African Taxidermy Pictures

[AfricaHunting.com]

African Taxidermy Pictures

Something that I always enjoy looking at while at the SCI convention is the taxidermy work and of course particularly the taxidermy of African species... there are incredible and very intricate scenes of all types, the quality of the taxidermy is so impressive throughout the convention floor. It brings to the imagination that there is indefinite possibilities...

Here are African taxidermy pictures from the SCI convention, enjoy!

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

African Taxidermy

African Taxidermy

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

African Taxidermy

African Taxidermy

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

African Taxidermy

African Taxidermy

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

African Taxidermy

African Taxidermy

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

African Taxidermy

African Taxidermy

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

African Taxidermy

African Taxidermy

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

African Taxidermy

African Taxidermy

 

[Bushbuck]

Beautiful work, do you happen to have a shot of the back side of the elephant pedestal mount?

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Beautiful work, do you happen to have a shot of the back side of the elephant pedestal mount?

Bushbuck, I am afraid that all I have...

 

[Bushbuck]

Thanks Jerome, thats the shot that made me think that must be a cool painting on back there.

 

[bwanawannabe]

Great post Jerome! That's quite an assortment of fantastic mounts. Are black/melanistic leopards legal to shoot? Or would that be from a cat breeder?

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Great post Jerome! That's quite an assortment of fantastic mounts. Are black/melanistic leopards legal to shoot? Or would that be from a cat breeder?

I did not ask but the mount is either from a captive Black Leopard (also known as Black Panther) or it is an old mount in extremely good condition and well preserved. I am no expert in taxidermy, but after taking a closer look at the pictures it looks as if the eyes of the Leopard are not of the same detailed quality as the eyes you will find on a newer Leopard mount, so it may well be an older mount... The whiskers also appear to be more thick, not as natural looking and made of a different type of material.

See the difference with the Leopard mounts below...

As far as I know Black Leopards/Panthers which are found in equatorial/tropical Africa are not legal to hunt and if anything I would not think that CITES would grant you an import permit from one of those countries...

The word “Panther” is used generically to mean a large wild cat of unspecified species, it usually applies to black (melanistic) wild cats but can also be used to describe the Jaguar, Cougar or Puma.

The word “melanism” comes from the Greek meaning “dark-colored”. It describes the substantially increased amount of dark pigmentation called melanin (which can be found in fur, skin, feathers and eyes etc.) in an organism and in this case it is the individual hairs that have an increased level of dark pigmentation in them, which masks the usual Leopard pattern. The skin color of a Black Leopard is a mixture of blue, black, gray, and purple, and even Leopards that seem completely black have an extremely faint pattern. It is caused by a genetic mutation, being black may aid survival and accordingly, over time, the number of animals in a species where it occurs may increase.

 

[Frederik]

From the pictures you took Jerome the mount where the lion chases away the vulture is the best the zebra really looks like its been dead for a bit super work there.

 

[bwanawannabe]

Thanks for the info. They are beautiful cats, normal or black. I didn't want to refer to it as a panther cause of the various cats that get lumped together with that name like you stated.

I have done some reading on black jaguars though and the various theories. For the most part it seems that scientists have labelled them a genetic anomaly that could cause any cat to be born black, depending on the parents genetics. The natives, on the otherhand, believe that black jaguars are a different subspecies with slightly different characteristics(i.e. calls, mating habits,bigger, less aquatic). I think Capstick talks about them in one of his books but I can't recall which one.

 

[enysse]

I really liked the serval cat. Would love to have one in my trophy room!

 

[TOM]

Very cool stuff! That is one of the greatest parts about SCI show is all the neat taxidermy!

 

[LordRusty]

In all honesty ... that "Black Leopard" looks more like a reproduction than an actual piece of Taxidermy. This is just my opinion, but after 43 years in Taxidermy there are certain things to look for. One are the whisker roots, which are apparently lacking on this cats face and the apparent random whisker pattern of whiskers that are all darn near the same length! Also missing is the side detail of the nostrils, eyelashes on the eyelids, and a general "coat" of any kind. Even the markings on the hide appear to be much more irregular in shape than one would see on an actual Leopard, of any color. There are none of the longer, fluffy fur areas seen on an actual Leopards underside. In point of fact, the "fur" is a little too uniform over the entire animal. It almost looks 'flocked.' Overall I have to say this is a reproduction. Now, don't get me wrong ... it appears to be very well done, but there is something about a reproduction that just cannot compete with the real thing. Well done though it may be ... it looks fake.

This is an actual male Black Leopard - on the left - and an actual mounted female Black Leopard.

This is, of course, all speculative from just one image, but that is my assertion.

Thanks, Jerome, for the great photographic tour!

John.

 

[enysse]

I would have to agree with you John. Your pictures look a lot more realistic! I got to see one at a zoo many years ago...and your pictures bring the memory back to life!

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

It makes sense John. Thanks for enlightening us on this, interesting!