Dimorphism Revisited – How a Bear Skull Acquires Ornamentation from a Fox, a Hare, a Crow and a Rabbit

“I was walking my dog when I saw this skull. I think it is a young bear’s.”

I looked at the teeth, then Googled for bear skull. It may be.

So I thanked my friend and wondered how I would give this forgotten skull a new identity.

Clearly, occipital and parietal bones have been taken by the passage of time. The teeth are still there but in poor condition. 

 However the eye sockets are large and intact.  So, I would give this skull prominent eyes.

Next, I needed to give the occipital area a new shape and consequently character. I opted on the following:

-          Hare ears

-          Red fox face

-          Strikingly blue glass eyes

-          Cottontail rabbit fur

-          Crow feathers

The fox face was able to cover the missing sided and back of the skull. I used the rabbit fur to fill the inside of the skull so I can place the eyes.

Of course placing the eyes suddenly made this skull come alive and in a slightly strange way… And of course placing hare ears atop of a fox’s head is something few would have the courage to do…

But I always look to do, write or construct what others may secretly wish they could.

I am at a stage of life when I have no secrets left…

So, to minimize the roundness of the eyes, I placed slices of deer hide under the ocular globe and made eyelashes with rabbit fur. The turquoise stones made the blue of the eyes less piercing and now the eyes were mellower and a bit more introspective.

It was time to give this reconfigured bear skull a new home. Somehow I think that the soul of the bear (if indeed it was a bear) would be happier all dressed up and new than slowly rotting away in the desert sun.

But I think that no self-respecting bear would ever accept to be adorned by a pair of hare ears!!

October 24, 2019

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2019