So I think I can post this field of dead sheep now that they look kinda like piles of wool. I counted 51 in a baseball-field-sized field the first time I saw them. Video here. I also found a dog and if you gave me a few hours I’d probably be able to count 50 more in nearby fields. Maybe more.

If you’re wondering what killed them, my three guesses are:

1. Harsh winter (I first saw them less deflated in April, when the snow finally thawed revealing a whole winter of death)
2. Pneumonia (I heard that some sheep around here were dying of that, but I don’t know)
3. Maybe this is a normal death rate considering there are a ton of live sheep around, and this is just where the farmer(s) piled up their deads all winter. This 2018 document said there were 345,000 sheep in WY that year. I’m sure I’ve seen thousands within a few hours of driving around this place.

Wolf Tracks in the snow at the National Elk Refuge

Mule deer was fatally caught in the fence. There was actually an opening in the fence about 10 meters away, with deer hoofprints across it and a trail cam.

I put together a Flickr album of my favorite wildlife photos I’ve taken for a grant I’m looking at. Random question, do you think dead wildlife counts as wildlife? Like I know cattle on a farm are “life” but not “wild,” so are bones of a deer in a forest “wild” but not “life,” ergo they are also not wildlife? Just curious what would fit the application best. Obviously this is for my book on dead animals (@carcassafterlives) anyway.

[A/N: I read The Best of Robert Service and then wrote this on the plane. I’m happy to hear feedback! TW for themes of death and bodies. Also no, none of this is true.]

Above my cabin door a boar’s head hangs upon a nail,
A taxidermized grin as in the midst of raging roar, 
Tends to alarm or charm my guests–the squeamish, without fail, 
Will claim it cruel or ghoulish but they never asked the boar. 

Above the fire, hung some higher, horns sharp as a knife, 
A hold, a jolt, a captive bolt left hole in angus’ skull. 
The abattoir that marred him claimed he gladly gave his life, 
But who can say when there’s no way they ever asked the bull. 

My windowsill hosts a bed still post feline’s life upended, 
And her, my pet, the guests upset most often point to that. 
For in a jar, now safe from cars, my darling floats suspended. 
Did she want this? Well, that I missed–I never asked the cat. 

And there’s one more, behind a door which guests may never pass, 
Behind the locks a bone-filled box where this dark hoard began. 
Human remains, to me the same, as any beast in grass, 
See, I did ask, and did the task, on the wishes of the man.

I’ve added some bones and stuff to my shop! I’m moving soon so I hope to get rid of some stuff.

A story of bringing a horse’s body back to where he was born.

Jumping on the meme but just in case:

Yes I processed the dog skeleton. When I got her she was already dead of unknown causes. I have a pic but I can’t post it on TT. The dead dog did look similar to the dog in the first clip, but that’s just a dog my roommate was fostering. Hopefully she is alive and well.

Also: I don’t actually get that comment a lot 😅 I think most of my friends are pretty chill, so, consider this video “in case you had that question.” Actually it’s a valid question. I just love animals in all forms (especially alive! But also dead.)

Variations of one of my favourite pictures. I call it Explodey Coyote