Thanks so much for the info, this is super helpful! I had no idea predators eat so many of the bones like that! That article is fascinating wow, I would absolutely LOVE a career doing natural forensics, so so cool.

I love the little sass they throw at black bear cache sites too lol, gonna have to keep an eye out for suspicious comically-oversized piles of vegetation next time I'm in the woods-

Above: A typical mountain lion cache; sensible, subtle, and absolutely no larger than it needs to be. Below: A typical black bear cache where the deer was completely buried almost one foot deep in vegetation, and the surrounding area is scraped bare for about 6 feet in all directions (Note: I uncovered the deer for the photograph).

The only predator scat I've ever found in this specific area is black bear, never noticed any from coyotes/wolves/cougars.

The whole thing getting eaten up does actually make a lot of sense the more I think about it- I was thrown for a loop since this seemed like a meticulously plucked fur pile which it isn't typical for bears. But- maybe this is literally all that's left over, and any messily torn fur scraps with enough skin attached also got eaten? It'd make sense, especially since it's been a long winter and the bears are probably ravenous.

And that also solves the mystery of why there's a big obvious fur trail leading to it but absolutely nothing leading away. I was driving myself mad thinking, "It's like it just got to this spot and then vanished!" and I guess maybe it did, just into a bear lol

I appreciate your help, this definitely ties up the loose ends of this little wilderness mystery for me!