Anyone guess what this Cr@p is?

[RoTuN]

[castnshoot]

Is that a bone laying next to what is out lined?

If so maybe it is the contents of the stomach of a herbivore after the scavengers have taken everything else.

[Loafer]

Is there hair in there? It looks like it could be an old gut pile.

[RoTuN]

Yes, it's a shoulder blade from an elk.....to give you a sort of scale at just how big the pile was! No fur in the pile, but was some scattered around the area. I took a sample with me to an expert (my dad), he said it's a "bear plug". Apparently they will not chew or digest the grass they eat before getting ready to hibernate causing a "plug" in the end of the digestive tract. When they come out of hibernation they shed their plug and this is apparently what it looks like. Noticed this while standing in an area full of berry bushes as well.

[one hunting fool]

for sure an old gut pile. must have been a dead elk there uears ago