skull of unkown animal

[Dutchess]

Originally Posted by The Woodman

Hi Brian
Never one to miss a challenge or an excuse to get away from this machine and typing reports, I've just popped out to get some images for you and I'll put them onto the Old Chestnut thread now.

There is a rotting fox 20 metres from the Chestnut and this how your skull would have looked at one point in its history! It'll be the next addition to my reference collection.

How long do you think it's been there Woodman? And when you say add it to your collection, do I take it you are thinking of cleaning the skull for reference? At which point will you do that? It always seems such a waste of good reference material when I see dead animals skeletons, especially those of bigger mammals like this one. One thing that puts me off though is the smell. I remember when doing Art O level, a girl brought in a pig's skull to draw. She'd cleaned it, boiled it and bleached it but it still stank! Ugh....I shall never forget it. How are they cleaned out thoroughly? Is it in some sort of acid? Sorry to be gruesome, but there is nothing like hands-on when it comes to anatomy, IMO.

D.

[The Woodman]

Hi Dutchess
I first saw the fox just before Christmas in a period of heavy frost. It was freshly dead but frozen solid. There were no obvious external injuries but it could have been shot, as the neighbouring land is lamped by keen fox shooters (not a subject for debate!). It could also have sustained an injury in traffic.

When I find a carcass like this one, I commit the location to memory and revisit from time to time to see how things progress. It's quicker in the heat of summer as you'll be aware. If the carcass is likely to be removed by the Highways Agency or others, I'll discreetly put it over the wall by a reference point if possible. It's amazing how emerging spring growth hides skeletons!

When the inverts have done their stuff, I'll take what I need and bring it home to boil in an old pan outside on a camping gas stove. After rinsing and making sure there's nothing attached to the bone, it'll soak for a few days in a bleach solution and hey presto - squeaky clean. For the finer skulls i.e. bats, shrews etc great care is needed due to the thin fragile structure of the bone. Loose teeth can be glued into place, also lower jaws that divide at the front, roe deer for example.

For the smaller skulls and those of birds I find that a nicely applied coat of Sally Hanson’s "Hard as Nails" nail varnish strengthens and protects the specimen.

Don't forget that some material from protected species has to have an NE license.

Hope that helps, the material shouldn't smell after the described process!

[Dutchess]

Good idea, WM. Let the inverts do their stuff! I'll have to start discreetly hiding away any suitable finds. Badgers and foxes are the usual victims we find around town. Never foiund anything like a weasel, or bat. Actually, having said that, a bat was once found on my doorstep - a pip I should think, it was so tiny! I buried the weeny little thing under some mint in the herb garden. Disintegrated in no time.

[mossandy61]

Originally Posted by kiltoncomp

i found this today in Clumber Park , among fallen leaves, no other bones or remains evident,
any one know what animal it is ? the skull measures 6" back to front and 3" across whats left of the eye sockets,
i thought it may have been a badger, but it seems a little small??





Brian.

Yes it looks like a fox I have got a badgers skull and it is only about 4.1/2 inch. good find ..Andy