What
is Taxidermy?
The
word Taxidermy comes from the two Greek words taxi- meaning
preparation,
arrangement, and -derma meaning skin. Taxidermy refers to the preparation
of skins to mount on a manikin to create lifelike mounts.
Life
appearance is my first objective, here at whitetailsunlimited.
As
soon as you bring your trophy to me, I’ll skin it carefully to keep the
fur as clean as possible. Then, the skin will be salted to remove all body
fluids and to temporarily preserve the skin. I will then carefully flesh
and shave the skin. The skin will then be placed in a pickle, which is
a bath composed of water, salt, and an acid. It will then be neutralized
in a solution of water and sodium bicarbonate to destroy the effect of
the acid. Finally, I will tan your skin to obtain a leather, which will
last a lifetime.
The
preparation of the manikin is another important step.
I
start with the best manikins available in the market. I have to do some
altering to the manikins because each animal has a different size and I
want to provide you with the best mount. I don’t want to stretch the skin
for it to fit to the manikin; I want the manikin to fit the skin. This
helps retain the initial size of the animal when it was alive.
The
fit of the skin to the manikin is what makes the difference between a good
mount and a mount that will distract the eye.
I will
provide you with a good mount that will attract the eye of every
visitor
you’ll have in your house.
Just
take a look at the picture gallery on this website!
Let
me show you that taxidermy is a valid form of wildlife art, just bring
your
trophy to me! |
