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Index of Subjects We checked out several of these "mass" seal beachings a couple of years back. The ones we saw had serrated knife (not shark) marks and multiple straight cuts at point of head severing - pretty easy to see those.... in addition to the projectile entrance and exit holes. That, notwithstanding, aside from loss of freshly-weaned juveniles there are some health issues in seal populations, including phocid distemper. So if there is a possibility of wildlife health questions, should be referred to the AVC via DNR or DFO. Andrew A Hebda Nova Scotia Museum >>> Randy Lauff <randy.lauff@gmail.com> 4/15/2009 10:17 am >>> "Lovely subject?" Sure it is! 2009/4/14 James W. Wolford <jimwolford@eastlink.ca>: > Others have suggested that these seals died perhaps weeks ago, and that scavenging by gulls etc. starts with the head and works posteriorly from there. Lovely subject, eh? Scavenging by any vertebrate doesn't start with the head, with the minor exception that some birds will feed on the eyes first. In all the carcass provisioning that I've done over the years, I've come to see a basic pattern. Internal organs first (from chest and abdomen), then muscle. Herbivore intestines may be left behind. The head has mostly inaccessible nutrients (brain, tongue). The muscles of the head, (e.g. masseter) are relatively accessible, though under some tight skin (the skin of the head is bound tighter to the underlying tissues than other parts of the body, making entry there less easy than elsewhere). And compared with other parts of the body, the pickings on the head are quite sparse. Now where's my lunch...? Randy _________________________________ RF Lauff Way in the boonies of Antigonish County, NS.
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