Dead Seal! (Warning: grossness)

Okay, I have a dirty little secret. I love dead things. (Not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter.) Weird, I know, but I find beauty in the decomposition process, and find it fascinating and gorgeous. Went down to the beach this evening, and found this guy. It was huuuge. And stinky. So I thought I'd share, because I want to. And because I can't put this on Facebook, because I'd make too many people vomit. :rolleyes:

I'd rather make you guys vomit.

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psb4790dc7.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psbf44a3d9.jpg

Not actually touching it here, just trying to give a size comparison.

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2789e8f8.jpg

Maggots!

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps714e5c9a.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4af57d23.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps343f9d1b.jpg

Little fin...
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps465ea449.jpg

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...pscbb02808.jpg

That's pretty neat: I'm into macabre things myself so I find these things pretty interesting too!

If you wanna see cool decomposition, look up what happens to whales when they die in the open ocean!

So crazy to see how much life is brought out of death. So many little critters rely on it for sustenance and it can take years to disappear.

But cool find lol

Awesome! You gotta check out a British series that's been rebroadcasted on YouTube. It's called "INSIDE NATURE'S GIANTS," each episode is dedicated to the veterinary dissection of an animal, some in a school facility and some in the wild. And they are the biggest animals on the planet. YES, including whales. If you're into biology at all you will totally love it!

:puke2:

... Interesting find. :P

Ewwww. I love it lol. I think I watched too many episodes of Bones lol. Oh, and I want to live where you live!!! Beautiful, aside from the rotting carcasses :)

Any chance of getting the skull?? I'm wanting to start a skull collection, and a seal/sea lion skull would be pretty awesome to start with

I just exploded a bad egg in the kitchen... one that had been incubated under a hen for at least 23 days.... So I didn't vomit. (besides the fact I'm a biologist and see that kind of thing now and again...)

Just glad I didn't have to smell it!!! lol

Now if it were me... I'd consider coming back to take the head. Or if it were a little further along in the decomp process I'd take the head any way and bury it in my backyard until it was cleaned. ;)

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I just exploded a bad egg in the kitchen... one that had been incubated under a hen for at least 23 days.... So I didn't vomit. (besides the fact I'm a biologist and see that kind of thing now and again...)

Just glad I didn't have to smell it!!! lol

Now if it were me... I'd consider coming back to take the head. Or if it were a little further along in the decomp process I'd take the head any way and bury it in my backyard until it was cleaned. ;)

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Originally Posted by Mephibosheth1

Any chance of getting the skull?? I'm wanting to start a skull collection, and a seal/sea lion skull would be pretty awesome to start with

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The skull was gone, or I would have snatched it. However, you should know, that it's hiiiighly illegal to posses california native wildlife parts. Just not ethically, in this case. It's a fine, fine line, and a person just has to use their conscience...So...yeah. lol. I love skulls, too. :D Check out Etsy.com, and do a search for various skulls. You can find some good deals.

Dumb California :(

Oh well

PM me and I will link you to a really cool album on my Facebook!

Actually I think most states have laws similar to that in place. There's no way to verify if you poached the animal or if you collected it from a dead specimen.

It's not very often that I get to be the voice of reason so I'm going to seize this rare opportunity.

Don't touch that.

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Originally Posted by BrandiR

It's not very often that I get to be the voice of reason so I'm going to seize this rare opportunity.

Don't touch that.

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I didn't. ;)

It is gross, but interesting. One of my friends has actually been studying post mortem decomposition with humans. She's been studying and going to school for law enforcement and forensics. If you have the stomach for it, there are high paying fields for such an education.

That's really cool!

I feel like this sort of fits here, I found this in my shed behind a shelf earlier. I believe it is an ASF that escaped a long time ago.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/07/u7a9yven.jpg

Sent from microwave via Tapatalk ll

The face/head were gone already you say? Do you know if it looked taken/cut or eaten off?

It is pretty interesting seeing the insides of stuff. I've got a friend in California who is real big into photography who is always taking pictures of dead things he finds during his hikes. Especially along the coast. He's got lots of good pictures of dead whales, dead seals, dead other things. It is kind of fascinating.

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Originally Posted by BrandiR

It's not very often that I get to be the voice of reason so I'm going to seize this rare opportunity.

Don't touch that.

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Haha

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Originally Posted by Pyrate81

The face/head were gone already you say? Do you know if it looked taken/cut or eaten off?

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The second picture is a 'head shot', or where the head should be, at least. I think a scavenger ripped it off/out after decomposition had set in. In the big open shot you can see how far the seal was from the ocean, but it's pretty much sitting in a big drainage puddle, that gets bigger around the edge of the cliff. It's very greasy, disgusting water from having a decomposing seal in it. I have a sneaking suspicion the skull (or what's left of it) is underneath the greasy water somewhere. I like dead things. I'm still not going to root around in the puddle for a skull that may or may not be there, lol.

Would I get in trouble for posting a picture of a dead animal that I killed? It was a squirrel and I killed it because it kept trying to chew a hole in the side of my shed.

Not everybody can do this Anya so I give you credit for being able to take the pictures and explain everything.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Would I get in trouble for posting a picture of a dead animal that I killed? It was a squirrel and I killed it because it kept trying to chew a hole in the side of my shed.

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lol, I don't think so, Mike...? Killing squirrels isn't a big deal, imo, lol. I say, go for it!

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Originally Posted by Neal

Not everybody can do this Anya so I give you credit for being able to take the pictures and explain everything.

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Thanks! I don't enjoy the smell...blech...but as long as I can get past that, nothing visual grosses me out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Would I get in trouble for posting a picture of a dead animal that I killed? It was a squirrel and I killed it because it kept trying to chew a hole in the side of my shed.

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Mike, you're going to end up pushing buttons again, lol. You could of left out the reason you killed it lol.

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Would I get in trouble for posting a picture of a dead animal that I killed? It was a squirrel and I killed it because it kept trying to chew a hole in the side of my shed.

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You'd probably get in trouble for admitting that you gave a squirrel a dirty look and spoke sternly to it. But I guess we won't know for sure unless you try it :)

I was a good boy and PM'd the OP. :p

First a few Jellyfish:

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...pse8847579.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6d951514.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psbc0e8697.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1ae4ea35.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psefd2cff3.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4c6a7f25.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps50e95d86.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psd3d0ef5f.jpg

Some GIANT seaweed stuff (giant kelp?)

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psdd0568cd.jpg

Now the coolest find, the seagull. I buried it in a shallow grave by the cliff and marked it. I'm not holding my breath that it'll be there in a month or two, but I'm going to go back and check on it in a month, and update. So subscribe, if you'd like!

http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps18750d01.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psc0b0056c.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psa9f50ca6.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...pse4bcfe08.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps423083ad.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0270601d.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps81e24e39.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psc3e10130.jpg
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psa500b178.jpg

Digging the grave
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...psbdc05cb9.jpg

Aaand in it's shallow grave.
http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/...ps794dbc1b.jpg

Thanks for looking!

Now wash your hands. :P

Looks like some kind of skua?

It's skull would be awesome to keep. After cleaning of course lol

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Originally Posted by dr del

Now wash your hands. :P

Looks like some kind of skua?

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Don't worry, I did. :P And it was freshly dead, I think it died in the ocean and washed up before anything had a chance to munch on it.

And yup, sure does. Some kind of gull.

Possessing any parts of marine mammals is a federal offense, so don't go collecting any bones or skulls of seals or whales.

I thought the bird looked kind of albatrossy.

I'm fascinated by how bodies work and skeletons and how they articulate.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

Possessing any parts of marine mammals is a federal offense, so don't go collecting any bones or skulls of seals or whales.

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So anyone wearing a shark tooth necklace is a felon?

Sharks aren't mammals, they're fish. Shark teeth are therefore legal. :D

I read that as marine animals. My bad.

A shark skeleton or sea turtle skeleton would be cool to own and display!

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Originally Posted by Anya

The skull was gone, or I would have snatched it. However, you should know, that it's hiiiighly illegal to posses california native wildlife parts. Just not ethically, in this case. It's a fine, fine line, and a person just has to use their conscience...So...yeah. lol. I love skulls, too. :D Check out Etsy.com, and do a search for various skulls. You can find some good deals.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

Possessing any parts of marine mammals is a federal offense, so don't go collecting any bones or skulls of seals or whales.

I thought the bird looked kind of albatrossy.

I'm fascinated by how bodies work and skeletons and how they articulate.

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So true! And the majority of birds are protected as well, even possessing feathers is illegal (MBTA).

UNLESS you have a permit! ;)

(I carry a permit... I'm a biologist! :D )

Shark skeleton would be cool. Unfortunately it would probably have to come from a freshly dead or locally owned shark as they are cartilege and do not stay around long. The jaws are all bone though so they stay quite a bit.

"ma I'm goin' out"
"Where ya goin?"
"Shark fishin'"
"Ok, be home in time for dinner"
queue Jaws music


I've heard of some people keeping their pet tortoise shells as decorations after it passes on.

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Originally Posted by sorraia

So true! And the majority of birds are protected as well, even possessing feathers is illegal (MBTA).

UNLESS you have a permit! ;)

(I carry a permit... I'm a biologist! :D )

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Jealous!!

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Originally Posted by sorraia

So true! And the majority of birds are protected as well, even possessing feathers is illegal (MBTA).

UNLESS you have a permit! ;)

(I carry a permit... I'm a biologist! :D )

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Luckyyyyyy. **pouts** Would you put in a good word for me at the permit getting place? :P

incredibly gross but awesome I agree the seal is awesome even if it is dead
:twisted::rage::taz:

While I'll admit this kind of stuff grosses me out (one of the few times I can be a stereotypical girl; "EEEEW DEAD THINGSSSS"), as a vet tech I get to see the insides of (living) animals more than I thought I ever would. And the other day we had a dog come in for a leg amputation (he had a birth defect where one of his back legs was permanently extended) and I got to be the one who took pictures of the whole thing. They cut through each muscle, artery and such separately, and the whole time I was going "what's that one and what's it do? What's THAT and what's it do?" :P It was actually really fascinating to see just how many muscles and other things are just making ONE leg work.

And then we got to gross out the weaker-stomached people by going "hey look at this" and then poking the detached leg. xD (We kept it til the end of the day because we ran x-rays on it for practice and to see the exact effect of the birth defect).

hahaha, oh man. Sounds like a fun day. :P

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Originally Posted by Anya

Luckyyyyyy. **pouts** Would you put in a good word for me at the permit getting place? :P

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Cal WILD seems to be stream-lining their process now. For awhile it took FOREVER to get the permits through, whether it was a new application or a renewal. When I say "forever", I mean more than 6 months! This last time I renewed, I think it only took a couple weeks, or a month at most, I was amazed! Unfortunately the cost for a permit has also gone up. (I renewed mine when it was still less than $70, now I'm hearing it's over $300!!!)

Only down-side to my permit is it's for work, so I technically am not allowed to keep anything I collect. :(
(But "technically" what the authorities don't know.... ;) )

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Originally Posted by xFenrir

While I'll admit this kind of stuff grosses me out (one of the few times I can be a stereotypical girl; "EEEEW DEAD THINGSSSS"), as a vet tech I get to see the insides of (living) animals more than I thought I ever would. And the other day we had a dog come in for a leg amputation (he had a birth defect where one of his back legs was permanently extended) and I got to be the one who took pictures of the whole thing. They cut through each muscle, artery and such separately, and the whole time I was going "what's that one and what's it do? What's THAT and what's it do?" :P It was actually really fascinating to see just how many muscles and other things are just making ONE leg work.

And then we got to gross out the weaker-stomached people by going "hey look at this" and then poking the detached leg. xD (We kept it til the end of the day because we ran x-rays on it for practice and to see the exact effect of the birth defect).

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I would be doing that! lol
I've done a few dissections outside of school, and have helped butcher a few chickens. It's gross and interesting at the same time.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mephibosheth1

Any chance of getting the skull?? I'm wanting to start a skull collection, and a seal/sea lion skull would be pretty awesome to start with

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I'm glad to know this was someone else's first thought too! My family thinks I'm weird enough just for having snakes, I can't imagine what they'd think if I had a skull collection. And I really don't think my other half would appreciate it too much. He is surprisingly tolerant of my weird obsessions tho, so idk...

Awesome/sad. What species do you think it was? Looked kinda small... juvie elephant maybe?

It seemed reeealy big to me. My hand in the one pic is only about an inch away, for size comparison...then again, I'm no seal expert, haha.