 During the early years of <unk> , cougars were considered on par with wolves in <unk> . According to figures in Texas in 1990 , 86 calves ( 0 @.@ <unk> % of a total of 13 @.@ 4 million cattle & calves in Texas ) , 253 <unk> goats , 302 <unk> kids , <unk> sheep ( 0 @.@ 02 % of a total of 2 @.@ 0 million sheep & lambs in Texas ) and 562 lambs ( 0 @.@ 04 % of 1 @.@ 2 million lambs in Texas ) were confirmed to have been killed by cougars that year . In Nevada in 1992 , cougars were confirmed to have killed 9 calves , 1 horse , 4 foals , 5 goats , <unk> sheep and 400 lambs . In both cases , sheep were the most frequently attacked . Some instances of surplus killing have resulted in the deaths of 20 sheep in one attack . A cougar 's killing bite is applied to the back of the neck , head , or throat and they inflict puncture marks with their claws usually seen on the sides and underside of the prey , sometimes also <unk> the prey as they hold on . Coyotes also typically bite the throat region but do not inflict the claw marks and farmers will normally see the signature <unk> @-@ <unk> pattern that coyotes create as they feed on the prey whereas cougars typically drag in a straight line . The work of a cougar is generally clean , differing greatly from the indiscriminate mutilation by coyotes and feral dogs . The size of the tooth puncture marks also helps distinguish kills made by cougars from those made by smaller predators . 
