Advenedizo. Argentina

Argentina: Strange Cattle Mutilations in Saldungaray

The mystery of cattle mutilations in Saldungaray has given rise to of many news items regarding these events, which repeat at various points of the region. The media discusses the mystery of the mutilated cows - animals found dead from one day to the next in fields, sharing the same characteristic, a clean jawline, devoid of hide or flesh, missing tongue, udders and anus.

Each protagonist of these experiences has described them in the same way: incisions having a scalpel-like precision and cauterized wounds. There was talk at times of large water tanks emptied overnight.

Some countrymen have also noted "not even dogs approach the animal." A thousand stories with numerous protagonists and places, all involved in this aura of mystery. Popular imagination has invoked beings from other worlds, weaving legends, thousands of them. This time the animals appeared in the vicinity of this mountain community.

First it was in Chasicó and next quite nearby, in the Saldungaray urban area. The protagonist of this story begins his story by alleging having seen "in the company of his family, days earlier, on an overcast night, strange lights in sky flying at low altitude like a spotlight turning into multicolored lights spinning in a circle." He later claimed having seen beings walking under these lights at a distance of 500 meters.

The story could have ended with that anecdote about the experience. Days later, near where the he saw the lights, he found two dead cows betraying the characteristics described above. The production team of FM Reflejos radio went to the site to find the animals - a cow and her calf. The carcasses of both animals lay beside a creek, photographing to illustrate the investigation. But beyond what one can imagine and conjure up in the mind, being objective and seeking a scientific and logical solution, we consulted with a local veterinarian whose off-the-record explanation was this: "The ban on fox hunting and the high population of armadillos, to which chimangos can be added, are the causes for these injuries seen on dead animals. They all attack soft parts of the body for nourishment and go for the tongue and udders first. The chimango goes for the eyes and the armadillo enters the animal through the anus."

Beyond these scientific explanations we find ample personal beliefs and deeply held convictions stemming from experience, imagination, or popular belief as a whole. We all look skyward in the night in search of strange lights and make up campfire tales to deprive us sleep, astonishing listeners with our story, adding to the details whenever the subject is brought up. Skeptics will argue that extraterrestrial life is impossible and the UFOs do not exist. Others believe in them and claim having had some sort of contact. Photographs pile up day after day of objects that are out of kilter with the ordinary - an object hovering over a warehouse, filled with strange marks made with the precision of an engineer and hence, a million alien symbols. Beyond photographic evidence or astounding stories, there is a core of ufology that rejects any evidence adduced. The matter will remain as a rumor in the streets, corner bars, nighttime stories, gatherings where more than one believes in these things. Meanwhile, we add yet another story that involves the magical, mysterious world that our mountain community encapsulates.