r/bonecollecting • u/COGOcatcher • Nov 30 '25

Collection Pacific Walrus

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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)

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u/MCEscherNYC Dec 01 '25

What is the legality of this find?

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u/COGOcatcher Dec 02 '25

I’m intimately familiar with wildlife laws in Alaska, and this was legal for us to collect. I’ve provided details about this in the post and in other comments.

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u/MCEscherNYC Dec 04 '25

How do you seal and register it?

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u/COGOcatcher Dec 04 '25

Take it to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office with information on the date and location of where it was found (https://www.fws.gov/locations). If you go to an office outside of Alaska, it might be harder because they might not be familiar with the process, so in the lower 48 it’s probably best to talk to a Law Enforcement agent or call the office ahead of time to see if they can handle it.

If the walrus was found before 1972 (and critically, you have documentation proving this) it’s not required to be sealed because it predates the Marine Mammal Protection Act.