Finding Bones In Forests: A short Guide
Heyo! Iāve had quite a few asks regarding where to find bones and what forests are best for finding them. So Iām going to write up a short guide because Iām bored. In order from worst to best, here are some preferred places.Ā
State parks and nature reserves:
Not the best choice for a variety of reasons. State parks and nature reserves tend to be heavily walked by people. If there were bones there they were likely already picked up. They are often managed and cleaned. Park rangers will scour the parks for litter and other harmful things. That includes dead animals. Depending on the park it may be illegal to remove anything from the grounds.Ā
Large Expanses Of Natural Wilderness:
While truly natural untouched wilderness is the perfect place for animals to thrive to their fullest. Animals in forests like this tend to be long living and spread out. Which makes finding bones of dead animals challenging.Ā
Natural wilderness with predator populations:
Similar to the last location, animals tend to be spread out. However forests with a high population of wolves, coyotes, big cats, etc tend to be a bit more promising. I used to live in a forest with 2 large wolf packs and I would find deer bones once a week or so. Unfortunately these bones were almost always chewed up.Ā
Small forests surrounded by farm fields. These forests often have denser populations of animals due to habitat destruction. If your forest is near farms with livestock you can sometimes (rarely) find fallen stock dumps which are a goldmine of neat bones. Cows, sheep, pigs, etc.Ā
Specifically forests that donāt have humans walking in them often. Like the forests in unused lots behind the Walmart. Often full of litter. Similarly to farmland forests animals often congregate in them in large numbers due to habitat destruction. The animals living in these forests are unfortunately less healthy which leads to a lot of deaths and therefor bones. However if the forest is too small it may have no wildlife populations. You will only find animals that can tolerate urban environments.Ā
Forests along fast moving roads and highways:
Roadkill. Things will get hit and crawl back into the woods to die. That and scavengers will drag roadkill into the woods so they can eat in safety.Ā
Good place for finding bones. Hunters will leave a lot more of the animals than they really shouldā¦ Doe skulls, buck skulls without caps, legs and hooves, full fur animal skeletons. Land thats been hunted for many years can have a lot of bones. Your finds will often be limited to hunted species.Ā
A forest near a body of water, bordered by a country road, and some farmland, that is also public hunting land. I have a forest like this by my aunts house. I counted in one trip: 4 doe skulls(3 skeletons), 1 buck skull, 6 raccoon skulls (1 full skeleton), 2 opossum skulls, 1 cow skull, half a coyote skeleton and an entire life-sized fake deer.Ā Ā
Some extra Tips: Make sure the forest you are searching in isnāt private property. And if it is make sure you have the permission of a landowner. If you are on public hunting land during hunting season wear bright colors.Ā
Forests with thick ground cover tend to hide bones making them impossible to spot. To counter this go in early spring after the snow has melted and before ground foliage regrows. Pine forests and dark forests are the easiest to see the ground as they have less ground cover.Ā
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