Want to step off The Beaten Track?

Want to step off The Beaten Track?

Want to combine your interest in wildlife, art, and engineering? ConsiderTaxidermy

What is Taxidermy?

Put, the science of creating a lifelike model out of the body of a non-living animal. Seen the wax models at Madame Tussaud’s? Taxidermy can be just as incredibly realistic, even more so, because it won’t have that waxy texture. Instead, the model is created out of the animal’s actual skin and body parts (thank goodness Madame Tussaud uses wax). What’s more, good taxidermy requires tons of skill and a trained artist to do it.

The Science

Taxidermists will usually preserve the body of the animal in the freezer soon after they have received it. They begin by de-fleshing and tanning the body. That is, the skin is rubbed with medicinal salt and left to dry. Next, the tanned skin has to be turned into softened leather so that it won’t rot. This is done by treating the skin with special chemicals. Finally, the taxidermist doesn’t stuff the animal – they mount the skin onto an accurate animal sculpture. These sculptures are made with clay or plaster over wireframing and are often in startlingly life-like poses. Remember the stuffed birds in Psycho? Once the sculpture is ready, the taxidermist can then attach the skin over it with glue. The eyes are made of glass, and certain parts, such as the ears, are often artificially created from clay. The final details are painted in by the taxidermist. The process required precise tools and techniques that only a taxidermist has.

Who wants taxidermy?

You may think it’s bizarre, but taxidermy is highly demanded by museums, art exhibits, science fairs, theme parks (think: Disneyland), collectors, and even by someone who wants to preserve their prize catch. All these people would naturally go to someone who is trained to do the job.

Training and License 

Yes, taxidermists need training. It’s not something you can learn through YouTube. There’s a lot of chemistry and knowledge of anatomy that goes behind making a model.  No degree is required – but diplomas and training programs are readily available in the States. Programs usually last a few months, and a taxidermist may enter an apprenticeship to get some hands-on practice. This lasts typically a year before our guy is ready to step out into the world. Taxidermists also need a permit from the Federal government – allowing them to work with the bodies of rare animals. There can even be extra permits required for special classes of animals, like migratory birds. The clients may also need permits to keep the taxidermized animals in their possession. To be safe, you can contact a lawyer to find out about all the legal work you need to do before you get out there. The requirements vary from state to state, but you can go to the US Fish and Wildlife Service to find out what you need. You may have to give an exam to get the license. Lastly, you can go to the National Taxidermists Association (NTA) to get your final certificate. And you’re set!

What skills do I need to become a taxidermist?

First of all, taxidermists need a good knowledge of animal anatomy. Second, they need to be comfortable handling deceased animals’ bodies daily – we’re talking roadkill. Third, they need to have good hand-eye coordination and an artistic eye for detail. Sculpting, painting, sewing – these are what taxidermists have to do the most.

Taking these courses can give you an extra edge:

  • Tanning Course – Some professionals prefer to outsource this particularly cumbersome step in the process, but it’s always better to know the basics of tanning.
  • Museum Studies – Taxidermists often need to work closely with museums so that this course might help you in the long run.
  • Animal Anatomy – This is absolutely a must when it comes to making realistic models.
  • Habitat Studies – For taxidermists who also create their own dioramas, working knowledge in this field can be very helpful.

Building the Business

Since most taxidermists are self-employed, they need a working knowledge of business and marketing. Start by contacting the wildlife agencies in your area to find out about the animals that may be most in demand in your area. For example, the Northern States may have customers wanting to mount their big game- like elk or deer. In the mountain ranges, you may get more antelope, or cougars, while next to a river, there may be large fish and marine life coming in. This will allow you to specialize in the type of wildlife that is most in-demand and find your niche in the business.

A well-designed professional website with good quality photographs can go miles in helping along with a business. Keep in mind that you will need to promote yourself, so you will have to be resourceful and work extra hard. Gather skills related to advertising and branding. You must tag all your work as your own so that further customers can drop in. The old-fashioned door-to-door way of handing out your business card may also prove useful in the long run. Nowadays, social media is the best platform for getting yourself recognized, so use it to the full extent!

Get Attached to an institution

Rather than setting out on their own, many professionals in the crafts field will try to get attached to some kind of institution, be it a museum or a firm specializing in decoration. Being an in-house craftsman will assure you of more opportunities coming your way. You can also join the National Taxidermists’ Association (NTA) to network with other professionals in the field and your clientele. Being part of an organization will also save you the hassle of legal procedures, and you will get access to other benefits like scholarships.

Specialize in Pets

Taxidermists often select the pet niche as more and more owners choose to preserve their deceased pets, be it dogs, cats, canaries, or even fish.

What’s the prospect?

This is one of those jobs that depend on the person themselves – their skill and ability to market that skill. According to data from 2012, the average salary of a taxidermist in the U.S was $19,000 per year. A taxidermist counts as a craft artist – and their salary (surveyed in 2018), on average, amounts to $40,000 per year. It’s all up to you and how you make it – whether as a full-time job or a part-time passion. So go out there, Explore!

A BONUS SECTION 

The roots of taxidermy lie with the Egyptians – they would embalm and preserve animals to accompany the Pharaohs in their afterlife. Queen Victoria had an impressive taxidermy collection – she would amass huge numbers of exotic animals and birds from Britain’s colonies to add to her royal hunting lodges. Because of her, taxidermy became not just a method of preserving big game.. but an art!

Anthropomorphic taxidermy originated in the late 1800s and involved dressing up animals as humans, engaged in human activities like having a tea party. After the 20th Century, taxidermists began experimenting and pushing the boundaries of their artwork to create “abstract artwork” – for example, life-like models of fantastical creatures like Griffins or even human-animal hybrids. Creepy? Disturbing? Have a look. British-Norwegian author Roald Dahl wrote a macabre short story about human taxidermy! Called “The Landlady,” it is about an old woman who lures young men to live at her house as paying guests – and they never return. The Silence of the Lambs, starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, features a maniac who creates a bodysuit out of human skins! 

What do Florence Nightingale and Charles Darwin have in common? They both taxidermized their pets! There are 29 million animal specimens contained in London’s Natural History Museum. Darwin gained his passage on the HMS Beagle because of his skill in taxidermy. He learned the art from a Guyanese drudge. He wrote his famous memoir, The Voyage of the Beagle, based on his travels. Dolly, the sheep, was the first mammal ever to be cloned from another. This international celebrity was born on 5th July 1996 and died in 2013. Her remains have been taxidermized and preserved to this day in The National Museum of Scotland. Australia has its share of bizarre creatures. In 1771, Captain Cook brought back a kangaroo skin to England. But when the first stuffed platypus was brought over, people ridiculed it and thought it was fake! They assumed that it had been made as a prank from a duck and a beaver.

The newest trick – taxidermists are using beetles to do the job for them! Gross as it may sound, the taxidermist breeds a colony of beetle larvae inside the body of an animal. These beetles eat away the flesh and keep the skin completely intact. This is a preferred method as chemicals, more often than not, actually damage the skin.

Want to step off The Beaten Track?

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