Cleaning a Black Bear Skull

[Demonical]

This is what it looked like before it went in the ground. I buried it June 4th.

Right after I dug it up, Aug 30. I had a piece of rope to hold the jaw and skull together; was told that's a good idea.

Dirty!

Everything packed with dirt, you wonder how it migrates into every crevice... ?

Sprayed it off with the hose.

As I was spraying the skull, I realized I was blasting all the small incisor teeth out! Had to replace them! Crap.

This is after replacing those small incisor teeth.

Damn skull looks pretty much like it did before I buried it. The brain cavity and sinus cavities, those got cleaned right out though.

How do I go about getting the fibrous type membrane off and getting the skull to whiten up?

 

[stevesummit]

boiling it to get all the meat and what not off works good then soaking it in hydrogen peroxide worked for a couple deer skulls i did

 

[unstableryan]

Know of any ant hills? The half red/half black kind.

Those little hungry bastards have worked for me..

 

[Demonical]

^ I had it buried in an anthill in my back yard. The ordinary little black guys.

 

[DHPP]

What works best for me is to clean as much meat as you can off of the skull as you have. Get a container that is big enough for the skull to go in and fill it with water (up to the burls on horned animals). Put the container in a place that kids and pets won't get into. In a week or two you will smell it. When you can smell it dump all but an inch or two of water. I usually pick what meat I can off when I change the water. Repeat until the skull is clean. Usually 3 or 4 times if it is fresh (not dried out) when it goes in. A little Princess Auto dental pick set goes a long way as well. Once it is clean I let it dry a day or two, soak it in peroxide for a day (check on it through out). Rinse it and let it dry out again. I seal mine with a clear flat laquer. If you have teeth get loose and fall out get a small paint brush and water down some wood glue brush the tooth cavity and the tooth slide it back in and let it dry. If you want to keep the colour of the teeth remove them before the peroxide soak.

This method keeps all the fine nasal bones intact, it looks the same as if it was beetled without the risk of all the beetles in your house/shop. There is a good chance of damaging bone and teeth when you boil. Burying it in an ant hill can cause it become discoloured (something to do with the bugs). Plus you run the risk of something making off with it.

Hope this helps.

 

[Wookie316]

This one was boiled out, then washed with a pressure washer. Then I dipped it in Peroxide for the night. If you like the skull whiter, leave it in the peroxide longer

I don't like them perfectly white myself.

 

[Demonical]

^ Nice post. I will try that!

 

[ontario]

Not to hijack but I just mounted a coyote skull. This was my first one I ever called so I wanted to do something with the skull and hide. I returned to my carcass pile about 1 month ago and picked this skull up. I had wired the bottom jaw to the head so nothing would carry them off. Beetles had been working this over since Feb. of last year so it was fairly clean. I used the same water technique DHPP reccomends and it took about 3 weeks to get all the remaining brain matter and gum line off the bone. I would change my water every other day but ensure you dont pour the teeth out of the bucket while doing this.

After I was satisfied with the results I laid the skull in the sun for 3 days to dry it out completely. At this point you superglue the teeth back in and the two halves of the bottom jaw together. The last bit of dry skin was removed with sandpaper. I put 2 coats of matte white spray paint on and 2 coats of clear to prevent the skull from yellowing with time. Overall I was very impressed with this and plan on doing another one soon.

There was one tooth missing when I shot the coyote. He was a real old dog weighing 46 pounds and showing heavy wear on his canines. One was even split.

 

[Until the Angels Fall]

Doesn't soaking it in a bleach and water blend (50/50) work too?

 

[Until the Angels Fall]

Not to hijack but I just mounted a coyote skull. This was my first one I ever called so I wanted to do something with the skull and hide. I returned to my carcass pile about 1 month ago and picked this skull up. I had wired the bottom jaw to the head so nothing would carry them off. Beetles had been working this over since Feb. of last year so it was fairly clean. I used the same water technique DHPP reccomends and it took about 3 weeks to get all the remaining brain matter and gum line off the bone. I would change my water every other day but ensure you dont pour the teeth out of the bucket while doing this.

After I was satisfied with the results I laid the skull in the sun for 3 days to dry it out completely. At this point you superglue the teeth back in and the two halves of the bottom jaw together. The last bit of dry skin was removed with sandpaper. I put 2 coats of matte white spray paint on and 2 coats of clear to prevent the skull from yellowing with time. Overall I was very impressed with this and plan on doing another one soon.

There was one tooth missing when I shot the coyote. He was a real old dog weighing 46 pounds and showing heavy wear on his canines. One was even split.

Like chew? Lol...

 

[ontario]

^ Every now and again. I was told I can only keep my skoal tin pyramid in the basement by my reloading room because it is tacky.

 

[gunnut870]

Ordinary washing detergent (Yes, the stuff you wash your clothes in) works wonders. Clean the skull by cutting all the large chunks off first. Then dump it in a large bucket with water and a scoop of detergent. Leave at room temperature, dump and replace the water every 3 days and rinse off the skull. The enzymes in modern detergents will break down the tissues really fast, get most of the grease out of the bones and leave the skull white and smelling of lavender.

Doesn't soaking it in a bleach and water blend (50/50) work too?

 

[Logan_Lamothe]

75 bucks and a bath in a tank of beetles, clean and shiny. (Last year my guy did my deer for free, he waited till he had no more left and would be buying meat to feed them)

 

[KDX]

Me and a buddy of mine put some bear skulls in a 5 gallon soap pail that had a bunch of small holes cut in it and hung it from a tree out in the bush. The flys got in there and laid a bunch of eggs and in a couple of weeks they were picked clean. We boiled them in Naptha (camp stove fuel) as we'd heard that was the thing to do and then I sprayed mine with clear lacquer. I'll try to post a pic as it still looks pretty good after 15 or so years. A P&Y bear too.

 

[hitch.bd]

^ Every now and again. I was told I can only keep my skoal tin pyramid in the basement by my reloading room because it is tacky.

I had a beer bottle cap pyramid at my old place... I called it constructive therapy!!! aaaaah the single life days, I sometimes miss them but am suprised I survived them!!!

 

[BigUglyMan]

Demonical, if you do this to your skull I'll send Gatehouse to kick in you rdoor and todbartell to hit you with a fish!

 

[kkahmann]

You boil them in Naptha? Real good advice there!
Honestly--this is the internet after all. Google Taxidermy.net and learn how the pros do it.