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AIBU?

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Original poster

To ask what on earth is this?

25 replies

GranMarnie · 01/04/2022 22:08

Can anyone tell me what creature this skull once belonged to? Found in a lane in SW England, near a river.

I have ruled out cat, dog, badger, fox, hedgehog, otter, squirrel and rat (the teeth are wrong for all of those).

It's 10.5cm long and 6–6.5cm wide.

To ask what on earth is this?
To ask what on earth is this?
To ask what on earth is this?
OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
Sexnotgender · 01/04/2022 22:09

Pine Martin?

Phlem · 01/04/2022 22:09

Sheep?

ShipshapeShore · 01/04/2022 22:10

Maybe a muntjac deer.

Phlem · 01/04/2022 22:10

Ignore that, didn’t see the pointy teeth

dudsville · 01/04/2022 22:12

I don't know, but I love how you spend your free time!

Hedgesfullofbirds · 01/04/2022 22:14

That is a badger skull, by the looks of it - does it have a raised crest on top? If so, it is definitely a badger, the jaw muscles are attached to that crest!

BeenHereForYonkyDoodles · 01/04/2022 22:15

Bet a vet would know! Might be one along in a minute...

ShipshapeShore · 01/04/2022 22:15

No I've decided not a deer after looking at pictures!

Original poster
GranMarnie · 01/04/2022 22:15

@Sexnotgender

Pine Martin?
Too far south, I think? And no canine teeth on this one. This is a pine marten...
To ask what on earth is this?
OP posts:
Original poster
GranMarnie · 01/04/2022 22:20

@ShipshapeShore

Maybe a muntjac deer.
Mine doesn't have the pointy bit at the front. This is a muntjac (female).
To ask what on earth is this?
OP posts:
ShipshapeShore · 01/04/2022 22:22

Could it be a mink perhaps? The eye holes look similar.

BlandUsername · 01/04/2022 22:23

Looks like an otter skull to me, based on size and the fact you found it near a river. You can see the spaces where the canines would have been.

Original poster
GranMarnie · 01/04/2022 22:24

@dudsville

I don't know, but I love how you spend your free time!
Haha! I was on a litter pick, picking up rubbish people had left on the riverbank. (Glamourous life!)
OP posts:
Original poster
GranMarnie · 01/04/2022 22:27

@Hedgesfullofbirds

That is a badger skull, by the looks of it - does it have a raised crest on top? If so, it is definitely a badger, the jaw muscles are attached to that crest!
My friend has whisked it away to her house. I will ask about the crest.

No fangs aka canines though!? And the teeth don't look nearly as powerful on mine.

To ask what on earth is this?
OP posts:
Ghostsofhumor · 01/04/2022 22:27

Otter I think

If so its one there are laws against keeping
www.walkhighlands.co.uk/news/can-i-take-it-home-natures-collectibles-and-the-law/#:~:text=However%2C%20the%20dolphin%20and%20the,a%20bone%20or%20a%20skull.

otters are protected and you need a license to keep any part of them, including skulls you find. If you want to donate it to a local museum they may be interested, or you can return it to nature

To ask what on earth is this?
Ghostsofhumor · 01/04/2022 22:30

That's a comparison if your jaw photo and a uk otter, Google brings up sea otters etc which aren't the same

Hedgesfullofbirds · 01/04/2022 22:37

This is a badger skull from mmy own collection OP...

To ask what on earth is this?
To ask what on earth is this?
To ask what on earth is this?
Hedgesfullofbirds · 01/04/2022 22:40

And, for comparison, a fox - the one you have sounds, from the dimensions you gave, too large to be an otter, mink or any other small mammal.

To ask what on earth is this?
alternating · 01/04/2022 22:50

Could it be a juvenile badger? Ridge isn't as pronounced as the one posted previously but there is a ridge...

Original poster
GranMarnie · 01/04/2022 22:58

@ShipshapeShore

Could it be a mink perhaps? The eye holes look similar.
Teeth are too blunt, I think?
OP posts:
WonderingWanda · 01/04/2022 23:01

@Ghostsofhumor

Otter I think

If so its one there are laws against keeping
www.walkhighlands.co.uk/news/can-i-take-it-home-natures-collectibles-and-the-law/#:~:text=However%2C%20the%20dolphin%20and%20the,a%20bone%20or%20a%20skull.

otters are protected and you need a license to keep any part of them, including skulls you find. If you want to donate it to a local museum they may be interested, or you can return it to nature

Wow, I had no idea there were laws about things like that!
Original poster
GranMarnie · 01/04/2022 23:37

@Ghostsofhumor

That's a comparison if your jaw photo and a uk otter, Google brings up sea otters etc which aren't the same
Interesting! I'm leaning toward juvenile badger and otter now. Wouldn't it be funny if it ended up in a museum!
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Original poster
GranMarnie · 01/04/2022 23:46

Hedgesfullofbirds and alternating Yes, I can see the little ridge in my picture now. I wonder, does an otter have a ridge also? If not then surely, badger it is!

OP posts:
Original poster
GranMarnie · 01/04/2022 23:54

So as it turns out, an otter does have a small ridge. And the nostrils on mine look quite otter-like...

To ask what on earth is this?
OP posts:
Angrymum22 · 02/04/2022 00:07

I was going to say otter, although there are no canines there are sockets present.
I ran over an otter last year. We live near a very large river where there is an established otter population.
I got a few raised eyebrows but then my friend spotted one crossing the same road about the same time of day a few days later.
I couldn’t stop to see if it was an otter but as a country driver it was definitely not a badger, it had a tail like a Labrador ( known as an otters tale) and was huge, too big for a mink.
We have loads of deer locally and badgers. Also hares are making a come back. The local country folk blame the lockdowns, less traffic and no shooting has lead to proliferation of wildlife. There are certainly far more bloody birds singing their heads off at 5.30 every morning!

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