Caribou Worms

I am new at taxidermy and I need to know about these worms in caribou skin. We are mounting a caribou head and Tanning a few Caribou Hides and came across these worms while fleshing. Is it ok to be handling these hides? Is the meat edible? I am sure the pickle probably kills them but the one guy wants to lay the one hide on his kids bed,I could use any info anyone might have on this. Thank you so much for your time Dan

Return to Beginners Taxidermy Category Menu

fly larvae

these are fly larvae that the flies lay under the skin of the carabou they are harmless I just returned from carabou hunting and asked the same question to my guide

true

I believe they are black fly larva . They dont go into the meat , but just stick their heads below the skin and suck blood . Arent you glad your not a caribou ? The meat is fine .
Rick

true

I believe they are black fly larva . They dont go into the meat , but just stick their heads below the skin and suck blood . Arent you glad your not a caribou ? The meat is fine .
Rick

true

I believe they are black fly larva . They dont go into the meat , but just stick their heads below the skin and suck blood . Arent you glad your not a caribou ? The meat is fine .
Rick

Thanks

Thanks for your responses I really appreciate it and yes I am glad I'm not a carabou Ha Ha have a great day Dan

They are called "Human Bot flies"

These are fly larva "magots" of the "human bot fly" They are a paresite that feeds off the caribou blood until fully developed, then they hatch out of the hide as fully developed bot flies, gross but are not harmful to humans, unless a bot fly egg gets under your skin. This is where they got the name human bot fly from. they have been known to infect people.

Pretty interesting huh
Joe