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Old bear. Skinless Bear Skinless Bear Body

He was really very old, but he still had the strength to do a lot of mischief for rural livestock and was very dangerous for people who picked berries in the tundra. The bear got into the habit of going to the village dump located near the village of Tilichiki, but no one attached due importance to this.

I have been hunting bear for many years. I am not a professional hunter, I am an amateur hunter and have been working for a long time at the airport of FSUE "Kor AP" as an aircraft technician.

Born in the Olyutorsky district of the Kamchatka Territory, from childhood, having constant communication with the tundra, having cognized nature and picking up a gun early in his hands, he learned a lot. Every winter he took a vacation, entered into an agreement with the state industrial farm and hunted.
Once upon a time, before the restructuring of the Russian state in 1985, there was an Olyutorsky state industrial farm in the region. His estate was located in the village of Korf, located on the Korf spit, separating the bay of Baron Korf from the bay of Skrytaya. Under licenses, we had to procure and hand over to the state industrial farm bear skins, bile, and fat; skulls were taken as a trophy.

At first, bear meat was harvested, but since at that time there was still sufficient dietary meat reindeer, bear meat was not in demand among the population, and it was two or three times more expensive than reindeer meat, so the state industrial farm stopped harvesting it. The carcasses of the bear had to be thrown in the tundra to feed the beast, to the crows ...

In 1990, he acquired a paid license to shoot a bear and could not sell it for a long time.

That year was very poor in plant food and aquatic biological resources... There were few berries - blueberries, cloudberries, mountain ash, shiksha, poor harvest of cedar cones, weak approaches salmon fish- the main food of bears, due to which they accumulate a mass of fat. All this combined forced the bears to migrate to more feeding places in search of food. And time - late fall, we need to prepare for the long Kamchatka winter, make dens ...

October ended. Berry-growers, who were gathering lingonberries, told me that in a wide gorge, about two or three kilometers from the mouth of the stream, a large bear (dead) with a good skin is lying upstream and flocks of crows circling above it.

I was interested in the question, why is the bear dead? I got together, took the MTs21-12 rifle, bullet cartridges, the dog Anchar. Friends were transported on a motor boat across the Hidden Bay from the village of Korf to a wide glen.

I'm going with Anchar. From afar I saw a flock of crows. They sat on the slope of the hill, on the branches of trees, circling in the air. There was a crow market, which means I have reached the place where the dead bear should be. But for some reason he was not in this place. I walked for a long time along the gully, circled, walked backward, forward, found fresh spent cartridges from a carbine of 7.62 caliber, but I could not find a bear, although I was with a dog.

Disappointed, he turned back towards the house. He began to cross the ravine, its swampy terrain, a swell appeared, swallowed up to nowhere. I looked around: the dog was digging something with its paws in the swamp. I approached, I looked - the head of a bear was sticking out and his tracks were visible. Some bear dragged his relative into the swamp, buried him away from the eyes of animals and crows, and threw moss and grass. And the stream that carries its waters into the swamp washed away the traces and made the burial ground equal to the tundra, and in the cold autumn water the corpse does not decompose for a long time and the smell of rotten meat is not heard. That's why I couldn't find a dead bear for a long time.

I examined the head (the bear was quite large), blood oozed from the ear. Most likely, the bear was seriously wounded by some hunter and left, but the hunter did not look for him. The bear died. He was found by another bear and began to devour a relative. And after the meal he buried the carcass; it is common for all bears to bury food leftovers. Some bears even try to bury the carcass of a dead walrus ...

The bear's fur has already begun to climb. I cut off the head and took the skull as a trophy. I crossed the village of Tilichiki by ferry across the Skrytaya Bay to the village of Korf.

I reported to the state industrial farm about the incident. They drew up an act on the write-off of the dead bear.

The next day, towards evening, he returned to the ravine with the intention of getting a bear that was devouring its kindred.

Approaching the place where the corpse of the bear was buried, he found that the bear had dragged the carcass about eighty meters and buried it. Nearby were trampled footprints of a large bear. When I walked along the valley, the same tracks led to the village dump ...

It was getting late. I outlined the probable exits of the beast from the bushes to the corpse and, having determined the distance for the correct shot by eye, chose the place of the ambush.

All my life I have hunted a bear only with the smoothbore gun MTs 21-12 and used bullets of the type "Vyatka" and "Poleva" of various modifications, which proved to be the most reliable. He killed more than a dozen bears. The gun never let me down. I always go to a bear alone with a dog, rarely with a partner. True, you have to shoot with close range... To do this, you need to develop endurance and self-confidence. I have never hunted with a carbine, and having it is one headache with our law enforcement agencies.

I am sitting in a concealment. Clouds covered the sky. The darkness is gloomy. The tedious autumn rain began to drizzle. At about one in the morning, Anchar became worried, twists his head, drawing in air with his nose, but does not give a voice. I took a closer look. A large bear is standing at the exit from the bushes. But, as usually happens, you cannot foresee everything, although I have great experience, you cannot measure all the distances in advance. Three times he aimed at the bear, but did not shoot. It seemed far away, darkness hides the distance. Shooting in the pitch darkness should have been for sure, hitting the bear with the first shot, so as not to look for a wounded animal in the thickets at night. And there were more than six hours before dawn. The wounded animal would have gone far during this time. Anchar was an experienced bugbear, he did not rush to the bear without a command and did not give a voice. In this regard, very rare dog... It is a pity that later on absurdly died. I’m holding Anchara. The bear, suspecting something was wrong, turned around and quietly left. The branch did not crunch under his feet.

The first snow fell at night. He walked all night. We're back home. On the third day, by lunchtime, the snow stopped falling. The sun came out and the snow has almost completely melted. I got on the bus and together with Anchar got to the village of Tilichiki. Friends drove by car to a wide gully. We walked to our place. We made a new skradok. I took into account all the mistakes I made the day before. Good overview... In the evening, the last shots of persistent hunters on the last ducks flying off to the south died down. It became quiet. Dusk fell quickly, but you can still see something. Suddenly a magpie chirped, flying from branch to branch. A magpie does not speak in the dark until you scare her away.

Anchar began to twist his head, got up and began to sniff the air. Suddenly a branch crackled. Prepared. I saw a very large bear emerging from the bushes. After walking a little, he stood on his hind legs, looked around, sniffed the air and, not suspecting anything dangerous, boldly went to the buried bear. I came to a very convenient position for a shot - a hillock, a dry place, about forty meters. He took aim at the left shoulder blade, as he walked towards me with his left side, pulled the trigger. The shot was very successful.

The bear immediately fell on its front legs, the hind legs became motionless, paralyzed. The beast was breathing heavily. Came close and shot in the vertebra under the back of the head. The bear went limp, but stirred in convulsions, jerked and, like a huge barrel, rolled down a hillock into a very narrow hole, so unsuccessfully that he crushed his front legs under him. All my attempts to turn the bear onto its back for butchering were unsuccessful. And besides, the horse-racing flashlight began to sit down.
Frustrated, at night he went to the village of Tilichiki for an ambulance, where my friend Valera was on duty. I told him my misfortune. As is customary in the village, on this occasion he got alcohol, four hundred grams, and we washed this case.
In the morning I called my brother in Korf to come by boat to a wide ravine and help butcher the bear, and explained how to find me.

On an all-terrain vehicle, Valera and I went to the killed animal. With the help of a machine, they pulled him out of the pit, chopped the branches of dwarf cedar, laid him down for cutting.

Valera, seeing the bear, exclaimed with admiration, walking around him: “This is a beast! I've never seen anything like it. The last remaining from the ice age. Yes, hefty! And from where he came to us, looking at the winter. "
Valera went home to Tilichiki and began to tell the villagers about big bear, killed near the village.

I laid out the instrument and began to butcher the carcass. Soon my brother came up, and we earned two knives. It takes an hour and a half to cut the fat from the surface of the carcass, remove the internal fat and bile. Here, the bear was so old that from the shoulder hump to the muzzle, the skin had to be separated from the meat by almost a millimeter. It was as if glued with powerful glue. The blades of the knives quickly became dull, and they often had to be sharpened. Everything took us five and a half hours without a smoke break, we were exhausted to death.

The bear had three canines broken down to the gums, the incisor teeth on the lower jaw were worn out along with the gum. The bone of the lower jaw is all in some kind of holes. The left eye saw nothing, swam with a very powerful thorn. I don't know how much he weighed, but he was healthy.

The boiled skull was 40 cm long and 24.5 cm wide along the zygomatic arches. He did not accumulate fat. I only melted one and a half liters of fat from it.

In such a state, the animal, of course, would not lie down in the den, but would have become a connecting rod, since October ended, frosts set in and snow began to fall. In general, the bear was not ready for winter. True, the fur on the skin was good. Smooth, dark brown in color, with a good undercoat.

Nearby was the village dump, which he constantly visited. But you can't save up fat in a landfill. The dump was rarely set on fire at that time, fearing that the sparks carried by the wind could set fire to the tundra, which often happened, and it is oh so hard to extinguish the tundra.

By killing this bear, I saved him from an agonizing hunger, and made people safe.

And the last thing. Advice to bug hunters. Many hunters do not know how to correctly, without problems, select internal fat, separating it from the intestines, stomach. As a rule, everything is taken out to the shoulders, sorting out the intestines and separating fat from them. There is a very simple and reliable method that does not require any physical costs and time. After the skin is removed, the carcass is placed on its back and, so that it does not waddle on its side, is placed under the sides of the support. Then, with a knife with a narrow blade, preferably a folding one, with a blade length of 10 cm, the rectum is separated through the anus. With two fingers, they take the rectum and pull it out. If the intestine is well trimmed, it comes out easily clean and does not leave a single gram of fat on it. The intestine must be pulled out until it stretches.

Usually its length, depending on the size of the bear, ranges from 12 to 18 medium steps. Inside, it will remain about a meter, that is, from the stomach to the anus. For the first time, for control, you can cut the bear's belly and watch how the intestine comes out, so as not to tear it off the stomach and not to stain the internal fat with the contents of the intestines. After the intestine is completely pulled out, it is tied tightly with a thread, and if there is no thread, then the intestine itself is tied in a knot, and the excess part is cut off. Internal fat from the intestines is easily collected from the carcass, open access to the kidneys and stomach, from which the fat is separated without any problems.

In this way, the internal fat from the intestines can also be separated in pigs.

In conclusion, I would like to talk about the problem of the relationship between a man and a bear. It did not appear immediately or suddenly, but is associated with the social, economic and financial life of a person over the past 15 years.

V last years in the north of Kamchatka, they practically stopped guarding spawning rivers, and there is no one to guard them. At one time there was a fish inspection, she somehow kept order. Poaching was strictly suppressed. Then it was abolished, creating the "Rosselkhoznadzor". And they cut everyone down there. One inspector for two districts ...

Poachers began to cut salmon for the sake of caviar. Red caviar of salmon fish in the city cost 850-1000 rubles per kilogram in July. Easy profit has undermined salmon stocks. Although this is a renewable aquatic biological resources, when fish are not allowed to spawn, they will not recover. What to do?

Several years ago, the press asked the prosecutor of the Koryak Autonomous Okrug this question. He, a terry official, replied: “The tax is paid for fish, not for caviar. Pink salmon, chum salmon - 4.5 rubles per kilo, sockeye salmon - 20 rubles per kilo. This is how much the user pays. And caviar, as you can see, is a waste. There is no tax rate for caviar in the Tax Code ”. That's how it is, but the trouble is, caviar has become a profitable part of poachers, and the fish itself has become a waste. It is thrown away, and the caviar is taken away.

As a result of this pressure from the poachers, the rivers became empty. In our Olyutorsky district, salmon did not come to spawn this year, but where does it come from if it has been cut for almost 15-20 years! There are no spawned salmon in the rivers along the banks. The bears became hungry. Nowadays there are no berries or mushrooms, no cones of dwarf cedar have been born. The bears went out to the river in the hope that the salmon would come, but in vain. Hunger forced them to visit the villages, they walk the streets at night, visiting landfills.

In July, a bear disfigured the bodies of two watchmen at a geologists' site at a protected range. Created a brigade to shoot animals. Issued 20 free licenses. When shot in the stomachs of bears, only plant food, there are no fish products. Cranks should be expected in winter. Bears can abandon their cubs, as there is nothing to feed them. The mother herself walks hungry.

It turns out - they did everything to leave the bears without food, and then sentenced them to death. Something needs to be decided at the federal level. Here, on the ground, do not shout, no one wants to listen. It's easier to put a bullet in the bear and all problems are solved.

So you can knock out all the animals. The bear has nothing to do with it, for all this, the person who is popularly called - brakusha (poacher), and it is necessary to fight with him mercilessly.

In conclusion, let me remind you of one curious historical fact- the invasion of crank bears in Kamchatka in the 18th century, and I will cite an excerpt from the book of a modern researcher.

“... According to the explorer of Kamchatka A. Sgibnev, in 1769 there was a terrible fish-bait in Kamchatka. “... It is difficult to describe all the disasters suffered by the Kamchadals ... Leather bags, belts, riding (sled) dogs, carrion and, finally, the corpses of relatives who died of hunger were used for food ... As a result, the Russian government in Kamchatka lost 70% yasak (that is, payers of the fur tax) ... ". During 1816, 1817, 1818 and 1820 there was such a lack of fish catch that if it were not for the energetic orders of P.I. At that time, whole herds of bears appeared on the peninsula, which, in need of food, wandered around the villages, ate cattle, dogs, a meager supply of fish, rushed at people and even ate each other ... and the inhabitants of the peninsula were afraid to leave their homes unarmed. From the autumn of 1816 to the spring of 1817, up to 5000 bears were killed by the natives (Kamchadals) ... The bears seized 80 heads of cattle, 3 people, 9 people were severely bitten ... "(II Ogryzko. Essays on the history of the rapprochement of the indigenous and the Russian population of Kamchatka ( late XVII- the beginning of the twentieth century). - L., 1973).

Science knows these natural disasters due to the lack of salmon in the spawning rivers of Kamchatka and Of the Far East at that distant time. And she explains their unfavorable solar activity.

Probably, not one animal has been composed as many fairy tales, songs, legends and legends as about a bear. The Russian people treat this animal with respect, calling it "forest warlord" and "master of the pine forest." In most fairy tales, the bear appears before us as a kind simpleton, a little awkward sweet tooth, always ready to protect the weak and the offended.

However, according to ancient legends, the bear is not such a good-natured animal. This is one of the most mysterious “creatures on the planet, shrouded in an aura of incredible mystical secrets.

Den - the entrance to the underworld

Almost all peoples of the world have a special relationship with the bear. In some countries he is called the ancestor of people, and in others - a man who became a beast by the will of the gods. One way or another, the treadmill - unusual creature endowed with unknown magic, helper and friend of the gods.

He colorfully tells how a man descended from a bear ancient legend Kwakiutl Indians. It tells about the love of a bear for the first man on Earth. The descendants of this couple subsequently settled all over the Earth. One of the ancient Slavic legends tells that the progenitor of people was a werewolf bear.

The warriors of the ancient Celts also called the bear their distant ancestor. It was believed that it was he who endowed his "children" with courage, strength and ruthlessness. The bear was endowed in ancient times and divine power... The Slavs believed that the god Veles takes the form of this beast, and the bear den is the entrance to the underworld.

The ancient Greeks endowed with bearish features Artemis - the goddess of the hunt. In her temples, a tamed bear was often settled, and during the feast in honor of the goddess, priestesses-hunters performed a special dance, throwing bear skins over their shoulders.

But most of all interesting to historians and mystics is the almost forgotten cult of the cave bear - the mysterious god of hoary antiquity. Our ancestors believed that special magic power possessed the skull and forepaws of this forest deity. Several decades ago, a strange structure was found in the Drachenloch cave (Austria) - something like a huge stone box.

The find was about 40 thousand years old. On the top of the box lay the massive skull of a cave bear, under which the crossbones of the forepaws of this animal rested. In a word, the lid of the ancient chest resembled the famous emblem of the pirate "Jolly Roger". But most of all, the archaeologists were surprised by the contents of this cache. The box was filled to the brim with cave bear skulls.

Scientists are still trying to answer the question of why primitive people kept these skulls and why they needed to decorate their "styling" with an eloquent sign.

I must say that the bear cult has left its mark on Russian soil. The most famous temple dedicated to the "owner of the forest" was located on the territory of modern Yaroslavl, where people lived who worshiped a huge mysterious bear and brought generous bloody sacrifices to their deity.

According to legend, Prince Yaroslav the Wise destroyed the bloodthirsty tribe at the root and was not afraid to engage in battle with the fierce "god". The prince emerged victorious from the hot duel, having hacked the defeated toptygin with his ax. In memory of these events, Yaroslav laid on the conquered land new town(Yaroslavl), whose coat of arms is a bear with an ax, standing on its hind legs.

Later, in the era of Christianity, people called the bear "the brother of the devil." It was believed that he kept order in the forest, since all kinds of evil spirits were afraid of the shaggy governor. Devils and witches run away from him, because they know that he can defeat the water one in a duel.

It was believed that the bear can save the cattle from any daring. Therefore, Siberian peasants often hung a bear's head in the barn, so that the "forest owner" would protect the living creatures from pestilence and misfortunes.

Bear children

Ancient myths and fairy tales tell us about the bear as a great lover of the female sex. They say that he often steals the tramps of women in the villages, or leads the gossips who have lost their way in the forest to his den. There, the unlucky captive becomes a wife " forest owner”, Who takes care of her and after the birth of their common child, lets go home.

By the way, the bears did not deny themselves the pleasure of sheltering a hunter in their lair from time to time ... The offspring born from such unions are mysterious werewolf bears living in deep forests. They were considered skillful magicians, endowed with colossal physical strength.

According to legend, bear children did not always stay in the forests. They often returned to the people and became known as fearless and invincible warriors. So, Russian fairy tales glorified the legendary hero Ivan Bear Ushko, the son of a bear and the beauty he stole.

V Scandinavian sagas the hero Berserker is widely known - a descendant of such an alliance. A warrior, dressed in a bearskin, terrified enemies with just his appearance. In addition to strength and fearlessness, he differed from his fellow tribesmen in animal fury and did not feel pain. There is a legend that it was this hero who became the progenitor of the semi-legendary tribe of berserkers, bloodthirsty warriors who for several centuries kept the peoples of Northern Europe in fear.

It is quite possible that such legends gave rise to some physical resemblance of the "forest ruler" to man. It is known that the print of a bear's paw on wet ground is remarkably similar to that of a bare human foot. In addition, according to experienced hunters, the skinned bear carcass strongly resembles a human body.

It is possible that this similarity gave birth to amazing stories that were scattered across Siberia at a later time. In many villages, people, freezing with horror, passed from mouth to mouth "horror stories" about how a man in onuchi or a woman in a sarafan was found under the skin of a hunted bear.

"Forgive us, master!"

Despite the beliefs about divine origin and magical abilities bear, a huge animal with thick warm fur was considered an enviable prey. However, the hunt for a clubfoot at all times was a kind of sacred occupation. There was a belief that the "master of the forest" could not be killed just like any other animal.

Fearing revenge brown giant, the hunters, discussing the plan of the future raid, called the prospective prey with allegorical names: "old man", "master", "grandfather" and others. That is why the bear has so many nicknames, among which are Po-tapych and toptygin, known to us from fairy tales. At the same time, it was impossible to speak disrespectfully about the bear, and even more so to scold him, otherwise if the "old man" hears, he will certainly take revenge on the impudent one.

Northern peoples - Evenks, Kets or Nivkhs - tried to deceive the already killed "master". During this action, the hunters kindled a fire and began to ritually feed the bear and give it tea. While treating the "grandfather", they had leisurely conversations with him, convincing that it was not they who killed the "master of the forest", shifting the blame onto the "strangers" - Russian, Yukaghir or Dolgan hunters. Also, during these conversations, they asked the bear not to be angry that people would use his meat and skin, and promised to continue to show all respect to the toptygin.

And at the end of this "meal", when the deceived spirit of the bear rushed away in search of the alien hunters who killed him, the miners butchered its carcass, first of all, cutting off its front paw and head. They were supposed to be freed from meat, boiled and hung on a tree as a kind of amulet.

Often a stranger was present when skinning the carcass of a bear - a man from another tribe. It was believed that the presence of the alien also helped to throw off the trail of the angry spirit of the slain bear. It was the stranger who cut out the heart of the prey and took an active part in the preparation of the ritual treat.

When the hunters returned to their village with their prey, all the women of the village came out to meet them. They greeted the "shaggy old man" as a dear guest and held a real holiday in his honor.

Russian hunters also organized a celebration in honor of a successful hunt. Usually, miners gathered in the house of a person who discovered a bear den, or under the shelter of a brave man who was not afraid to go out with a spear against the "master of the forest."

Real healer

For a long time it was believed that the unknown magical powers, with which people endowed the toptygin, they also switched to amulets, which were made from his skin, teeth and claws.

The bear's claw was considered the most powerful amulet. He was able to drive the otherworldly evil spirits out of the house, as well as grant peace to the noisy baby. The person who wears this amulet on his chest is not afraid of the evil eye and damage. In the hands of an experienced shaman, a bear's claw becomes a powerful weapon capable of curbing a roaming element.

According to legend, the teeth of a bear also had wonderful properties. In ancient times, they were hung over the cradle of a baby, so that the spirit of the "owner" protected the baby until he could stand up for himself. In addition, bear fangs were inserted into the walls of the barn and secured between the fence boards. It was believed that they would not allow thieves to the master's good and would protect the property under any circumstances.

The Slavs believed that if a newborn baby is dragged between the jaws of a killed bear, it will save the baby from all diseases.

Special magical properties endowed with the heart of the beast. If a person ate it, then the disease was not terrible for him. The Indian peoples had a belief that a piece of raw bear's heart endowed a person with fearlessness, wisdom and invulnerability. Some peoples believed that if a patient was fumigated with smoke from a burnt bear's hair, then all ailments would recede.

In magical rituals, bear lard was often used. It was believed that if you smear it on a person's forehead, then the latter will improve memory.

People are not the only ones who suffer from hair loss. Whether the hair loss is due to illness or old age, the condition can affect our four-legged friends as well.

Fortunately, the animals and birds on our list seem to be oblivious to the loss of their hair, fur, or feathers. Do you think they look as cute without their fur or feathers?

Rabbit

This cute bunny was born in 2009 and instantly became an Internet sensation because he is bald. Fortunately, after three months he had his first fur coat, and he turned out to be as ordinary as his furry brothers and sisters.

Bear

The she-bear Dolores is one of those she-bears who suffered from sudden hair loss at the Leipzig Zoo, Germany. Some experts believe it was caused by a genetic defect, although the animals do not seem to suffer from any other plagues.

Hedgehog

Meet Betty, a cute bald hedgehog from the Foxy Lodge Rescue Center, UK. She is a healthy and completely normal animal except for the fact that she is bald, and the cause of her baldness is unknown.

Parrot

Oscar was a 35-year-old female Moluccan cockatoo who suffered from a condition affecting birds - Beak and Feather Disease. She tore out her own feathers because they irritated her very much.

Squirrel

Photo: Murph le

Bald squirrels are not uncommon; their hair loss is usually associated with mite disease.

The guinea pig

Photo: Alina Gerika

Skinny is a breed of hairless guinea pigs... Judging by their pink skin, there is no need to explain why guinea pigs are called "pigs." (Photo: margaretshairlesspigs.webs.com)

Penguin

This bald penguin baby was born without feathers and was rejected by his parents in an aquarium in Liaoning Province, China. The aquarium workers decided that the baby penguin's lack of feathers and poor health were associated with difficulty digesting food and absorbing nutrients... Thanks to his caretakers, the penguin managed to grow a feathery coat, and he was successfully reintroduced into his family.

Rat

Photo: CSBeck

Photo: Maxim Loskutov

Bald rats are created by breeding different combinations of genes. On the other hand, hairless laboratory rats provide researchers with valuable data on weakened the immune system and genetic kidney disease. (Photo: CSBeck).

Chimpanzee

Chimpanzees, like other monkeys, large primates and humans sometimes suffer from baldness, a disease that causes them to lose hair from all over their body. These poor creatures attract many visitors to zoos. (Photo: RedEyedRex).

Dog

Photo: sweet mustache

These are Peruvian hairless dogs. Machu Picchu (the 4 month old puppy in the photo above) was offered as a pet to US President Barack Obama. He promised his daughters a new pet for the White House, but the dog had to be hypoallergenic because one of them is allergic to most dog breeds. Peruvian Hairless Dogs are said to be ideal for sensitive individuals due to their lack of hair. (Photo: Karel Navarro)

Wombat

Meet Karmann, an orphaned baby wombat from Australia. Wombats must remain in their mother's pouch until they reach seven months of age. However, poor Karmann was rescued from her dying mother's bag when she was 3 months old, so she has no hair. She is currently being cared for at a wildlife shelter in Melbourne.

Baboon

A bald female baboon has been spotted in the countryside of Zimbabwe. The animal may have lost its coat due to alopecia. However, this bald baboon has been spotted in wildlife therefore the cause of her baldness is unknown.

Kangaroo

This tiny creature is Sabrina, a female kangaroo who was abandoned by her mother in the Serengeti-Park in Germany. These animals do not grow wool until they leave the mother's pouch. Bald Sabrina always had to be worn close to a warm body or wrapped in a blanket to keep her warm.

Hamster

Bald Syrian hamsters the fur is missing due to a genetic disorder. Hairless hamster cubs are only born to parents with a hairless gene, so they should not breed. (Photo: The Thicket Rabbitry)

30.09.2016

The development and implementation of new, modern taxidermy technologies made it possible to offer the manufacture of high-quality products, which began to find greater interest among people in trophies, regardless of the cost of work, and to popularize trophy hunting.

The emotional experience of well-made trophies is immeasurably greater than that of mediocre products. A well-made trophy can be a great decoration for the interior of a room, good gift, remind of the unforgettable moments of the hunting episodes.

To make a good animal trophy besides modern materials and manufacturing technology, you need high-quality raw materials. Low level knowledge of the majority of hunters on this topic leads to the fact that the skins of most of the hunted animals become unusable at the stages of shooting, primary processing, storage. In this recommendation, the most basic tips will be given on how to preserve, and not spoil, your trophy.

Only a master can correctly shoot and process the skin of a bird, so if the hunter is interested in the quality of his trophy and he has the opportunity, then the killed bird should be frozen. Also, a poultry carcass is needed to determine body measurements.

When hunting for a bird, and indeed for all animals intended for taxidermy, the most unpleasant moment is the killing of a wounded animal. With animals it looks easier, with a bird it is more difficult.

When killing a wounded bird, do not hit on the head, but carefully strangle it by squeezing chest... You can also use a thin awl for killing: calmly press the wounded bird to the ground and fix the wings, then take it by the head, pierce the skull and quickly break the integrity of the brain.

If you intend to get a bird for making a stuffed animal, then before going hunting, do not forget to take packing material for the carcass. For example, put the captured wood grouse in oral cavity a cotton swab and put your head under the wing, if the head is covered in blood, then wrap it with a cloth. Next, put the wood grouse in a polypropylene bag and wrap it tightly with tape, wrap the tail especially well. In this form, the carcass is convenient to carry and freeze.

Any caught bird must be transported carefully so as not to damage the feather, especially the wings and tail. Also try not to stain the white plumage of a bird (ptarmigan, snowy owl) with blood.

Before freezing in a bird, straighten the plumage, in a waterfowl, the head is bent to its side, then the carcass is placed in plastic bag and freeze.

In the process of hunting, shoot the bird in such a way as to inflict minimum damage to the feather cover, especially the flight feathers of the wing. Remember, the quality of your trophy depends on how you got and kept the bird.

Processing animal skins

Small beasts

All small animals after extraction should be stored only in a frozen state. The hunter needs to carefully get the animal, pack it and freeze it, and deliver it to the master in this form.

You need to know that frequent thawing of the carcass, especially when stored outdoors, due to the effect of intestinal enzymes, leads to loss of hair on the abdomen, sides, groin parts.

Large beasts

To make a stuffed animal, body measurements, special shooting and processing of the skin are necessary, so it is best when correctly shot and frozen carcasses are offered.

It does not matter how and with what the animal was taken, it can only determine what trophy can be made from the captured animal. For example, a trapped wolf with a damaged and unrecoverable limb or if the legs have a hairy covering, which is especially observed in individuals caught at the end of winter, it is advisable to use it to make a trophy head (medallion or pedestal). Or there are hair defects on the skin due to dermatomycosis, which is often found in a wolf, or sometimes in a bear. Better to make a head than a rug with visible defects.

The hunter must understand that due to ignorance, he can spoil or reduce the cost of the hunted animal by only shooting the skin, therefore, if allowed weather, it is desirable to freeze the carcass.

Carcasses of animals, such as a wolf, are frozen only in an extended position. The carcass is suspended by the parted hind limbs, the tail, so that it does not interfere during transportation, can be tied to one of them. It is not allowed to freeze the carcass, randomly, stuffing it into a bag, etc., especially large specimens. This leads to uneven cooling of the animal carcass, as a result of which hair loss may occur on different parts body. It is possible to freeze the carcass of a large animal only when the weather is frosty. But the best thing is to remove all the insides before freezing. To do this, you need to cut the peritoneum along the midline, put a cotton glove on your hand and extract the contents of the trunk. Next, cut out the diaphragm, pull out the lungs and heart. Wipe the cavity of the mascara from blood with a dry cloth. All this will exclude the possibility of a pair of hairs on the abdomen (wolf, lynx, wolverine, beaver). After that, the carcass will freeze very quickly.

When hunting animals that will be offered for taxidermy purposes, the following should be remembered:

when shooting or finishing off an animal, do not shoot in the head, but only in the body, the bear can be at the base of the skull, if necessary, since defects in the head, especially the facial part, are practically irreparable. Better three holes in the torso than one in the head;
do not finish off a mortally wounded animal with a second shot, especially shot cartridges, wait, let it die quietly by itself;
when killing an animal in a trap, in a hurry, do not shoot at close range with shot cartridges. Move away and, if possible, cover the animal's head with natural objects, for example, a tree trunk;
when hunting, use the caliber of the weapon and the type of ammunition appropriate to the object of the hunt. For example, do not shoot a wolf with semi-sheathed or expansive bullets. If you have a large smooth-bore weapon and you need to shoot from it, for example, a wolf caught in a trap or noose, then equip for this a cartridge with a small sub-caliber bullet;
when using dogs, the latter should not be allowed to grab, tear, pinch a wounded or killed animal;
a killed animal, especially one caught during a chase on a snowmobile (lynx, wolf, fox) during transportation should not be rolled up in a ball, stuffed into a bag in order to avoid scalding. The carcass should cool evenly;
any captured animal should be transported very carefully.

At present, all taxidermy works can be combined into the main product groups - these are trophy heads (medallion or pedestal), carpets made of animal skins with a taxidermy head and stuffed animals.

For the manufacture of trophies from animal skins, if it is not possible to preserve the animal carcass, for example, due to weather or transportation, the skin can be removed, observing the conditions.

Skinning conditions using the example of a bear and a wolf

Rice. 1 Bear skin cut

The skin of a bear has a number of features that must be taken into account.

The skin is removed in a layer. A central incision is made from the base of the lower jaw to the anus, exactly along the midline of the abdomen, bypassing the genitals.

Do not cut the skin on the lower jaw. The mistake of this process is that the cut is piled to the side, as a result of which one side of the decomposed skin turns out to be larger than the other.

Front limb incision start from the base of the central part of the palmar callus, pass next to the small callus, always leaving 3 - 4 mm on it. skin with hair, and lead strictly to the elbow. Further, the incision from the elbow should go to the inner surface of the limb and along the least hairy part (almost the center of the inner surface of the shoulder) at a right angle converges with the central incision. A common mistake in this case is that the limb is pulled out and the incision is made in a straight line, bypassing the elbow, to the midline, and in addition, the incision is taken to the side. As a result, the correctness of the dressing of the skin and its aesthetic appearance are violated, which entails a waste of time to eliminate these errors in the process of dressing and dressing the skin, and unnecessary seams in the groin parts of the skin are not desirable, especially on the skins of early autumn bears. The second mistake is that a small corn is cut in half, which should not be done, especially if you are skinning the carpet (wolf, lynx).

The incision of the hind limbs begins at the base of the calcaneal callus. In a wolf, an incision is made through the hock joint, along the back of the thigh and further to the anus.

As for the bear, the incision after about 5-10 cm from the calcaneal callus begins to smoothly lead to the inner surface of the hind limb and further along the least hairy part to the central incision. The point of intersection of the incisions should be approximately 5-20 cm (depending on the size of the animal) above the anus. The main mistake in this work is making an incision from the heel to the anus, along the back of the hind limb. In this case, the slack fur is cut in half, and part of them leaves in the form of an increase to the lower part of the belly, and you get a scanty, as if carved rump from the skin. The incision cannot be started from the middle of the inner part of the calcaneal callus.

Rice. 3

A properly cut wolf paw should have a small calcaneal callus in the back and a fifth toe in front

Rice. 4

Bear's right paw. The incision is correct

Rice. 5

Bear's right paw. Incorrect incision


Photo 1	Photo 2	Photo 3

Photo 1. Bear skin with incorrectly cut fore and hind limbs.

Photo 2. In this photo, the incision of the hind limbs is made incorrectly, since it is strongly withdrawn to the side of the head from the anus. As a result, part of the groin of the skin was on the rump.

Photo 3. The incision of the forelimbs was not made correctly due to the fact that it was taken to the side of the head, and not perpendicular to the central incision. As a result, part of the skin of the front paw ended up on the front groin.

In addition to the method described above for shooting the skin in a layer, you can apply a simpler and quick way- a tube. Almost all commercial furs are removed in this way. It is convenient in that you do not need to make a central incision on the animal's carcass. Also, when working with dummies, there are poses and methods for making a trophy, where it is necessary to cut the skin not along the stomach, but along the back or other topographic parts of the skin, and therefore the method of skinning with a pipe is more optimal. The master himself will make additional cuts where he needs it. To snipe the skin, cut the hind limbs as you would for a slab shot, and the forelimbs from paw to elbow. Next, expose the hock joints, insert the holder through them and hang the carcass of the animal for shooting the skin. It will be even better if the front limbs are not cut at all, but as much as possible to pull off the skin from them with a tube to the paws and cut off.

So, you have correctly made all the main cuts of the hide. If the skin can be frozen or promptly delivered to the master, then the paws should be separated at the joints, leaving them in the skin. The caudal vertebra remains in the skin. Cut off the tail at the base. The head is also separated from the neck along the condyles (base of the skull) and left in the skin. For example, the skin of a bear removed in this way is laid out and allowed to cool. Then the skin is folded in half, the skin on the skin, rolled up and put into a bag. Do not roll and freeze the skins of wolves, lynxes and other animals at random. The exposed parts of the hide quickly freeze out in the cold, which subsequently greatly complicates the processing of these places, and affects the quality of the leather tissue.

If the bear is hunted in warm weather, then the paws and head must be prepared.

Working with the paws of a bear

Most hunters, because of their illiteracy and laziness, cut the palm and heel pads of the paws in half, and the worst, for convenience and quick extraction of the phalanges of the fingers, cut them out on the paws. It's tantamount to picking up and cutting off your nose or ears and wanting a cool trophy, or selling raw materials well.

The paws of a bear, if there is a desire and time, can be turned out without any cuts, especially the front. But if there is no experience or conditions do not allow, then to extract the phalanges of the fingers on the paws of the bear, only one lateral incision is made along inside paws to the pad of the extreme toe, be sure to leave 0.5-1 cm of skin on the calluses. The latter is necessary for masking the seam under the hair and better stitching the incision.

Further, the pads of the paws are bent, the phalanges of the fingers can be separated and each is pulled out separately to the claw, and then cut off. This work must be done very carefully, avoiding cuts in the skin between the fingers.

Removing the phalanges of the fingers requires some skill. For convenience, each paw is tied to a rope, then hung up and then gently in a circle, cutting the skin, pulling the phalanges to the claw and trimming.


Photo 4	Photo 5	Photo 6

Photo 7	Photo 8	Photo 9

Photo 10

Photo 4 - preparation of the paw of a bear.

Photo 5 - bear paws turned out entirely (after 7 hours of cooking with spices, a miracle is obtained - a dish).

Photo 6 - paws of wolves, lynxes and other animals are not cut, but turned into a "fist". The phalanges are also separated, turned inside out to the claw, and trimmed.

Photo 7 - when processing and preserving the skins, it is advisable to open the upper lip and salt it well.

Photo 8, 9,10- example different options ditching the paws of a bear.

It is very important to properly skin the head. The main thing is not to allow cuts in the eyelids, carefully separate the nose from the skull, preserve the inner lips ( lower lip do not cut), separate the ears along the ear canal, and do not cut off along the auricles. If the skin does not freeze, then the ears must be turned out, i.e. separate the ear skin from the ear cartilage. The ear cartilage does not need to be removed - it will be done by the master himself. It must be remembered that ear defects obtained both during the life of the animal and due to careless attitude to raw materials are practically irreparable.

The tail of animals must be cut and removed. It is necessary to cut carefully along the entire length, with a well-sharpened tool. When removing the tail, be careful not to cut or tear the skin on it.


Photo 11	Photo 12	Photo 13

Photo 14	Photo 15	Photo 16

Photo 17

Photo 11- preparation of the fox's ear.

Photo 12 - preparation of the fox's eye.

Photo 13- dissection of the fox's lips.

Photo 14, 15- correctly prepared fox and bear heads.

Photo 16- the ears of the bear snapped and crawled out due to the fact that they were not turned out in time and were not salted.

Photo 17- the ears of the bear are cut off along the cartilage, not along the ear canal. When removing the skull from the skin of the head, the eyelids were cut off along with a part of the skin. This defect will require extensive restoration work by a taxidermist master.

The main mistakes made when shooting animal skins

The main cuts on the hide are not made correctly or symmetrically.
The paw pads are cut in half, or cut out. The lateral incision of the bear's paw was made along the line of the border of the hair and callus without trapping the skin.
Slit lower lip.
Ears incorrectly cut off and not turned inside out.
Cut eyelids.
The tail is not cut or removed.

When shooting the hide, try to avoid cuts and holes in the leather tissue, especially on the front of the head. Cuts on the skin of a bear are formed due to the fact that the hunter, working with a knife, holds it at the wrong angle, is in a hurry and does not feel the border between the skin tissue and the flesh

The best thing to do is roll up and freeze, but if this is not possible, then the skin must be salted.

From the skin of the bear, at least superficially, remove the meat cuts, fat, spongy tissue from the paw pads, dirt from the skin and hair. The skins of wolves, lynxes, wolverines can be skins. The head of all types of animals cannot be worked out, but only the ears must be turned out, since only a master should do this processing.

For salting, the steamed skin is laid out and salted very abundantly. Do not spare salt. Special attention must be turned to the edges, which form folds in the raw hide, especially on the forelegs from the side of the elbow. Put the salt in the paws. Pour salt into the ears between the cartilage and the skin. Remember to add salt to the tail. If the skin is dry, then it needs to be slightly moisturized.

After salting, it is not advisable to immediately fold the skin, but let it lie down so that the skin tissue is salted evenly. The moisture protruding from the skin should drain.

For salting, you must use pure edible salt of grinding No. 1 or No. 2, and not any technical salt or crushed lick. Do not think that by pouring several kilograms of salt onto the skin of a bear, you will save it. Because of this, at low negative air temperatures, the skin will not freeze and will be in a moist state, which can lead to fluidity and fragrance of the hairline directly with the epidermis of the skin.

When going on a bear hunt in the early fall, do not forget to bring salt. In warm weather, do not pack unprocessed salted skin, and even more so steam skin, in polyethylene for storage or transportation, fearing to stain something. On the skin wrapped in polyethylene, in warm weather, very favorable conditions for the development of putrefactive processes.

The above method of salting the skin to preserve it is not a preservation method. It is advisable to sell skins processed in this way or to preserve them correctly.

It must be remembered that salt is not capable of long time preserve the skin without proper preparation. If salt is applied to an untreated, dirty skin in a small amount unevenly over the area of the skin, then all this can lead to the appearance of putrefactive processes in the skin tissue and the fragrance of the hairline.

To preserve the skin (for example, of a freshly harvested bear) for a year or more, you must:

Make perfect pretreatment.
Salt the skin and let it stand for about 7-10 days, preferably in a cool place. The skin should not dry, but remain wet - salty.
After that, make a chemical degreasing of the skin with detergents.
Next, salt the washed skin again with clean salt and bring the leather fabric to a certain percentage of moisture. The skin should not be dry, but slightly damp.
After that, remove excess salt, pack the skin tightly and freeze it.

This method of preserving the skin of a bear has been tested for years. After long-term storage, at the beginning of its further processing, the skin has all its original properties and is ready for the dressing process.

Methods for shooting skins with a layer and a tube are classic and the easiest. They are applicable for making all kinds of hunting trophies.

There is a way to shoot the skin with a cut not in the belly, but in the back. This method is only used when working with polyurethane dummies. It is the most difficult and requires a certain skill, so if you cannot properly skin this way, then do not try to experiment.


Photo 19	Photo 20	Photos 21

Fig. 22	Photo 23	Photo 24

Photo 25	Photos 26

Photo 19- for making a trophy in a sitting position, it is advisable to remove the skin with a slit along the back. This method is the most basic and is applicable to various poses, and greatly facilitates the work with PPU dummies when making a trophy.

Photo 20, 21 - when shooting the skin of a wolf with an incision along the back, the incision of the forelimbs is made from the paw to the elbow joint, and the incision of the hind limbs (photo 21) is made from the paw, passing through the hock joint until the beginning of the feathering.

Fig. 22- a back incision is made from the occipital protuberance, along the upper back line. Further, on the rump, the cut passes to the lower part of the tail (the cut can be made along the upper side of the tail). When making an incision along the back, it is advisable to make small incisions with a scalpel along the edge of the skin, which will help to align the edges of the skin in place when stitching it on a dummy, especially if the torso is twisted.

Photo 23- after making all the incisions when removing the skin, the front and hind limbs are turned inside out.

Photo 24- this is what the skin of a wolf looks like when it is taken off with a slit along the back.

Photo 25, 26- trophy head and carpet of a wolf.

In order to properly remove and process the skin intended not for the manufacture of a fur product, but for taxidermy purposes, certain knowledge, experience, conditions are required and if you are interested in getting a high-quality trophy, for example, from a wolf, lynx, wolverine, then these animals are best frozen in carcasses. In this case, the skin from the animal will be removed correctly and, most importantly, when preparing a dummy for making a stuffed animal, all parameters of the animal's carcass will be taken into account. Each animal is individual and the measurements of the carcass will greatly facilitate the work in the manufacture of your trophy.

Working with the use of polyurethane mannequins and plastic accessories shows the client all the advantages of modern professional taxidermy, therefore it is advisable to use only high-quality raw materials.

It must be said that the standard spectacled bear has shaggy fur of black and coal or dark brown color. However, at the Leipzig Zoo, two females Dolores and Lolita, 15 and 11 years old, respectively, suddenly lost all their hair.

Of their black and thick fur, only small pieces remain. The bugbear specialists noticed that acne and irritation began to appear on the skin of the animals and turned to other zoo, where such cases may have happened.

Winter is coming and without fur the bears will be cold. But inquisitive Germans are not at all embarrassed by the tragedy. Taking advantage of the sudden illness of the unfortunate animals, they photograph and show naked bears to children. In my opinion, this is wrong. You never know what shame the thick shaggy fur hid, and do photographers have the moral right to show bear nudity?

Meanwhile, RIA "Disinfo-News" ready to announce the cause of hair loss in Leipzig bears.