Poachers Steal Texas Steer's Head And Horns Just Days After Its Death

MADISON COUNTY, TX — Waylon and Willie were like rock stars at The Standing Barr C Ranch in North Zulch, a small Texas town located near county seat Madisonville. The two LongTusi steer brothers were lead cows who helped the herd at the ranch of Nathan and Rachel Geick the last five years. The ranch has been in Rachel's family since 1942.

While checking on his cows last Monday (July 31), Nathan found Waylon dead from unknown causes. Within the next couple of days, someone apparently entered the ranch and removed the head and horns from Waylon. When going back on Thursday and seeing what was left, Nathan was in disbelief, as he said the prized LongTusi steer was "like family."

Geick went to social media last week to express grief for his beloved Waylon, but he also showed a little anger at the poachers who walked away with the head and horns — which he said weighed more than 200 pounds. There is a $1,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

Nathan said Waylon's body couldn't be seen from the road, which made it seem safe to be there for a few days.

"We have a taxidermy on standby for our prize animals just in case," he said Monday. "[The taxidermist] suggested we wait a few days to avoid any damage and since he was in a location that could not be seen from the road, we did not think it was an issue. Every rancher does something different with animals that have passed."

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Geick called the Madison County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating the incident at the time. Representatives from MCSO didn't respond to messages from Patch on Monday.

In the social media post, Geick urged his friends and family to pass along any information to local game wardens and taxidermists to be on the lookout for Waylon's head and horns.

In an interview with Patch, Nathan Geick said the LongTusi steer brothers were named Waylon and Willie after the famous country music singers. Waylon, who has blue and white coloring, or roans, got his name after Waylon Jennings, who sometimes sang the blues. Willie has red and white roans, and was aptly named after the Red-Headed Stranger Willie Nelson. The brother steers were very popular on the ranch, and rightfully so.

A LongTusi is a breed in which a Watusi steer is bred with a Longhorn calf, thus creating the abnormally long and wide horns, which Waylon has (as seen in the cover photo). The cattle breed once sold for $20-25,000 nearly 30 years ago. Here is a link to The Standing Barr C Ranch.

From Judge Jeanine Pirro's Facebook page, she adamantly states: "Help find the poachers of this magnificent animal. They need to be JAILED."

Below is the copy of Geick's original post last week.

The original post has been shared more than 20,000 times with more than 2,400 comments.

Caption: Waylon, a prized LongTusi steer at the Standing Barr C Ranch in North Zulch, Texas, is shown relaxing at the ranch.

Photo used with permission from Nathan Geick