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Bear Mange

Discussion in 'Lifesize Mammals' started by gobbler71, Oct 29, 2021.

  1. Oct 29, 2021 #1
    gobbler71

    gobbler71 Member

    159
    11
    OK, Im gonna throw this out there to see what responses I get. In Maryland we have a lottery bear drawing. I guess its a big deal to get drawn out and actually harvest a decent bear. Well, a local hunter harvested a 362lb Male with the mange, totally bald......The DNR has a check station where they go through the normal process...blah....blah. They actually let the hunter keep the bear for taxidermy purposes and he wants a full body mount LOL. I called the DNR the day after we received the bear and let them know this carcass shouldnt have been released back to hunter. They said in normal circumstances they would have issued another tag and let them go back out. But apparently the check in guys didnt get the memo. My deal is I dont want to even touch it.....let alone mount a bald bear. I am asking the DNR to handle the whole situation by contacting the hunter and explaining to him why mange is not something he/we want to play with. They've pretty much refused to do anything and passed the buck onto me the taxidermist.
     
  3. Oct 29, 2021 #2
    13 point

    13 point Well-Known Member

    4,135
    8,903
    Goldsboro MD
    Ida never took it in .
     

  5. Oct 29, 2021 #3
    3bears

    3bears Well-Known Member

    6,874
    3,371
    MN
    You should have refused it at the time the hunter dropped it off. Now that you have concerns, it is not the DNR's fault or problem. They did their part, managed the wildlife by having a hunt, check it in so that it was legal and rightfully returned it to the hunter.
    Mange is caused by a infestation of mites, is it not? So you can kill most of them off prior to working on it.
     
  6. Oct 29, 2021 #4
    gobbler71

    gobbler71 Member

    159
    11
    Yea Glenn and 3bears Im 100% on board with not taking it in. I was having a colon job yesterday when it arrived and told the guys not too mess with it but they did anyway. As for the MD DNR doing there part.....that bear should have never been allowed to leave the check station in its condition. It should have went straight to the CWD incinerator. I talked with both people in charge and they seem to want to pass the buck back and forth. My request was for them to contact the hunter and explain the biological dangers of mange and get the hide out of my freezer. Not that harsh of a request, and they refused to do anything but pass the buck on to me.
     
  7. Oct 29, 2021 #5
    buckrub10

    buckrub10 Well-Known Member

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    42
    sounds like your stuck with a bald bear
     
  8. Oct 29, 2021 #6
    13 point

    13 point Well-Known Member

    4,135
    8,903
    Goldsboro MD
    I’d be calling client telling him to come get it or I’m throwing it out . Only thing worth doing is the skull
     
    Glenn M likes this.
  9. Oct 29, 2021 #7
    3bears

    3bears Well-Known Member

    6,874
    3,371
    MN
    Bottom line is to figure out how much this job is worth to you. Do you wish to retain this customer, or his buddies? It is up to You to convince him why it is a bad idea and let him decide or just send him packing. Good luck, I've only seen one spot of mange on a bear, it was an easy fix.
     
  10. Oct 29, 2021 #8
    Glenn M

    Glenn M Well-Known Member

    964
    1,103
    Pennsylvania
    You get a lot of mange in bears in PA. You should be blaming whoever took it in, not the DNR. Call the customers up and tell them to come get it, like 13 point said.
    About 10 years ago I went outside and two guys were unloading a bear like you got, I told them to load it back up and get the F out of here. Anyone that would drag something like that out of the woods isnt worth having as a customer lol
     
  11. Oct 29, 2021 #9
    Mandi

    Mandi Well-Known Member

    257
    489
    Wonder how itchy the people who dragged it out are right about now.... tell him come get it.
     
    Glenn M likes this.
  12. Oct 29, 2021 #10
    Tanglewood Taxidermy

    Tanglewood Taxidermy Well-Known Member

    10,000
    10,303
    dallas oregon
    You are saying that the DNR has employees that didn't follow protocol.

    If I understand you correctly, you told your employees not to mess with it and they didn't follow protocol.

    You want the DNR upper management to take responsibility for the mess up of their employees and make it right, but they won't.

    They want your company's upper management to take responsibility for your company's employees mess up.

    Your only choices are to mount it or call the customer and tell him you can not mount it.
     
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2021
    Glenn M likes this.
  13. Oct 30, 2021 #11
    Frank E. Kotula

    Frank E. Kotula master, judge, instructor

    3,612
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    wilkes barre
    I would mount it up for the client. First off you took it in. That’s your mistake and you should honor your word cause you seen the bear, you knew it was bald etc etc. The critters are dead so you have nothing to worry about but doing a quality mount on a hairless bear. It’s a price you should pay for accepting it. There should be no question or passing the blame on to another person’s foolishness on not doing their job cause now it’s the same with you taking on this task. Mount it or tell the client your not capable of doing it!
     
  14. Oct 30, 2021 #12
    Mandi

    Mandi Well-Known Member

    257
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    At least no worries about slippage...
     
    ARUsher and Frank E. Kotula like this.
  15. Nov 8, 2021 #13
    Crittrstuffr

    Crittrstuffr Well-Known Member

    594
    817
    Seems easy to me when you tell the customer the DNR said they'd offer him another permit that should be an easy sell. If it's hard to get or draw for a license then he'll hit the lottery twice and can go shoot another bear . . . unless the seasons closed then your gonna be stuck with a bad situation. Good luck
     
  16. Nov 8, 2021 #14
    Mudbat

    Mudbat Well-Known Member

    834
    1,544
    Bald bears looking the werewolves from the underworld movies. Google it and tell me I’m wrong!