on, because there are even more reports, all of which are strikingly similar, which does make it sound like we're at the start of another spike and we still don't know for sure who's doing this or why.

[Yvette Gentile]

So what should we make of all of this? Are these strange deaths part of a bigger hidden truth about the mysterious universe that we live in? Or is there something we have yet to understand about our natural world and all the small nuances in the way it behaves? Farmers are the heartbeat of America. They understand the rhythms of nature better than anyone else. And when those rhythms are disrupted, they feel it first.

[Racha Pecorero]

While the mystery of these mutilations remains unsolved, that doesn't mean it will remain that way forever. With each new case, eyewitness report and investigation, we move a bit closer to understanding life's bigger questions. Maybe that's the most hopeful part of this. That in death and destruction comes new life, new understanding, new beginnings. And sometimes it's in the darkest mysteries that we find the brightest sparks of discovery.

[Yvette Gentile]

This is so Supernatural. An audio Chuck original produced by Crime House. You can connect with us on Instagram at so Supernatural Pod and visit our [e-mail] join rash and me next Friday for an all new episode. I think Chuck would approve.

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