Proof I Was Here...

On behalf of a raccoon I found dead on our property a week or two ago (HAD to be 2 weeks). We had a coon fight in one of our ash trees (three young coons, one was out on the limb chittering like hell 'cause it thought it would fall. A long fall. And the others were bullying it.) I went out and told them to "cut the sh*t!" It was funny....all three stopped and looked at me. Two came down slowly and just walked away into the woods. They were this year's cubs. The bullied one stayed up for a while. No more screaming that night.
Next day, I find this adult coon...possibly their mother. Couldn't tell the gender, and it was in "just dropped dead" condition. No wounds, no sign it was hit by a car. It was just...there. I figured "great, this'll stink up the woods for a while." It did. Phew. I avoided that path for more than a good week. Checking on it again, there was nothing but fur and the skull. It was like the body EVAPORATED. I didn't think dead critters could disappear into the earth that fast. I thought it took 3-6 weeks or more.
Anyway, long story short, this is the adult coon's skull. Needs cleaning. The bugs took care of everything else, just needs disinfecting and polishing, maybe bleaching. I've never rendered an animal skull before. btw this is NOT MORBID. I'm not a death weirdo. We all have bones in us, esp. the critters. That's life. Or rather, death. It doesn't bother me. However, if I found a HUMAN SKULL, I would be a bit unsettled about that. I certainly wouldn't clean it up and put it on my shelf, hell no.

I have no idea why the coon's teeth are pink. btw this is why you don't mess with coons, looking at those fangs....

Cleaned up: