Chilled to the bone...

While I was out and about the hillside today, I made a startling discovery..some might even call it a bit gruesome. Down near the marsh edge is the remains of a large pine tree that was a victim of Hurricane Katrina. All that stands is about a seven foot tall stump. It is rotting away leaving the center core of heart pine but that is not the unsettling part. What was wedged in among the rotting wood can be declared a mystery!

In keeping with this Coast bird count thing, I decided to make a quick scan of the hill to see if any unusual birds had migrated this way. As I neared the Bayou, a flash of white told me that something worth observing was in a small grove of trees. I edged softly toward the gleaming object thinking that it might be some small bird that I wanted to photograph. As I neared the tree stump, I realized that this was no bird..this object was not moving. There, wedged in the rotting wood, was a bone! A rather large bone to be sure and one that had been gnawed on quite heavily. I am used to coming across the remains of small animals. Hawks and owls occasionally feast in one of the tall pines and will discard bones that are too hard to swallow. This bone, however, obviously came from something far too large to be taken as prey by one of these birds. The bone shard is about nine inches in length and perhaps a bit over an inch in width. It has been gnawed on enough to have lost its original shape but it has evidence of a slight curve along the length. Perhaps a rib? It would have to have come from some animal of good size but what? And if it was of something larger than say a raccoon, just what predator took it as dinner? I stared at the bone..and again mused at why the bone was wedged in the stump. It was almost as if something put it there for safe-keeping. Perhaps it meant to come back and retrieve it at some point..who knows.

As I examined the bone, it became clear that it was not a recent kill. The bone showed signs of age..not just damage from the teeth marks. It was weathered and brittle. Again...confusion. The origin of this bone intrigued me but I had no knowledge of how to decipher the mystery behind it. My daughter took a lot of classes in such things during college and would be a tremendous help in identifying the bone if she was here. I am tempted to send it to her for analysis but then again..maybe things are best left unknown. Another mystery of the Bayou.....