[NHCOLL-L:2043] Re: Preparing bones for display

[White, Rich]

Boiling is not a good idea, unless you have a huge pot (I'm talking 100 gallon or more here) and a tiny source of heat (small single burner) so you can simmer at very low temp for a long time.  Otherwise the bones will warp.  Boiling is also hell on teeth.  Much better idea is to macerate in plain water.  Once the skull is clean of periosteum, etc, you can degrease by soaking in water to which is added household ammonia, without detergent, at about 1 cup per gallon.  This should take most of the grease out.  You want to leave some organic content in the bone, so the bone doesn't get too dry and split.  How long it takes depends on how much crease there is, and what the ambient temperature is.  There are lots of other tricks (enzyme detergents, crotalid venom) which one can use if doing a lot of material.  But the above should work for one bear skull.
 
Rich
 
Richard S. White
International Wildlife Museum
Tucson, Az