Biologist And Skull Collector Ray 'Bones' Bandar Dies At 90

Ray ''Bones'' Bandar, a retired high school science teacher, and a skull collector, has pa s sed away at his home at 90.

Faylene Bandar, Ray's nephew, told San Francisco Chronicle that his uncle died of congestive heart failure on December 23, 2017, at home in San Francisco.

The California Academy of science tributed Bandar with few sweet words on Twitter which described:

Thank you, Bones. A small tribute to the enormous work of Academy friend & Field Associate Ray "Bones" Bandar, whose incredible contributions to our collections, lives, & to science itself will ensure he lives on.

Bandar was a volunteer field a s sociate in the department of ornithology and mammalogy at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park for around six decades.He began collecting bones in his home after he and his wife bought the house in 1965.

He had collected 1,700 California sea lions, 120 black bears, 24 breeds of dogs, 1,000 birds, 12 leopards, 6 rhinos, and 6 hippos. Moreover, he also had collected 200 pelvises, a monkey mummy, a great white shark jaw, and moose antlers he kept in a bathtub.