Craig Aubrey. age l0, of spokane, Wash,, for his question:
Haw does a taxidermist make animals look so real?
A stuffed moose head may look so real you might think that the live animal is standing in the next room with his head through a hole in the wall, sooner or latex, all. of us get to Disneyland and see even livelier models that move and yell, howl and holler.
Of course., the word taxidermy has nothing to do with taxicabs. It is coined from two older words meaning arrangement and skin. Their meanings explain the basic work of the taxidermist. He arranges the skin of an animal to look like its original owner. His skill depends upon how well he copies the shape of the living anima. in a natural pose and with a natural expression.
Only the skin is used and most of the finished model is stuffing. The first and most important job is preparing the proper filling. The taxidermist makes a careful study of the animal's bones and muscles. He observes its natural poses from photographs or living specimens and makes an accurate drawing of his model. When this skillful artwork is done., he is ready to construct the stuffing that will fill the skin.
The skeleton of the model is made from wire and wood. It may be padded with clay, paper pulp, sawdust or wood chips. The outer layers may be modeled from clay or plaster. The finished model should be a perfect copy of the animal without his coat showing the natural bumps and hallows of the ribs and muscles.
The skin must be removed carefully from the corpse of the specimen. slender cuts are made where they will not be noticeable and the hide is peeled off without damaging the hair or feathers attached to it. The skin is tanned; that is., prepared with chemicals to preserve it. Thin it is placed onto the modelj fitted and sewn into place with invisible stitches.
The taxidermist has on hand a supply of eyes., whiskers and other materials to complete his work. The eyes are hollow plastic, balls of the correct color. Lifelike ears and a tones may be fashioned from plastic, but when possible the teeth or fangs axe those taken from the original specimen:
A taxidermist must be an artist and a skil.7.ed workman] He must know anatomy or body structure and the natural history of animals, also about dyes and tanning chemicals. He must be an accurate draftsman and a talented sculptor.
Most taxidermy is done for museums. some of the specimens are collected in distant regions by the museums' own naturalists and the hides axe shipped along with other useful data. some are zoo animals that have died in captivity. In most museums the taxidermist's models are displayed in sizable glass cases with backgrounds of their natural surroundings.