The deer skinning scene is implausible

From BearWiki

Claim: The deer carcass was planted by the production team

In the Scotland episode Bear allegedly “finds” the carcass of a red deer that has fallen to its death which he skins and uses the hide for shelter. [1] There are several problems with this scene. Before he finds the carcass, he indicates that the temperature is well below freezing and that the temperature can get to “–15 degrees F” at night. He also states upon finding the carcass that it has been “dead for several days” and the meat is too rotten to eat. He then drags the deer a short distance and begins to skin it. The simple fact of the matter is that a carcass exposed to those conditions for that length of time would be frozen solid and would be virtually impossible to skin.

In the still frame from the video shown here, Bear is demonstrating forcing his hand between the hide and the flesh to “roll” the skin off. The carcass would only need to be exposed to freezing temperatures for a few hours before the skin and the flesh immediately beneath it began to freeze, making this technique impossible.

This scene simply could not have actually happened the way it is depicted and described in the episode. Either the temperatures were not nearly as harsh as Bear described or the deer carcass had only been there for a short time - not nearly long enough to become completely inedible. Furthermore, any unfrozen carcass that was exposed for “several days” would show extreme signs of having been scavenged. The most logical explanation for the inconsistencies in this scene is that the carcass was planted by the production team for Bear to “find”.

[edit] Analysis

Support: Amazing how often bear finds fresh, sizable, dead animals, isn't it?  ;)

Oppose: Well it wasn't fresh...

Support: Fresh enough to skin . . .

Support: In addition to not being frozen solid after "several days", rigor mortis clearly hasn't set in yet, either. When he moves the carcass around, the joints flex quite easily

Oppose/Support: Rigor mortis starts a few hours after a person or animal dies. The joints of the body stiffen and become locked in place. Depending on temperature and other conditions, rigor mortis lasts approximately 72 hours. So if he found the carcass after it had been dead 72 hours or more, "technically" rigor mortis would no longer be an issue, as the tissue in the carcass should have relaxed at that point. That being said, if the temperature was THAT low, there is no way the skin would have come off that carcass as easily as was in the filmed segment...

Support: In the re-edited version, Bear now states the deer was left for him for demonstration purposes.

Support: Well, that certainly solves THAT debate, doesn't it.