Author Topic: Need Help Identifying Claw.... (Read 1902 times)

Maine_Hound_Hunter · « **on:** May 05, 2004, 02:05:04 PM »

If any of you are really good with identifying claws, just orivate messagew me with your e-mail so I can send you a pic...Found a claw in the garden that is about 3 1/2 inches long, and isn't dark enough to be a bear claw, and looks way too long from what I've saw....

Thanks!

Dezertyote · « **Reply #1 on:** May 06, 2004, 02:58:36 PM »

Heres the picture that Maine_Hound_Hunter took of the claw he was talking about.

M_H_H :eek: Thats no claw, I'd say its more like a COW HORN :eek:

[/img]

I think its from an animal of sometime past. It doesn't have the deeper body and tighter crescent that a black bears claw would be.
This claw seems to be long and much straighter than a black bear claw. :shock:

azshooter · « **Reply #2 on:** May 06, 2004, 03:34:46 PM »

Looks llind of like this grizzly claw

http://www.clevermag.com/images01/xbear1opt.jpg

Maine_Hound_Hunter · « **Reply #3 on:** May 07, 2004, 01:04:55 AM »

Quote from: azshooter

Looks llind of like this grizzly claw

http://www.clevermag.com/images01/xbear1opt.jpg

I was thinking that too, especially once I held it up to that picture...This more than likely proves grizzlies were once in Northern Maine.

MSP Ret · « **Reply #4 on:** May 07, 2004, 02:34:44 AM »

Maine Hound Hunter, What about the possibliity of a Mountain Lions claw? My camp in north Central Maine has had reports and sightings of a "Cat" around it for about 3-4 years now. I don't know what thier claws might look like but I'm sure someone here does. And I would think the size might be right for a 150-200 lb kitty....<><.... :grin:

tony212 · « **Reply #5 on:** May 08, 2004, 03:31:55 PM »

WOW, that is some find....right now as I type this I have a full mount mountain lion and a half mount black bear right next to me to compare it to. It is way to long to be a mountain lion. The one I have here is only about 1" long and if you figure another inch inside the paw...anyway, doesn't look like it would be that long. The claws on this bear and any others I have seen (Have seen quite a few, we do alot of bear hunting here) are usually much darker. They are mostly black with some gray at the tips. I have to agree that it does look a little like a grizzly, but the few grizzly claws I have seen were much longer some close to 6" and straighter..... I would love to know what it is from.
Tony212

Nightrain52 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 08, 2004, 08:19:22 PM »

Is it a raptor talon from an Eagle or some other bird of prey?

michbob · « **Reply #7 on:** May 09, 2004, 03:58:29 AM »

Hi there;

As a suggestion, take it to a nearby university and look up a zoologist. It looks king of like a preserved claw of some sort--they often times discolor. It might be from a prehistoric beastie.

Michbob

Maine_Hound_Hunter · « **Reply #8 on:** May 10, 2004, 11:05:46 AM »

I might take it to a university.....But damn, by that grizzly claw the coloring matched PERFECTLY.....Never know, I guess, if I get some free time I might check out some books at the local library and do some research on it.

And Tony, I have a full bear rug to compare the claw too, and know they are basically pure black and a LOT shorter than this.

Mike Birdwell · « **Reply #9 on:** May 10, 2004, 05:49:10 PM »

Pretty sure what you have is a rodent tooth of some kind. Look at the big end of it & if it is hollow then it's a tooth. Regards Mike

Maine_Hound_Hunter · « **Reply #10 on:** May 11, 2004, 01:34:26 AM »

Quote from: Mike Birdwell

Pretty sure what you have is a rodent tooth of some kind. Look at the big end of it & if it is hollow then it's a tooth. Regards Mike

Maybe I should've mentioned it IS hollow....Now what kind of rodent are we taking with a 3" tooth?

Dezertyote · « **Reply #11 on:** May 11, 2004, 06:27:26 AM »

Sorry... thats no rodent tooth! Its an animal claw.
The only hole that would be in a tooth would be the nerve canal channel and that would be a very small hole.

The only rodent that would come close (in size) NOT SHAPE would be a beaver, and the tip of the tooth would be chisel shaped, very sharpe edge and about 1/4"- 5/16" wide at the tip.
An animal tooth such as a beaver does not have a smooth surface like the claw in the picture above.

Dezertyote · « **Reply #12 on:** May 11, 2004, 06:47:58 AM »

Beavers teeth

Mike Birdwell · « **Reply #13 on:** May 11, 2004, 10:56:51 AM »

Posted: Tue May 11, 2004 10:27 am Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Sorry... thats no rodent tooth! Its an animal claw.
The only hole that would be in a tooth would be the nerve canal channel and that would be a very small hole. )

I can assure you that in 20 yrs. of doing taxidermy, I have never seen a claw that was hollow on one end. But I have preserved many skulls & looked at many teeth, & that my friend is a tooth.

Regards Mike

michbob · « **Reply #14 on:** May 11, 2004, 12:38:32 PM »

Hi again;

OK, call me cracked, but it looks to be flattened from side to side, right? Some memory from the deepest, darkest, recesses of the brain (a scary place, to be sure) says that that object is the claw from the extinct giant ground sloth.

Did you find it in a swampy area? Swamp water has remarkable preservative abilities; just look up 'bog bodies' on the 'Net.

Michbob

OK, that does sound cracked. I very nearly deleted this entry, so don't laugh.--Bob

Maine_Hound_Hunter · « **Reply #15 on:** May 11, 2004, 02:45:09 PM »

Quick note, I just realized it looks flat...

After measuring the width, it's 1/2 an inch at it's widest point and a 1/4 of an inch it's smallest....

azshooter · « **Reply #16 on:** May 11, 2004, 04:20:40 PM »

I bet a the local Vet could tell you in short order what it is if not tell you the exact species.

Maine_Hound_Hunter · « **Reply #17 on:** May 12, 2004, 01:04:56 AM »

Perobably would be easier to do that then go to the college and have them do it, the vet does see animals almost every day of the week...

willis5 · « **Reply #18 on:** May 12, 2004, 05:58:23 AM »

ever have pigs in the garden or hogs on the property?

if it is a tooth, could it be a tusk?

Maine_Hound_Hunter · « **Reply #19 on:** May 12, 2004, 01:13:03 PM »

We used to have cows, but that was a long while ago....We never had pigs...

Doc Contender · « **Reply #20 on:** May 13, 2004, 07:05:54 AM »

Can you take a picture or two from a different angle. The object looks to have too much curvature to be a tooth.

Maine_Hound_Hunter · « **Reply #21 on:** May 13, 2004, 10:46:23 AM »

I will when I get a chance, and the DC starts working right again....

grizzy57 · « **Reply #22 on:** May 13, 2004, 11:46:38 PM »

Folks.
How about a Groundhog tooth?

?
Grizzy57 :lol:

Maine_Hound_Hunter · « **Reply #23 on:** May 14, 2004, 01:18:46 AM »

Funny chance of luck here, I happened to have shot a groundhog last night, but I never checked the teeth....Maybe I can go find the little bugger later...

jlk · « **Reply #24 on:** May 14, 2004, 02:14:24 AM »

By the description it looks just like a pair of hog tusks that I have. The color, description and size are the same.

Dezertyote · « **Reply #25 on:** May 14, 2004, 11:26:09 AM »

Well it took me a couple of days, but I found it.

This is a black bear claw that came off a bear that me and a friend found dead in the Mazatzel range in Arizona.
As you can see this claw is hollow, very hollow.

The item that MHH found may well be a tooth. I have found bear, javalena, and coyotes skulls that I have wired up to a tree and let the bugs and maggots clean up. They all were solid on both ends.

[/img]

Maine_Hound_Hunter · « **Reply #26 on:** May 14, 2004, 02:11:19 PM »

Judging from the length, it looks to curved and too short though...

Dr. A · « **Reply #27 on:** May 29, 2004, 06:13:17 AM »

I am a vet. We frequently see claws torn off from digging, scrambling, or whatever. My mid-western background may be deceiving me, but it looks like a badger claw. They are very long around here and made for digging. Makes sense to find it where you did as well. The claws are hollow. That is where the quick used to be. Fungal infections, bacterial infections or just plain strain-overuse could have luxated the critter. Some will bleed when they are lost like that. Badger claws are easily 3 to 4 inches here.

michbob · « **Reply #28 on:** June 01, 2004, 02:49:16 PM »

The claws on a BADGER are that big? :shock: No wonder not much messess with them.

Michbob

arrington · « **Reply #29 on:** June 02, 2004, 01:16:50 PM »

Could be from Michael Moores pinkie toe... :-D