Best Taxidermy for leopards in Houston and Dallas Area?

[Stetsonham]

Daniel Mang with full snarl taxidermy, is also a top contender. He won the world taxidermy competition couple years ago with a leopard. Was listening to him talk the other day, he said had put together like 75 leopard so far in his career. (I believe he’s on 30 years old)

Phil soucy is also without doubt one of the best ever.

Kanati is doing a great leopard theses days aswell.

None of these are in Tx but worth the money to have the mount done outside of Tx

 

[Hutch01]

Tried to get this image up last nite but it didn’t work out. So here is my Conroe Taxidermy leopard. Should be finished by now. Hutch

 

[JHT]

Daniel Mang with full snarl taxidermy, is also a top contender. He won the world taxidermy competition couple years ago with a leopard. Was listening to him talk the other day, he said had put together like 75 leopard so far in his career. (I believe he’s on 30 years old)

Phil soucy is also without doubt one of the best ever.

Kanati is doing a great leopard theses days aswell.

None of these are in Tx but worth the money to have the mount done outside of Tx

I agree with most of what @Stetsonham says here; however, I would substitute Mike Jankovsky of Artworks Taxidermy in Colorado as the third contender. IMO, the less hands to touch a leopard the better. I can also tell you that the absolute most expensive is definitely not the best in cat taxidermy. For what it's worth, here are my personal thoughts on big cat taxidermy and my top 3: Mike Jankovsky (Artworks) - the best in the business in closed-mouth leopard taxidermy; Daniel Meng - the best in the business in full-snarl leopard taxidermy; Phil Soucy - excellent all around big cat man.

 

[JHT]

Mike Jankovsky (Artworks)

Daniel Meng - This is an actual client piece that just happened to win the World Championship

Phil Soucy

 

[SETH RINGER]

+1 CONROE TAXIDERMY

 

[Huntforever]

Is Daniel Meg still doing taxidermy? Inhesrd he might have stepped away. If he still doing mounts where is he working?

 

[JHT]

Is Daniel Meg still doing taxidermy? Inhesrd he might have stepped away. If he still doing mounts where is he working?

He is definitely still doing taxidermy. He has gone out on his own and is no longer with Dakota.

 

[K-man]

Check out Ben Cromeens (spelling) at tri-state in Houston. Gizmo on here may pick up/deliver to you as well.

Here is Ben’s work on my leopard. Probably not the best picture but you can tell quality at a glance.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

Phil Soucy did mine.

HH

 

[RR 314]

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Here is Ben’s work on my leopard. Probably not the best picture but you can tell quality at a glance.

Man, that is beautiful.

 

[RR 314]

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Phil Soucy did mine.

HH

Awesome mount. I would wear a neck roll and a catcher’s mask to walk around that thing. Well done!

 

[Anbessa Gedai]

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Phil Soucy did mine.

HH

"HH",
I recognize your mount immediately. An absolutely AMAZING mount!
Worthy of even more photos I say . . . here are three photos I took of your mount at the 2019 SCI Convention . . .

 

[Hunting Hitman]

"HH",
I recognize your mount immediately. An absolutely AMAZING mount!
Worthy of even more photos I say . . . here are three photos I took of your mount at the 2019 SCI Convention . . .


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Thanks Anbessa,
Phil told me quite a few people stopped by and liked the mount. I appreciate you posting some of the show pics.

HH

 

[Anbessa Gedai]

I have a leopard hunt planned for this July and looking for a taxidermist that goods really good leopard mounts. I would appreciate the help.

"HF",
As I said in my post #15 above, my father was a taxidermist, so I've always been very particular about any mounts for myself and have always found taxidermy in general a fascinating subject. I have trophies of my own mounted over the years by . . . lemme think . . . seven different taxidermists. A few I feel are absolutely spectacular mounts, many I consider "good" and acceptable mounts, and a few that are very disappointing indeed! Contributors to this thread have posted photos of numerous excellent mounts and suggested that you are wise to do the research before you decide on which taxidermist you select. With that philosophy in mind, I post below three photos I took in 2016 of a mount done by "Nyati Wildlife Art" taxidermy in Windhoek, Namibia. It was proudly displayed in their foyer with red ribbon attached as an example of their work.

 

[JHT]

@Anbessa Gedai, I'm quite certain I understand the point of your above post, but before I insert my foot into my mouth, might I ask what is it about the above mount that speaks to you?

 

[Anbessa Gedai]

@Anbessa Gedai, I'm quite certain I understand the point of your above post, but before I insert my foot into my mouth, might I ask what is it about the above mount that speaks to you?

"JHT",

Well, among other things . . . I find the placement of the feet uhh . . utterly AMAZING!

 

[Altitude sickness]

Using a cell phone picture that close to an animals face. Make it look like cartoonish. Best to take it from a distance

 

[TXhunter65]

My , and that's all its worth. Any cat mount lives and dies in the eyes. This post has been extremely helpful in choosing who will mount my leopard. If the expression in the eye's doesn't match what the rest of the face is saying the mount just looks off. There are other factors to consider looking at a cat mount, but a cat’s face must be the hardest skill in taxidermy to master.

 

[EarlT]

I have a leopard hunt planned for this July and looking for a taxidermist that goods really good leopard mounts. I would appreciate the help.

My suggestion is let the Africans do it. They do it all the time

 

[RR 314]

My suggestion is let the Africans do it. They do it all the time

Just because someone does something often, doesn’t mean they are skilled at the task. So many examples, so little time .

I have no doubt there are some skilled taxidermists (Splitting Image etc.), but I would have huge reservations having a leopard done with anyone other than those mentioned in this thread.