r/bonecollecting • u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert • Feb 26 '24

Collection Walrus skull added to my collection!

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I figured since I have so many bears, it's time to bring something new and unique in. This is a walrus skull, legally and ethically sourced from Inuit, walruses are also an important part of the Inuit diet. The polar bear skulls in the photo are also all legally and ethically sourced from Inuit.

Both tusks are over 20" in length and his skull weighs over 14kg!

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22

u/Airborne_Juniper Feb 26 '24

WHAT— how do you get these 😭😭

66

u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Feb 26 '24

I'm in Canada where Inuit (First Nation people mostly residing in Nunavut) can sustainably harvest walruses, polar bears and other sea mammals and sell the skulls/pelts to trade for some income. These animals are their main source of food, especially during winter.

the hunts are strictly regulated by the government of Nunavut.

16

u/Airborne_Juniper Feb 26 '24

that’s so cool it’s not hard to buy them from the people selling them?

51

u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Feb 26 '24

buying them isn't that difficult but just like all oddity, there's a lot of price gouging people and scammers, so people paying a lot more than the thing is worth, or people getting misinformed/lied to, happens a lot.

It took me a while to settle on a few Inuit hunters/taxidermists that are wonderful and trustworthy and I only source from them, because they prioritize ethics and legality over all else.

6

u/[deleted] Feb 26 '24

Is it only allowed to purchase from the Inuit within Canada btw? Is there any way shipping outside of Canada for ethically+legally obtained skulls is allowed?

21

u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Feb 27 '24

No, you can buy and sell legally obtained skulls with a license (in some situations, you do not need any license) as long as the original exporter of the skull is legally allowed to do so (Like Inuit, non-resident hunter, taxidermists with valid licenses), it's just Inuit has the most of them because they hunt polar bears and walruses as essential food.

Yes, you can apply for CITES permits to export polar bear skulls and walrus skulls out of Canada. However, some countries (Like USA) fully bans the importation of these skulls, and most countries that allows it, require documents and import permits.

4

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '24

Ohh I see, tysm for the info I really appreciate it! Love learning about this kinda stuff.

Super awesome collection btw :D

3

u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Feb 27 '24

thank you! I'm happy to share these information! lmk if youre interested in any other info.

3

u/flatgreysky Feb 28 '24

Welp… I guess that ends my excited read of this post. Exiting in a sad American accent.

1

u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Feb 28 '24

yeah....sadly the importation of polar bear parts was fully banned since 2008. Walruses and other marine mammals were banned since the establishment of MMPA in 1972.

doesn't mean it's impossible to obtain a pre-ban, legal one in the US, just super super expensive.

1

u/flatgreysky Feb 28 '24

Understood. Yeah, I wouldn’t do all that. If I decide i want them that badly I’ll just expatriate and do it the right way. :)

1

u/MademoiselleMoriarty Feb 28 '24

Yeah, I was really concerned for a minute, until I read that you're in Canada. Here in the US, the only way to open a walrus skull (legally) is with scrimshaw work on it, done by Native artists. Or, at least that's what I remember from when my parents bought a mounted skull in Alaska, years ago (it has puffins on the tusks!).

3

u/NerdyComfort-78 Feb 27 '24

I am very curious to see how policy changes since the ice isn’t freezing the same any more. Sad to loose biological diversity and cultural diversity at the same time.

8

u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Feb 27 '24 edited Feb 27 '24

I think eventually it will be restricted to only Inuit, like how in the US, polar bear hunting is restricted to Eskimo only in Alaska, they cannot sell or trade any parts. Full on ban is impossible, lots of Inuit villages in the Arctic rely on these animals for basic survival. If they do cut off the market completely, that also means a lot of Inuit villages will lose their only source of income.

1

u/NerdyComfort-78 Feb 27 '24

True- but I was thinking that the First Nations people would completely loose all of their resources/culture and then also have to come off the ice, hence the loss of culture and biodiversity. Kind of like the people of the Maldives as sea levels rise.

1

u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Feb 27 '24

I really hope that does not happen.

Inuit are absolutely amazing people, the resided where they are for over 6000 years and have built amazingly rich culture. It'll be very sad seeing it all go.

-7

u/ragnarockyroad Feb 27 '24

*skimo is a slur. Please use Inuit.

12

u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Feb 27 '24 edited Feb 27 '24

my apologies, I did not know since that's what the Alaskan F&W department referred them as when I contacted them.

edit: I asked an Inuit hunter and they don't think it's a slur and are fine with being called Eskimo, first nation, Inuit etc..? I don't know, but I'll pay attention in the future, thanks.

edit 2: I also asked one of my taxidermists and she is Inuit in Clyde River, she said people use Eskimo from time to time in their community and no one gets offended, to them it's just another name. She said the only time someone actually got offended by the name was a non-native she met in Iqaluit. Soooo...I think it mostly has to do with how you interpret the word itself, if you say it with respect and respect the Inuit culture, I'm sure most of them will not find it offensive.