Buffalo boss pre and post taxidermy

[analog_peninsula]

Here are pictures of my buff pre and post taxi. I’m puzzled by the difference in the boss gap between the two pictures. Is this a common thing?

Before

After

 

[Tim Blackwell]

It's common enough. Some of that semi-hard material between the bosses comes away with boiling, there's also some shrinkage as the horn dries.
Taxidermist fills the gap with epoxy then paints to suit.

 

[One Day...]

Yes, it is normal.
It happens when young Buffalo with "soft" boss are collected prematurity.
A classic sign of prematurity on a live Buff is sharp tipped horns, they tend to be broomed off on mature bulls.

 

[BeeMaa]

It looks like the taxidermist rotated the horns outward a bit too much to give more droop to the overall profile. This may have been done for a number of reasons, but you would need to ask them for exactly why. Any comment on my part would be pure speculation. If you want a TRUE representation of what you had, it's best to provide them with pictures of the animal from the day of the harvest.

It's evident from the hair between the bosses and condition of the tips that this was a young bull.

 

[UKHunter]

Your bull looks like it was young and had soft bosses - the soft tissue comes away in the skull cleaning process.

 

[375Fox]

The boss on that buffalo is still soft. It got boiled away and cleaned. You can see the hair and spongy appearance near the gap in your trophy photo. You need to provide photos to taxidermist so they can build it up like original.
Even with older fully hard bossed bulls you should take pictures of face, boss, any scars so they can paint it and recreate it exactly as you got it.

You can trace out the spongy soft line on the bosses. It lines up to your taxidermy mount. The bosses are only clear indication of age using the horns. Sharp or worn horn tips can be an indicator but it’s more dependent on individual buffalo and the area. If you can find a copy “Africa’s most dangerous” by Kevin Robertson goes into very good detail about aging buffalo.

 

[analog_peninsula]

Thanks for the info. It’s greatly appreciated.

 

[DieJager]

If you want a TRUE representation of what you had, it's best to provide them with pictures of the animal from the day of the harvest

This a really a good advice. I've just gotten my first taxidermy delivery and saw that they are my trophies but not quite the same. This is what I said to myself, take pictures and facial measurements and give them to the taxidermist.

This would solved the problem of the OP as well.

 

[grand veneur]

That is not a too old bull, but you can also seen that by older buffalo, not as pronounced. I have several old buffalos that all had a closed boss, but after boiling, a noticeable gap appeared. I only have European mounts, so it does not bother me.

 

[grand veneur]

Before

Thereafter

 

[grand veneur]

In other buffalo subspecies that do not have such a pronounced boss, or even none at all, meaning Nile buffalo or West African buffalo, it is even more extreme.

 

[358 Norma]

Definitely not a soft Boss and still lost some to boiling!

 

[revturbo9967]

Here is what mine looked like after boiling. It lost a little, but not much.

 

[375Fox]

Definitely not a soft Boss and still lost some to boiling!View attachment 736452View attachment 736453View attachment 736454

It’s still a little soft, but a very nice bull. You can see in the photos old bulls by grand veneur and revturbo their bosses separated some during drying but no horn mass was lost. Yours is probably a 7/8 year old bull (if same bull as in your profile photo) where boss is just getting hard and appears hard but some will be lost. My first (and best bull) was similar. You just provide good photos to taxidermy to rebuild. Your taxidermy did a really nice job.

 

[358 Norma]

It’s still a little soft, but a very nice bull. You can see in the photos old bulls by grand veneur and revturbo their bosses separated some during drying but no horn mass was lost. Yours is probably a 7/8 year old bull (if same bull as in your profile photo) where boss is just getting hard and appears hard but some will be lost. My first (and best bull) was similar. You just provide good photos to taxidermy to rebuild. Your taxidermy did a really nice job.

It's the same bull.

 

[roklok]

Begs the question, are all skulls boiled as common practice ? Stateside I do everything possible to avoid boiling skulls, I take them and get beetles to clean them. Is that not done in Africa ? I am about to finally receive my buffalo as a euro skull from 2024, I am hoping it wasn't boiled. It was a hard boss bull but I don't want to lose any of it.

 

[UKHunter]

Begs the question, are all skulls boiled as common practice ? Stateside I do everything possible to avoid boiling skulls, I take them and get beetles to clean them. Is that not done in Africa ? I am about to finally receive my buffalo as a euro skull from 2024, I am hoping it wasn't boiled. It was a hard boss bull but I don't want to lose any of it.

I’ve never heard of any other way coming out of Africa.

 

[Hedge774]

Before
View attachment 736368

Thereafter
View attachment 736370

So, that's what happened to my hairline!!!!

 

[375Fox]

Begs the question, are all skulls boiled as common practice ? Stateside I do everything possible to avoid boiling skulls, I take them and get beetles to clean them. Is that not done in Africa ? I am about to finally receive my buffalo as a euro skull from 2024, I am hoping it wasn't boiled. It was a hard boss bull but I don't want to lose any of it.

They are sometimes rotted instead of boiled, but if it’s still a little soft you’ll lose that portion either way. The increased separation like in the two old bulls posted is from drying.

 

[revturbo9967]

Begs the question, are all skulls boiled as common practice ? Stateside I do everything possible to avoid boiling skulls, I take them and get beetles to clean them. Is that not done in Africa ? I am about to finally receive my buffalo as a euro skull from 2024, I am hoping it wasn't boiled. It was a hard boss bull but I don't want to lose any of it.

It’s really the only way in most areas of Africa. If there were any spots that were soft, it will be lost. A good taxidermist will fix it though.

It’s a great way to confirm an age of a bull.