Fur!

[RickB.]

In the Belknaps today I encountered a swath, ~15'x10', beside the trail covered with this white fur. It was thick like moose fur. Any ideas on the scenario that would result in this?
Thanks!

 

[Tom Rankin]

15 x 10 FEET??

 

[RickB.]

Yes. Carpet-sized, plus and the fur was consistently white. This shows most of the area:

 

[marty]

Looks like the Bumble must be shedding.

 

[sdways01]

The close up picture to me looks like deer hair. You can see there is a shade of brown to it. I would expect more dark hair in the zoomed out version though. Except for the lack of remains or body parts, it would seem like a kill site of a deer. There is enough fur for that. Coyotes are known to eat everything including the bones, so maybe.

 

[sardog1]

It's what's left of a moose after the coyotes, foxes, ravens, crows, jays, and beetles have had their fill. Virtually all cervid (moose, deer, etc.) remains in the woods end up looking like this. By comparison, a snowshoe hare will leave a few tufts of hair when it has been converted to energy.

Here's a moose kill photo that will show you what it would have looked like before they started:

Moose carcass

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Here are the moose remains on Cupsuptic Snow for similar comparison.

Tim

 

[Mark]

Sasquatch molt!

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Agree with Sardog1. The hair is bleached from sun and several winters. We came across a similar spot in the Quarry/Rand area a couple of years ago, and it was full of moose bones as well. When we returned most of the bones were gone, but the hair remained. Seemed like a long way into the woods to have been hunted, but there was also significant logging in the area that would have made it possible to extract the meat with an ATV or snowmobile. Not sure if it was hunted and cleaned, or died of something else as it was already to the point where the bones were bleaching...

KDT