Nature Exchange

Sunil collected 600 points for the combination of the skull and his information about where it was found and how it was identified. If we'd had the lower jaw too it would have been worth more than twice as much, but we were well pleased. I learned how to identify the different types of Canide (The Class of Carnivores with completely separable toes, nonretractable claws, and long muzzles) by looking at the back-side of their skulls. The bones of domestic dogs and coyotes make a "Y" formation, red foxes make a "V" formation and grey foxes make a "U" formation. The wolf is just much larger. As it was over 100 degrees and high noon at the time, we opted for wading in the zoo creek rather than browsing in the over-crowded (airconditioned) exchange building. We had a most pleasant day, but I'm ready for a nap.