Taxidermy

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A mounted polar bear head.

Taxidermy (Greek for "the arrangement of the skin") is the art of mounting or reproducing animals for display (e.g. as hunting trophies) or study. This is a practice generally done with vertebrates, but occasionally with invertebrate animals such as insects. The methods that taxidermists practice have been improved over the last century, heightening taxidermic quality.

Taxidermists may practice professionally, for museums, or as amateurs, such as hobbyists, hunters, and fishermen. To practice taxidermy, one must be extremely familiar with anatomy, dissection, sculpture, and painting, as well as tanning.

Taxidermy should not be confused with taxonomy, which is the study of scientific classification.

1 History
2 Methods
3 Crypto-taxidermy
4 Gallery
5 External links

[edit] History

As the demand for quality leather and skins grew, the methods became more and more sophisticated. By the 1700s, almost every small town had a prosperous tannery business. In the 1800s, hunters began bringing their trophies to upholstery shops where the upholsterers would actually sew up the animal skins and stuff them with rags and cotton. The term "stuffing" or a "stuffed animal" evolved from this crude form of taxidermy. Modern professional taxidermists prefer the term "mounting" to "stuffing", and may find the latter offensive.

In the early 20th century, taxidermy began to evolve into its modern form under the leadership of artists such as Carl E. Akeley, James L. Clark, William T. Hornaday, Coleman Jonas, Fredrick and William Kaempfer, and Leon Pray. These and other taxidermists developed anatomically accurate mannikins which incorporated every detail in artistically pleasing poses, with mounts in realistic settings and poses that were considered more appropriate for the species. This was quite a change from the caricatures that were popularly offered as hunting trophies.

[edit] Methods

Taxidermists seek to continually maintain their skills to ensure attractive, life-like results.

One of the most common techniques for modern taxidermists begins by freezing the animal's carcass in a large freezer, often a butchers'. The taxidermist then removes the skin, to be tanned and treated for later use. The remaining muscle fibers and bones are then submerged in plaster of Paris, to create a cast of the animal. With this cast, a (foam) sculpture is created, onto which the fur or skin can be reattached. Alternatively stock forms can be used and trimmed to fit the actual pelt. Glass eyes are then usually added to the display, and possibly also false teeth, depending on the subject's original dental condition.

An increasingly popular trend is to freeze dry the animal. This can be done with reptiles, birds, and small mammals such as cats and some types of dogs, and is quicker and easier than the traditional method. As such this method is usually employed with souvenir keychains.

Another new trend is the creation of entirely artificial fish mounts from photographs for catch-and-release fishermen.

[edit] Crypto-taxidermy

Crypto-taxidermy is the creation of stuffed animals which do not have real, live counterparts, such as the jackalope. They may have mythical counterparts (e.g. dragons), be of the taxidermist's imagination, or be endangered or extinct species. They can be made from parts of other animals (e.g. chimeras, griffins, capricorns, unicorns) or they may be artificially created. (see also Rogue Taxidermy)