Yellow larvae in bear head and paws

[mpetty04]

Hi All,

I know I've probably done a dozen things wrong in trying to tan this bear hide....

Ok, I've fleshed, scraped, and salted the hide. Put it in the salt bath. Took it out, let it partially dry before washing with Dawn.

So while it was drying a bit, I noticed that there are a lot of yellow larvae in the head and paws. These areas areas are also clearly not preserved, so I'm thinking maybe maggots? I haven't seen any bugs/maggots yet, just larvae.

The body part of the hide does not seem to be affected, and looks nicely done. No apparent hair loss.

What do I need to do? I would really prefer to save the head and paws. But it doesn't seem possible right now, given that after all *that* above, they don't seem to be preserved in the same manner as the body of the hide.

Help!

 

[JDalton]

If its not slipping hair you are probably fine.
Flies will leave "blow" which is fly larvae and it doesn't take long for them to do it, usually happens when you are skinning the bear where flies like to crawl into the nose cavity and between the paws to lay fly larvae.
Clean them off as they are likely dead from the tanning bath and just keep and eye for hair slippage which is caused by bacteria.

 

[mpetty04]

If its not slipping hair you are probably fine.
Flies will leave "blow" which is fly larvae and it doesn't take long for them to do it, usually happens when you are skinning the bear where flies like to crawl into the nose cavity and between the paws to lay fly larvae.
Clean them off as they are likely dead from the tanning bath and just keep and eye for hair slippage which is caused by bacteria.

I've had no hair loss to this point. I've even tugged on the hair to see if it's going to come out, and nothing happens.

I have felt pretty good about it up until I saw these larvae. I'm a little nervous now.

I went ahead and put the hide in the first Dawn bath earlier. I'll be scrubbing it down good later on today.

 

[FLAK]

I'd throw shovel loads of salt on it and rub that stuff in.
Every day.

 

[mpetty04]

It probably isn't flies that have left larvae on the animal, it is most likely mites. And hair loss, or no noticeable hair loss, his bear may have suffered from mange, a parasitic skin disease caused by mites, most probably sarcoptic mange which is contagious to humans. My first bear, which was shot in North Central Idaho was suffering from the disease. It's time to discard the pelt....

I disagree. I feel like mites would have been visible prior to this point, and they have not been. I used to work at the vet so I'm familiar with mange.

These larvae showed up after the hide had been through 8 days of salt and scrape, and then 16 hours of salt bath. They were definitely not there the whole time.

 

[JDalton]

I can only speak to bears I've killed in Oregon and when left out to where fly's can land on it they will leave eggs as seen below.
If what you are seeing is different then I'm not sure what it is, but again bacteria is what ruins a hide so if the hide isn't treated properly when tanned you will have hair slippage, finding fly eggs doesn't necessarily mean the hide is bad.

 

[mpetty04]

I can only speak to bears I've killed in Oregon and when left out to where fly's can land on it they will leave eggs as seen below.
If what you are seeing is different then I'm not sure what it is, but again bacteria is what ruins a hide so if the hide isn't treated properly when tanned you will have hair slippage, finding fly eggs doesn't necessarily mean the hide is bad.



View attachment 286954

Yes! That is what it is! Dozens and dozens of little patches like that.

I washed with dawn today, and scrubbed the head and paws really well. No evidence of larvae right now.

I did some more trimming of little bits of fat/tendons.

So if I put the head and paws back in salt, do I basically have to start over again, and do the salt bath and wash with dawn again?

I haven't used the tanning solution yet.

 

[Warmsy]

I hope this guy is right. Good luck!

 

[Ajax2744]

Did you split the paw and remove the bones,fat, and meat from inside? And did you remove the skull?

 

[mpetty04]

I'd throw shovel loads of salt on it and rub that stuff in.
Every day.

Probably heading in that direction. I really prefer to have the head and paws intact. Worse case scenario, I'll cut them off and process separately.

 

[JDalton]

Yes! That is what it is! Dozens and dozens of little patches like that.

I washed with dawn today, and scrubbed the head and paws really well. No evidence of larvae right now.

I did some more trimming of little bits of fat/tendons.

So if I put the head and paws back in salt, do I basically have to start over again, and do the salt bath and wash with dawn again?

I haven't used the tanning solution yet.

This is the method I have used, be sure to have lots of fine salt and change it out when it seems saturated with moisture.
Pack salt into the paws and flip the head inside out to expose the flesh to be salted pack it into the nose ears eyes and layer it on good.

Lastly if this is a very important bear you may consider sending it to a Tannery and have a professional do it as its easy to mess up and ruin the hide.

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oodmag.com

 

[Sourdough]

I washed with dawn today, and scrubbed the head and paws really well. No evidence of larvae right now.

So.......is the skull removed, have the ears been turned, the lips split, the nose skinned down to where the hair ends, and the cartilage split ......??? Were the paws skinned down to the last knuckle attached to the claws, was the tail bone removed..........??? "Yes" or "NO"

 

[Sourdough]

That's what a taxidermist is paid to do (among other things).

I don't know about other places........but that is all part of an Alaska Hunting Guides job and skillset.

 

[mpetty04]

Did you split the paw and remove the bones,fat, and meat from inside? And did you remove the skull?

Yes to all. Removed meat and bones down to the last knuckle.

 

[mpetty04]

So.......is the skull removed, have the ears been turned, the lips split, the nose skinned down to where the hair ends, and the cartilage split ......??? Were the paws skinned down to the last knuckle attached to the claws, was the tail bone removed..........??? "Yes" or "NO"

I did all that, except split the cartilage.

I had a small amount if hair loss on one ear and tail, which tells me I didn't do it quite right.

But I knew these parts were going to be questionable for me to do anyway. I'm not a hunter, trapper or taxidermist. I just really really want a bear blanket, and this is the only way for me to get one. My main concern is the body hide.

 

[mpetty04]

You know, I'm glad you took the opportunity to text what you did. There is clearly more to do than what has been discussed in this thread. It is nothing less than detailed, time consuming, and it's nothing an inexperienced bear hunter should attempt to do without the help, or supervision of a very experienced bear skinner or even taxidermist, preferably a taxidermist. I rough skin mine. It goes to a taxidermist immediately, and he, or she will do it for me, because I clearly am incapable of doing it myself. That's what a taxidermist is paid to do (among other things).

I agree completely.

There are many things I've done that haven't been discussed here. I tried to give a basic outline of what I did.

I know the situation is not ideal. But sending the bear out is not an option for several reasons. I've waited over 40 years for a bear blanket, and there's no way I'm letting this slip by me.

Whether I succeed or fail, I will be able to say I tried my best.

I knew these particular parts would be tricky. But I wasn't willing to bail on the whole thing.