Remember this little raccoon? Found dead on the rocks beside the creek in the ravine, it's tiny body untouched by nature, preserved by cold...that was back in March. Time flies! Well, while Rich and I went on our walk, we decided to go back to where we first spotted the little fur ball. As you can see from the photos, it's no longer a fur ball, but rather a mat of fur. It's past the bloating/flies/maggot/stink stage, the skin is still intact to it's body as is it's fur. The skull, while bald is still in cased in skin and you can even see it's cute raccoon nose! What's left is basically skin and bones, assuming all of the organs and flesh has rotted away and/or been consumed by natures little critters. We dared not prod at it with a stick, because the last time we did that to a decomposing (mystery) animal I nearly barfed and had to run away from the stench. Lesson learned!
Am I totally grossing you out?
The plan is to visit it every so often and if by next summer it's still there...I'll have a bag of bones to take home. Haha, totally kidding!
...half kidding.
The other raccoon skull I took home, cleaned and stored got thrown out on purpose by a disrespectful individual whom shall not be named. So, a replacement is in order. A full skull and skeleton would be perfect!