WESTCLIFFE, Colo., April 8, 2021 - Custer County sheriff's deputies investigating a local ranch in response to an anonymous tip today encountered a gruesome scene: more than 50 half-starved, bedraggled alpacas picking at what appeared to be scattered human bones, many of which bore traces of flesh.
Deputies found the alpacas wandering around the grounds of the Tenacious Unicorn Ranch, which consist of a dilapidated house and detached garage on about 35 acres of pasturage. The owners could not be located as of press time and have not responded to contact attempts. Investigators estimate that the property has been unoccupied for at least a month.
The snow cover would have prevented the alpacas from grazing, animal control officers say, and and no evidence of alpaca feed has been found on the grounds, leading them to preliminarily conclude that the animals may have stayed alive by attacking the human residents of the ranch and subsisting on the remains.
The Tenacious Unicorn Ranch, a collective of transgender women raising alpacas for wool, had become mildly famous on the Internet for their mission of providing housing to at-risk transgender people and for the offbeat, colorful Twitter postings made by some of the residents. Custer County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Nina Cortes said that the department had received an anonymous tip that one particularly prolific poster had not been heard from since late February.
"This was a woman named Kathryn, who would consistently post dozens of tweets a day, every day, around the clock, and then suddenly one day there was just nothing," Cortes said. "Kathryn" is Kathryn Gibes, 33, who posts to Twitter under the handle @TransSalamander, and currently has nearly 180,000 tweets, according to Twitter. Her most recent message is dated February 26 and reads "My pussy is extra musky today! I think the alpacas can tell! >///////<". It has attracted more than 150 responses from concerned followers wondering if she is okay and asking why she hasn't been tweeting.
It is extremely unusual for alpacas to attack humans, according to David Longworth, professor of zoology at the University of Colorado. "Alpacas are herbivores, so they don't eat meat except in extreme circumstances," he said. "Even at that, I would never expect an alpaca to actually attack and kill a human, unless they had been seriously abused or neglected."
The human remains have been taken to the medical examiner's office for identification. The animal control department has taken custody of the alpacas, which are temporarily being housed at a local large-animal welfare shelter until homes can be found for them.
