I am trying so hard not to be grossed out as I type this. Whafts of rotting marine mammal flesh and bone are circulating in my house although I have been on incense and whindow and fan patrol. Remember how I had found those seal vertebrae on the beach? Well, today I found a jaw bone (see the teeth there on the left) and some big flipper/wing-like bone. It seams the mega-corpse had been cleaned up or something but what remained there appeared to be the skin of a seal pup.
Although I love forensic investigations on television, gathering the bones in a plastic bag really gave me the heebie-jeebies. So I put them in a giant pot of boiling water (detailed view is shown here) and now have just added some bleach to the water to help with the awful smell. I cannot help but think that I need to go out into the chilly dark night and dig a hole right now in my garden to pour the bones into and bury for a month or two to ensure all the rotten crap is gone. Yeuch. I have a high tolerance for disgusting oogie shit but this is seriously testing my threshold. The larger bone I found leads me to believe it is not from a seal at all. I think the teeth on the jaw bone will help me to identify this marine mammal. I need some biologist buddies!