Spectacled Bear Skull with Pathology Replica

Description

This is a $133 Preorder deposit for a $399 resin replica cast from the real male Spectacled Bear skull pictured. The cast will have fake nasal turbinates and be cast/painted/stained to a natural bone color very similarly to our Liger cast. This is one of the only Spectacled Bear skull casts available online, and I believe it is one of the largest at roughly 10.61″ x 6.97″ (26.97cm x 17.72cm), measured without the mandible with calipers. The cast will come in two pieces: the top of the skull and the removable jaw. The photos on this listing are of the REAL skull, not of the replica (as those aren’t made yet).

Spectacled Bears (also called Andean Bears) are native to the Andes Mountains of South America, and are the last surviving species of short-faced bear (subfamily Tremarctinae). Their closest relatives were the Spectacled Bears of Florida, which are now extinct. These bears are quite endangered, which makes legally obtaining a real skull of one of these increasingly difficult, which is why we decided to offer this economically and ecologically better option to collectors and institutions abroad.

This particular male Spectacled Bear lived and died in a zoo in the US and then was part of a museum collection for over 16 years before being acquired by OddArticulations, LLC. The full skeleton will eventually be articulated, but until we have room to display it he will be used to make replicas for people around the world to enjoy a unique skull of this very rare species. His entire skeleton exhibits quite a bit of pathology which include various forms of arthritis. All of his joints are heavily calcified or worn down, some bones are fused, bone spurs are present everywhere (see last photo of his spine), and his skull is covered in bony growths. These growths make the molding/casting process incredibly difficult, which is why this cast carries the price tag that it does. His dentition also shows how ancient this bear was. All of his teeth are very worn, with several naturally missing. He also has several dental fillings in his canines from where the roots were exposed due to natural wear. Your cast will show these natural wear patterns, but the fillings will not be visible in the cast.

These casts are made to order, with a wait time, as only a couple can be made at once. Because of this, we have allowed you to secure a spot for one by making a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $133 (1/3 of the total $399). The other 2 payments of $133 must be paid monthly (I don’t care what day of the month you pay on). If you would like to pay it off sooner and wait until it’s ready to ship out, simply add more than one to your cart (ex: two=$266=2/3 of the skull; three=paid in full) and include that you’re doing so in the notes. By the end of the 3 months, your cast should be ready (Hoping for a July-ish mail out). We will ship out once the cast is paid off and finished. Failure to make a monthly payment without proper communication will result in a forfeit of the cast and the deposit/payments made up until that point will NOT be refunded.

TO MAKE YOUR OTHER PAYMENTS: You can make your other payments at any time by simply “buying another payment” from this page and including in the purchase notes (“payment X of 3”) so it can be recorded properly. Of course if you pay ahead you will not be held to the same “must be paid monthly” schedule.

Because these are resin replicas, they can be shipped internationally! Because of the varying cost of shipping throughout the US and the world, shipping costs will be calculated per order, and you will be notified via email or phone with an exact shipping cost once your cast is made and is ready to ship out. To give you an estimate, shipping our other similar sized casts in the past within the US has ranged from $14-47 depending on the state, $26-55 for the Canadian orders, and around $60 for European countries. We will not have an exact quote for you until these casts are packed, but this should give you a good estimate of roughly what to expect.

All of the pictures in the listing are of the real skull, not of the cast (as those aren’t made yet). We are hoping for this cast to be very similar quality to our past Liger cast, but with very realistic colored teeth (a recommendation we received from the liger buyers). A lot of testing has been conducted since the last run of Liger casts, in which time we have been able to nearly perfect teeth colored resin, so there will no longer be blinding white teeth in our casts. We also expect to have very good looking fake turbinates in this skull. Bear turbinates are quite intricate, so the next few months will consist of testing to try to perfect our design. These skulls require an incredible amount of hands-on work to ensure the absolute highest quality possible, and we are very proud to offer these hyper-realistic casts to collectors all over the world.

I want to state one last time: This is a preorder for a $399 replica Spectacled Bear Skull (payable as three monthly payments of $133 per month). You will not receive your cast skull until after they are made. They will be shipped out on a first come, first served basis.