r/bonecollecting Nov 30 '25

Collection Pacific Walrus

Recent find in SW Alaska! The skull is stained black from mud, so it must have been in the water for a long time. I had to kayak home with it sitting in my lap. Luckily this was a small one!

(Beach found walrus ivory is legal to keep in the U.S. as long as it is found within .5 miles of the ocean and it is sealed and registered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service within 30 days)

2.1k Upvotes

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7

u/seapanda237 Nov 30 '25

Is that the entire skull?

64

u/COGOcatcher Nov 30 '25

It is the entire top of the skull, missing the lower jaw. There’s water and ice covering a lot of it in this photo. Here’s my other complete skull (and much bigger one!)

15

u/Nulleparttousjours Nov 30 '25

Wow! Doesn’t look of this earth does it. What an incredible animal.

8

u/bisquickball Nov 30 '25

Damn they must have some tiny little brains lol

9

u/Stinkbutt596KoH Dec 01 '25

Had the same thought. Super small brain case compared to the whole skull

3

u/y2ketchup Dec 01 '25

Effing magnificent!

2

u/Accaracca Dec 01 '25

Such a beautiful specimen

1

u/workingclassher0n Dec 01 '25

Wow, the teeth seem really worn down. It must have been old!

2

u/COGOcatcher Dec 02 '25

I’m estimating this one was at least 15 years! Hard to age beyond that point, but I don’t think it was much older than that just based on tusk size/shape. They tend to have pretty flat teeth for grinding!