Gift Bones - Part 1

Much of my bone collection is found, prepped, and cleaned by myself. Some is bought, and the rest came as gifts from exceptionally understanding friends.

One of the single largest bones I own is this HUGE moose antler which was a gift from my parents. Which came originally from Canada or Alaska, from a male (bull) moose. It was on my wish list of odd items so I was very excited about this surprise gift!



It measures 41 inches across the back curve. And has a pretty good weight to it . Here is a self portrait with it to give you a better idea of how large it is.



Want to see something really fantastic? Check out The New Hampshire Locked Moose Antler Project. Which involved two moose carcasses found locked in eternal combat turned into a traveling educational taxidermy exhibit. Absolutely stunning. Such a fantastic way to honor these majestic beasts.

With the birth of this blog I started to get "hey do you want a...?." questions more and more often. And of course if it is bone related, I likely welcome what you have to offer. So I started to get some pretty interesting things showing up in my mailbox.

First thing I got was this collection of partial skeletal remains of a Key Deer from my good friend Kyle. I remember him telling me stories about how when lived in the Florida Keys, they would just walk up and lick your hands.

Which is just never good for any wild animal. Most Key Deer have lost their fear of humans. This is the main reason they are now endangered.



Kyle found these remains on the property of his old landlord and had always thought that he had killed it. Upon receiving the bones it was realized that three of the vertebrae were badly fused. Which could possibly indicate that the deer was quite old and/or suffering from a disease that caused this fusing.


(click small images for larger.)

So I like to believe that the deer either died of natural causes or perhaps it was suffering and put out of misery. I have done this countless times myself and highly respect the work of a fellow angel of mercy.


(Macro of fused vertebrae.)

One night while I was out at a show in Gainesville I was located by my friend Will who had some fantastic gifts for me. I love the conversation he must have had with the door guy explaining that he had "something for someone inside".

"Can I just find my friend to give her something?"

"What is it?"

Will lifting the plastic bag with protruding bones.

"A horse skull and a shark jaw."

"Uhhhh sure."



This is one of those cases where I loved the way the horse skull was weathered and won't likely be cleaning it.



I especially love the cracking of the tooth enamel.





The shark jaw is 10 inches across so it wasn't a very big one. Anyone have any idea what it is from?



The last bone gift I received most recently was this fantastic mummified bird leg with protruding bone. My friend Bill posted a photo of it online. There were lots of "Ewww yuck!" comments of course. Except for mine.

His wife really wanted it out of the house so it took the hour journey to my house to a new happy home.



I wanted to mention that this is no small bird leg. From bone tip to talon it measures 5 and a quarter inches.

Thanks so much to my parents, Kyle, Will and Bill for these uncommon gifts!

Stay tuned for more in this series of "gift bones" to come.