The Moose Project 2002

The Moose arrived to my place around seven or eight o’clock during the evening.  Keith and Danielle Joli gave me this moose skeleton as a donation for my studies.  Most of the bones were collected, only one femur reported missing so far.

First on Wednesday evening, I classified the bones in categories in order to facilitate the process of cleaning and mounting up.  The moose skeleton was estimated to have two hundred bones or so.  I put all the ribs together and then all the vertebrae together, and so on for the limb bones and scapula, and for the skull and hip.  All the small pieces were left on the table in order not to lose any.  All the bags in which the moose bones came in were put away in the garbage and quickly I sprayed all the bones with anti-bacterian solution.  I decided to wait for tomorrow to start cleaning the bones.  They were already very clean. The sun had bleach them on one side and on the other dirt and soil were spread on the surface. 

According to Keith and Danielle, the moose was found and collected between Grenville and Harrington in the province of Québec.  It was found in the woods while they were fouwheeling.

My first Goal

The main goal or task is to clean all the bones.  Obviously, the bugs have cleaned very well this skeleton naturally.  The bones had no cartilage and no flesh at all.  This is ideal for the project since it involves less work when cleaning all the bones.  Otherwise, if they were some flesh on it.  I would have to dig a hole in my backyard and then attach most of the bones to bricks and burry them until the bugs ate all the flesh.  Depending on how much flesh are on the bones is going to estimate the amount of time buried.  We have to attach the bones in case some animals are attracted by the smell and would like to steal some of it.   The goal is to clean the bones with a solution of three quarter water and a quarter peroxide with a tooth brush.  With a little more than two hundred bones to clean, I figured if I clean 10 bones per day, it would take me approximately 20 days to clean all the bones of this moose skeleton. 

Budget for the Moose Project

Permit to legally keep a moose skeleton or carcass

Contact:                                        

Ministry of Natural Resources                  Société de la Faune et des

Kemptville Office                            Parcs du Québec

Postal Bay 2002                                      (819) 772-3434

Concession Road

Kemptville, Ontario

K0G 1J0

(613) 258-8204

Toronto 1-800-667-1840

It is legal and no permission are required to keep bones or rocks in Ontario and Québec.  However, if meat or pelt or kept, then a permit or ownership certificat might be required or is required and therefore contact one of the office stated above depending on location of the collected goods.

I was granted permission to keep the moose skeleton and no permits or certificate of ownership were requested or in need.

The moose skeleton will be use for educative purposes soon to be announced for presentations.

Internet Research

A search was conducted on the internet in order to find a picture or an image of a moose skeleton to ease the mount up process especially for the smaller pieces to be assemble.  After 3hrs, all I could find is an Elk skeleton with more or less accuracy. 

According to the bones I have, now stored in the basement of a residence, hoofs and claws are both there.  The idea is to find a picture or image of a moose foot in order to know or find out if hoofs and claws are both on there or if the claws belong to another animal.  At first I thought one claw might go along as a little finger with the hoof, but my problem is I have five claws.  So, my theory does not fit very well.  If anyone know of a moose foot image please send it to me by email on the main page of this website.