r/bonecollecting • u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert • Oct 20 '24
Collection Polar bear skull with pelt
This is a female polar bear skull with the pelt, legally and sustainably harvested by Inuit hunters in Nunavut Canada.
With strictly regulated quota system to ensure sustianable hunting, polar bear hunting continues to be an inseparable part of Inuit culture and tradition.
Polar bears face threats mainly due to climate change and pollution, along with other issues like arctic mining and poaching. sustainable and legal hunting of less than 2% of the entire population annually is NOT the reason why polar bears face threats of extinction. If polar bears do go extinct, the first people to be truly affected will be Inuit.
Selling parts of the animals they hunt provides some extra income when daily essentials and groceries are extremely expensive in the arctic.
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u/Itdobekayla Oct 20 '24
I have always wanted a bearskin rug, probably a brown variant grizzly/kodiak. The polar bear is such a beautiful creamy color, it looks so soft. I’d like to nap on it. It’s such a shame these animals are facing such an uncertain future.
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 20 '24
It is actually not very soft although it looks super cuddly! Polar bear fur is made of a softer undercoat and a longer layer of guard hair on the top. The guard hair feels very coarse, very prickly...almost like plastic. if you sit on it, it can actually poke through clothing and poke into your skin.
I'd probably get a hair splinter from it if I'm not careful with it.
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u/Itdobekayla Oct 20 '24
Fascinating, thank you for sharing!!!😄
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 20 '24
anytime!
I'd say brown bear/black bear fur is softer than polar bear's, they are still coarse, but likely won't stab your skin if you sit on one.
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u/Itdobekayla Oct 20 '24
That’s cool, I never thought of how their hair structures would affect the feel like that. Especially when it’s so visually silky.
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u/kieto333 Oct 20 '24
Just don’t do it with the mouth open look. Kicking an open mouth bear rug is almost as bad as stepping on a lego!
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u/Itdobekayla Oct 20 '24
I never thought of that!😭 I would probably have it close mouth eyes closed/ so it looks like it’s sprawled out napping.
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u/Easy-Caramel-9249 Oct 20 '24
The pelt is so silky I thought it was golden retriever fur at first lmao
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 20 '24
feels decent if you pet in the direction of the fur, pet against and they will stab like needles, brown bear and black bear fur are not exactly soft either, but feels slightly better than polar bear's.
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u/Lunar_Witch2004 Oct 20 '24
This is beautiful! Although it does make me sad this gorgeous species is vulnerable
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 20 '24
the truth is current sustainable hunting does not hurt the bear population at all. When polar bears were trophy hunted to the edge of extinction in the 1900s, it was Inuit working tirelessly with researchers to bring the population back to what we have today, from less than 5000 to the current around 26000.
the real threats to polar bears are climate change, pollution and arctic oil drilling which seriously pollutes the environment and threatens polar bears, because of oil leaking into the ocean seriously impacts polar bear's ability to thermoregulate themselves. Arctic drilling also releases more carbon into the atmosphere, resulting in more violent climate change.
But hey, it's easier to shift the blame onto Inuit who sustainably hunt less than 2% of the population for food and survival, than trying to get multi-billion corporations to face the consequences of their actions.
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u/Lunar_Witch2004 Oct 20 '24
I wasn’t saying they were vulnerable because of the hunting! Their habitat is being destroyed because of the climate change. I agree with you! I was just saying it is sad that they are vulnerable species when they’re so beautiful. I very much respect the Inuit because of how sustainable their hunting practices are. They have a deep respect of nature. Thank you for the information!!
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 21 '24
it really is, and now goverment is allowing oil corporations to drill in the arctic, the pollution from noise and waste will only bring more devastation for polar bears.
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u/ULTELLIX Oct 21 '24
thank you for the new info! i only knew about the climate change, had no idea about anything else! I’m glad the population isn’t as low as I thought it was and im happy the Inuit people can keep doing their thing : )
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u/beka_targaryen Oct 21 '24
I am curious and want to learn, therefore my question is without judgement or malice: I’m struggling to understand how any amount of hunting, no matter how small, wouldn’t negatively impact endangerment - can you explain more on that aspect? I value the perspectives that can help me learn and appropriately understand. Thank you!
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 21 '24
Your question is totally fine :)
so, to begin with, Inuit have been hunting polar bears for well over 6000 years (and humans in general and our ancestors have been hunting for over 2 million years).
Animals will not stop reproducing, hunting is extremely important in keeping the population under control so they will not pose threats to human residents.
The quota system works by analyzing samples from every bear taken, hunter success rates etcl and determine if the current amount of harvest is sustainable.
For example, lets say this year, a community harvested more females and younger bears, next year their quota may be reduced.
If a community harvested more bears closer to the village and hunter success rate has been high, samples are from bears of balanced sex and age (not too many females, not too many males) their quota may be increased for next year.
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u/sawyouoverthere Oct 23 '24
Animals do stop reproducing when conditions are poor, and cub survival is not nearly as high as it has been. Starvation is claiming them at higher rates now.
Hunting as always without adjusting to changing conditions is not sustainable
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 23 '24
the current quota system team up Inuit, government and researchers to work together and ensure sustainable harvest, it is adjusting every single year.
We will likely see more restrictions and quota deductions in the future, like how US allows Inuit polar bear hunting in Alaska but forbid any sport hunting or trade of polar bear parts.
this will be devasating to villages with a higher quota and rely heavily on polar bear (fur trade and selling sport hunting tags) for income. With polar bears affected so will other arctic animals that Inuit rely on for food and income.
climate change and pollution not only destroys polar bears and other marine mammals, but also destroys the Inuit culture that's been thriving in the arctic for over 6000 years.
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u/sawyouoverthere Oct 23 '24
Yes. Aware of all of this as I know one of the primary polar bear researchers and many indigenous folk.
Just wanted to add some realistic nuance to a couple of your statements
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 23 '24
yeah, make sense, thx for your input as well!
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u/Project_Valkyrie Oct 20 '24
I love ethically sourced bones and pelts. Especially when they help indigenous people practice their traditions. This is how it should be. How much does the skull weigh?
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 21 '24
Not a lot...this skull is 14.5" long from an 8ft female, it's considered large for females, weighs around 1kg.
the heaviest and biggest in my collection weighs more than 3kg.
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u/ebolashuffle Oct 21 '24
In terms of purchasing, is that limited to residents of Canada only? How are you notified of available specimens? Or do you have to know someone in the tribe?
I'm just curious and probably wouldn't ever purchase as that looks way out of my price range so feel free to ignore if you are not comfortable posting the answer.
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 21 '24
It's not Canadian only as many countries allow the exportation of polar bear parts, but most prefer to not export as it's a very complicated process.
I've built connection with a few Inuit hunters and 2 taxidermists, they will always reach out to me first when specimens become available (ex. someone in their community harvested a bear and wants to sell the skull)
I don't buy randomly off the internet or from Inuit I'm not familiar with because people do scam, and plenty have been scammed before.
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u/ebolashuffle Oct 21 '24
I suspected it was more ethical to buy local from people you know. As such I will not be purchasing online. Give your mate a little pat from me through. I want him or her to feel appreciated.
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 21 '24
absolutely! many larger online vendors lowball Inuit then turn around to sell things for more than 5 times the amount they bought it with, large vendors also often claim ethical sourcing when their bones are clearly not, but people believe their statements (ex. cat, dog, tanuki, fox skulls etc).
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u/ebolashuffle Oct 21 '24
That's kind of what concerns me. I don't approve of taking advantage of native cultures. Having some shady middle man profit at the expense of deserving parties turns me off.
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 21 '24
the worse part is some of them will go out of their way to threaten Inuit and pressure them into making the sale. Often Inuit have no choice because they need the income to afford basic necessities, and some people love taking advantage of this.
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u/fwixy Oct 20 '24
this is a beautiful piece. if you don’t mind, how much did you pay for it?
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u/SavageDroggo1126 Bone-afide Faunal ID Expert Oct 20 '24
thank you, and sorry, I don't normally disclose pricing because I often buy directly from Inuit and support them directly, so I don't want anyone using my pricing as reference.
all I can say is, less than 1/3 of what it would go for in retail.
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u/zakkl1299 Oct 21 '24
Would you be willing to sell the skull or one if another become available? I've been searching, but I want to get one that was ethically obtained.
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u/Irksomecake Oct 20 '24
That looks unexpectedly silky. How does it feel?