Major Khan
AH legend
Field Dressing The Royal Bengal Tiger
I do not know if the modern sports man in developed countries does his own field dressing and taxidermy. However , l believe that the following may interest some of my dear readers.
When we used to guide clients for shikar in many of those far off regions of South India , finding a good taxidermist was some times a chore in an of itself . Therefore , all of the professional shikarees working in Allwyn Cooper Limited were taught by our lead shikaree , Mr. Rao Naidu how to carry out basic taxidermy .
Allow me to teach you all some rudimentary taxidermy , in case it is of interest to anyone .
With a pair of scissors, a sharp ( preferably carbon steel ) knife, pliers, salt or alum with ash, one can dabble in some amateur skinning. To those who are interested from an academic perspective, this is how it is done : The first and foremost thing is to measure the animal, as quite often after it has been skinned and stretched, the resulting specimen is often larger than the original, and some shikarees actually prefer it this way . 1stly , with charcoal, spots on the animal must be marked out, after turning it on its back. Starting from the lower lip, all the way to the tail, the next cuts are from the inside of the fore and hind legs, through its pads. Now the skin can be taken off, although around the head, extreme care must be taken. It’s not for the squeamish and many a time I have had friends who vommitted, seeing such a sight .
Carnivora take a longer time to decompose but also give off an offensive odour and hence it is always better to have your nose and mouth covered with a handkerchief. The skin is cleaned to remove blood and then stretched out, with pegs if one has carried them, over a carpet of dried grass, and liberally mixed with ash. There should be extra support under the head and the ears must be turned inside out. It is then treated with an equal amount of salt and ash, to get the moisture out. This has to be repeated multiple times for the next 48 hours, after which it is ready to be mounted by your taxidermist. This is, of course, how my Nana taught me, and he was always passionate for this sort of thing. In south India, there is always moisture in the air, hence parts of the skin, which do not feel the effects of the preservative at the time, will simply decompose taking the hair along with it, leaving unsightly bald patches on the skin. In places where the skin is thick, it must be thinned down with a sharp knife so that the curing agent reaches the roots of the hair and hardens the whole skin.
This is a photograph of the skin of a royal Bengal tiger , field dressed by Kawshik , his late girl friend , Antora , his late professional shikaree partner , Karim Chowdhury and Kawshik's late father , Mr. Rahman ( Senior ) .
Coming up next ... " General Remarks " .
I do not know if the modern sports man in developed countries does his own field dressing and taxidermy. However , l believe that the following may interest some of my dear readers.
When we used to guide clients for shikar in many of those far off regions of South India , finding a good taxidermist was some times a chore in an of itself . Therefore , all of the professional shikarees working in Allwyn Cooper Limited were taught by our lead shikaree , Mr. Rao Naidu how to carry out basic taxidermy .
Allow me to teach you all some rudimentary taxidermy , in case it is of interest to anyone .
With a pair of scissors, a sharp ( preferably carbon steel ) knife, pliers, salt or alum with ash, one can dabble in some amateur skinning. To those who are interested from an academic perspective, this is how it is done : The first and foremost thing is to measure the animal, as quite often after it has been skinned and stretched, the resulting specimen is often larger than the original, and some shikarees actually prefer it this way . 1stly , with charcoal, spots on the animal must be marked out, after turning it on its back. Starting from the lower lip, all the way to the tail, the next cuts are from the inside of the fore and hind legs, through its pads. Now the skin can be taken off, although around the head, extreme care must be taken. It’s not for the squeamish and many a time I have had friends who vommitted, seeing such a sight .
Carnivora take a longer time to decompose but also give off an offensive odour and hence it is always better to have your nose and mouth covered with a handkerchief. The skin is cleaned to remove blood and then stretched out, with pegs if one has carried them, over a carpet of dried grass, and liberally mixed with ash. There should be extra support under the head and the ears must be turned inside out. It is then treated with an equal amount of salt and ash, to get the moisture out. This has to be repeated multiple times for the next 48 hours, after which it is ready to be mounted by your taxidermist. This is, of course, how my Nana taught me, and he was always passionate for this sort of thing. In south India, there is always moisture in the air, hence parts of the skin, which do not feel the effects of the preservative at the time, will simply decompose taking the hair along with it, leaving unsightly bald patches on the skin. In places where the skin is thick, it must be thinned down with a sharp knife so that the curing agent reaches the roots of the hair and hardens the whole skin.
This is a photograph of the skin of a royal Bengal tiger , field dressed by Kawshik , his late girl friend , Antora , his late professional shikaree partner , Karim Chowdhury and Kawshik's late father , Mr. Rahman ( Senior ) .
Coming up next ... " General Remarks " .
They must have been very bored for doing something like that.. 
