A portion of leg bone found in a new delivery of compost at a residence along Deer Lagoon Road this past weekend apparently belongs to a cow, officials say.

“It’s definitely not human and most likely bovine,” Island County Sheriff’s Detective Ed Wallace said Tuesday after receiving a report from the Island County Coroner’s Office.

“The finding was based mostly on size,” Wallace added. “That thing is huge.”

A woman called 911 about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, after discovering the femur, or thigh bone, in a pile of compost recently delivered to her yard, Wallace said. He said officials collected the bone for examination.

The sheriff’s office has been urging residents and visitors to report the finding of bones that might be human after a portion of a human skull was found on Maxwelton Beach this past November.

Investigation determined that the skull was that of a male 35 years or younger. Two marks on the skull indicate the victim may have been struck with a sharp instrument such as an axe, hatchet or machete, and that death could have occurred as long as 10 years ago or longer.

A DNA investigation of the skull is still under way, Wallace said.