# A Macabre Hobby



## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

So I collect skulls, and other things, as some of you may know. 
So I'm making a thread to keep track of my collection, and share it with you! 

Today, we have a slightly less than clean Brahma bull skull. 
To show you how large it is, here is my lovely 6'4'' brother, who thought his expression was appropriate for the photo. :lol: 









Tomorrow? Who knows! 
I'll post some more things as the days go by.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Kewl. Both the skull and the BIG brother.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

That's actually really cool! I collect deer jaws to use as a teaching aide for kids to have a physical object when discussing how to age them. I also do like furs, sheds, and feathers. Stuff children like, lol.


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

Skull envy over here!! That is a nice one! I collect skulls too!


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## Cait (Oct 3, 2008)

Strange yet interesting objects - I'd like to see the rest of the collection.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Will post a new one tonight.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Today? A Muntjac deer!










This one is very hard to get a hold of. They are not native in the US, the only available ones are from Exotics farms.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Oh wow! I love the... canine tooth? Do you clean/whiten them yourself, or are they pre done?


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

I work on some of them myself, and others I buy pre-cleaned. The muntjac was done already, but needs some work. You can see some greasy / yellowy spots on it, that weren't cleaned properly by the original owner.

The Brahma, is basically just nature cleaned. There is still some dry skin, and a bit of meat on it. The horns really need to come off so I can clean inside of them, but there's no way to do it until summer. Basically I just have to put the skull in a bath of hot water until the dried up stuff rots off. Then degrease it, and whiten. 

I'll post some that I cleaned, tomorrow!


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## Kallan (Aug 16, 2009)

How do you degrese them? I have a camel skull awaiting cleaning.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Ooooh I'd love a camel skull! 
I have an alpaca skull. Really neat.

For degreasing, take a 5 gallon bucket and fill it with about 1 cup of dawn dish detergent, the skull, and fill the rest up with water. Get a bucket heater and set it to about 115 degrees f. For a camel skull, it could take as many as 8 weeks in the bucket. Change the water every few days for the first week, and after that if it's still greasy (usually on large heads, it is), change the water out once a week until it remains clear!


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Tonight? A mystery. 
This bear was shipped to me, for free (it is illegal to buy sell or trade bear skulls in VA) and i was thinking it was a black bear. Thing is, it arrives, and it's HUGE. 14'' by 8'', that's a boone and crockette score of 22 for a black bear! If it -is- a black bear, it's the biggest one I've ever seen. I'm not 100% sure it's a black bear though. It was very old when it died/was killed. No bottom front teeth, canines are worn down, etc. 
The previous owner tried to fix a lot of damage on the back, that's the gray areas you see. I'm really excited about this.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Did someone own it as a pet? Just wondering, because I kinda assume it rare for them to live that long in the wild with that much dental wear.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

I have no idea. I got it from a guy who just offered it for free on a forum. I assumed I was getting a boring old black bear. But this bear was old, no matter where it lived.


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooOOOOOOOOOOO!


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## MoonfallTheFox (Nov 12, 2011)

That is a very neat skull! It seems very mysterious.

Do you intend to whiten it somehow? I'm also curious as to what was used to patch it.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

The patching is done (poorly by the previous owner) with epoxy sculpt. The bear, has been identified as a huge black bear! 

I intend to clean it. I don't think I can whiten it at this point, because of the age, and the repairs, and how greasy it is. I may clean it, and paint it bone.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

I'm wondering just where bear hunting is allowed. (If I was going after a bear I know I'd have some fairly heavy armament along, and aim for the effing head). Though, some idiot having a big black bear in his personal possession is a distinct possibility.

There are quite a few incidents seen on the news, like the incident in, I think it was Iowa, back about a month or two ago. The guy had 30 or forty big cats and assorted other critters including simians and primates in a private personal zoo. He opened all the cages, then killed himself. The local law enforcement ended up having to shoot a number of the big cats...the scene was just heartbreaking...and I never did follow up on what happened to the critters who wouldn't do well in out in the cold of late October or early November.

I've never been big on zoos...always loved to watch critters in the wild...sitting up in a tree.

Yes, it's true, most of my adult I've been out of my tree, and the woods I used to roam in are now all housing development....Oh, world...sometimes I just want to howl...sometimes I do just howl...but I no longer have a tree to hang out in ...a sincere lack in my life.

"We were ancient in those days. We've lost that quality now."


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## m137b (Sep 22, 2010)

There is a black bear season in 2 counties in maryland.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

There's a black bear season in most states if I'm not mistaken. Mostly out west though, here in the east they don't want to admit we have that many bears, so hunting and trading and selling is STRICTLY limited. 
Maybe that's how a bear this large could live this long in VA? I'm not even sure the bear is from VA to be honest!


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

While you cannot "hunt" bear, you can almost always kill them while "protecting your livestock".


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

So since I missed a day, here's 3!
A red duiker (die-ker), a warthog with no tusks unfortunately, and a wolf. 









I cleaned all of these myself.


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## Emfa Mouse (Dec 14, 2011)

Impressive!


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