Seal+Skeleton

=Seal Skeletons - Anatomical Connections= Source: http://www.zeehondencreche.nl = [|Fur Seal Facts] = || Source: http://courses.washington.edu = Fore limb = || Source: http://courses.washington.edu = Hind limb = ||
 * [[image:zeehondskelet.gif width="596" height="234"]]

Watch this page as we excavate an Fur Seal skeleton from a very dried up carcass... we hope, eventually, to arrange the bones in an exploded skeleton on the floor.
====Along the way we will discover some interesting bone shapes and adaptations connecting the seal with its environment. Excavating bones can be a messy and smelly business if the carcass has not completely decayed.==== ====Luckily for us, our seal has been dead for a very long time and dried out completely and mummified by the wind,salt and sun - the downside is that the skin has become extremely tough and the bones are very difficult to remove...====
 * [[image:P1330755.JPG]]

The Seal skeleton in situ amongst the rocks at Blackhead Beach
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The skeleton workstation ready for bone extraction
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Sean and Kyron beginning the extraction...
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 * [[image:P1330805.JPG]]

Scissors and cutting pliers are needed to cut through the dessicated skin...
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Tearing ligaments to remove the bones required a very strong pull...
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 * [[image:P1330847-001.JPG]]

It's not as easy as it looks...
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enzymes in the washing powder help to break down any remaining flesh.
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Cleaned bones - the beginning of our collection...
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clean.
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eat the flesh off the bones...
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before burying them in a tub of manure.
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 * [[image:P1340290.JPG]]

A new load of mascerated bones, rinsed in clean water and dried in the sun...
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Vertebrae, whiskers, the segmented sternum and some teeth...
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Repositioning teeth in the lower jaw bone...
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 * [[image:P1340289.JPG]]

To order bone guides visit the Boneman **[|here]**
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The collection is getting larger...the flippers are still to come...
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 * ====[[image:P1350262.JPG]]====

The flippers are ready after 10 weeks decomposing in the sheep manure...
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The wire netting is removed...
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 * [[image:P1350267.JPG]]

Fantastic! Decomposition is complete. The bones are extremely easy to remove...
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Rinsing the bones...
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The flipper bones drying (front and mid-left of the photo)...
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 * [[image:P1350270.JPG]]

vertebrae... we're very nearly done!
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 * [[image:P1350573.JPG]]

Laurie working out the order of the vertebrae and threading them onto a wire.
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missing...
|| Ruby-May and Willow mapping out the rib cage and matching the order of the sternum segments with the bone guide. || Beginning the rib attachments... the smooth alignment of the ribs is proving difficult. || Willow is using the glue as cartilage between each rib-to-vertebra join. ||  ||
 * [[image:2-P1360600.JPG]]

= = = = =Who is Jake?=
 * [[image:P1350902.JPG]] || [[image:P1350909.JPG]] || [[image:P1350904.JPG]] || [[image:P1350906.JPG]] ||
 * [[image:jake1 width="500" height="404" link="http://www.jakes-bones.com"]]

Click on the picture to meet Jake, the Bone Collector
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Click on the picture to learn EVERYTHING about cleaning bones.
|| =Jake's Tips for Bone Cleaning:=

BONE CLEANING CHOICES
> == == > ==__NEVER__ USE:== >
 * ==Biological washing powder==
 * ==Hydrogen Peroxide (Danger!)==
 * ==Burial==
 * ==Natural decay above ground (takes a long time)==
 * ==Cold water (masceration). Very smelly!==
 * ==Hot water==
 * ==Bleach - it damages the surface of the bones.==
 * ==Boiling water - it thins any fat left on the bones. The fat soaks into the bones and discolours them.==

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