Geriatric coyote skull

[osage outlaw]

This is the skull from a really old coyote that was hit by a car.  I was surprised by how large and healthy he was despite the condition of his teeth.  One canine is missing.  The other 3 are badly worn down.  His front teeth are completely gone.  2 of his molars are partially broken off.  It was found in an area with a lot of houses.  He might have been surviving on neighborhood pets.  I have cleaned a lot of skulls over the years and this one is by far the worst tooth wear I've seen. 



















For a reference on how bad his teeth are here is a normal coyote skull.

[bubby]

Great job on that skull Clint and interesting story, he was prolly eating dog and cat food too

[Pappy]

Nice, I love them skulls and you do a fine job on them.
 Pappy

[---GUTSHOT--->]

My guess on this one is he has been eating table scraps. Nice job on the skull Clint.

[neuse]

That looks good, you did a nice job.

[BowEd]

Nice work...I like the skulls.That's an old snaggle tooth.No teeth decay too bad though.A person's gotta remember he chewed on a lot more stuff then your average domestic dog does.Bones,tendon,grissle,hide etc.That wears em down.He's probably at least 10.Who knows.

[bjrogg]

I agree with Ed. He looks like the leftovers he's been eating are bones left after the rest of the gang is full. At 1st I thought you just lost the front teeth boiling skull but I can see the rest are very worn down. Like Pappy I just love the skulls they are fascinating
Bjrogg

[osage outlaw]

BJ, those teeth were gone before I cooked the skull.  There aren't even sockets for them.  They have been gone for a while.

[Aaron H]

You do really nice work on them skulls Clint

[osage outlaw]

Thanks.  I did a couple of deer skulls this year also. 

[bjrogg]

Yea I could see that when I looked closer osage he's gotta be a old dog
Bjrogg

[mullet]

I wonder how painful those front canines were?

[Parnell]

That is really interesting.  He must have been a cunning old guy.  Perhaps he just had enough and decided it was time for a blindfold and a cigarette out in the middle of the street!

[JW_Halverson]

Obviously he was a product of good genes, dedicated parents, and good luck on his own part.  In other words, he is what nature intended.  Hope his end was quick.

[nclonghunter]

He may have jumped in front of a car on purpose.......