By Kolby Morehead & Dr. Jenn Ballard

When Hunter Adrian Fillhart, killed one of his biggest bears ever this past fall, he had no idea the head scratching that would occur when he got the skull cleaned. The bear was an older boar and had busted up teeth but otherwise healthy and making a good living. Adrain reached out to us and after talking with our Black Bear Biology columnist, Dr. Jenn Ballard, we have a possible diagnosis. We believe this bear may have had a condition called 'Lumpy Jaw' that is a bacterial infection of the jawbone. The technical term is mandibular osteomyelitis but it's sometimes referred to as Actinomycosis after the name of the bacteria. It's reported in cattle, wild sheep, and kangaroos/wallabies. But we were unable to find any reference to it in bear. Basically damage in the mouth allows a bacterial infection to set up and progress slowly in the bone. It is possible that the damaged teeth may have been how it started, or the infection may have weakened them or caused the bear to use its other teeth differently since that side of the mouth probably hurt. Regardless of the cause, what a crazy bear skull. It's definitely a conversation piece to have around the house or bear camp. A one of a kind bear!