Hide Quality

[Hunter67]

I went on my first safari in 2022 and had a great hunt. I just recently got my trophies home. I have a ton of great memories and took 9 animals. My warthog I had done as a Euro and zebra as a rug in SA. Both exceeded expectations. The rest I had dipped and packed to mount here in the US. The dip and pack took longer than was promised but the communication was solid throughout the process. The taxidermist here did an amazing job. He came highly recommended and he did not disappoint. I was truly happy with the outfitter, the taxidermist in South Africa and the US taxidermist. However, the hides of my eland and kudu had significant hair slippage. My Nyala did to a lesser degree. The bushbuck, blue wildebeest, red hardebeest and waterbuck arrived in excellent shape. I am still happy with my mounts but wonder how this can be avoided in the future. Are these animals prone to hair slippage? If this happened at home, I would blame myself for not caring for the hide prior to getting it to the taxidermist. So would this be on the PH and his crew? Or is this just to be expected when getting animals back from Africa? Thanks.

 

[K-man]

First, welcome to the site.
When you have hide slippage, there can be several factors. Hollow hair, like the waterbuck will slip very quickly and great care must be taken when getting to the skinning shed and cooled down. The quality of the skinning (how much flesh is left when skinned, etc) also affects the final quality. Also, the freshness of the salt as it needs to pull the moisture out of the hide. Old salt doesn't work well.
When it comes to tracking down the real reason, you will get a LOT of finger pointing to the person before them as to the condition of the hides. Most taxidermists are really talented at hiding bare spots, mounting it away from view, and even painting back the color.
My Eastern Cape Kudu had so much hair loss due to his age the outfitter graciously offered a replacement cape.

 

[Mekaniks]

I went on my first safari in 2022 and had a great hunt. I just recently got my trophies home. I have a ton of great memories and took 9 animals. My warthog I had done as a Euro and zebra as a rug in SA. Both exceeded expectations. The rest I had dipped and packed to mount here in the US. The dip and pack took longer than was promised but the communication was solid throughout the process. The taxidermist here did an amazing job. He came highly recommended and he did not disappoint. I was truly happy with the outfitter, the taxidermist in South Africa and the US taxidermist. However, the hides of my eland and kudu had significant hair slippage. My Nyala did to a lesser degree. The bushbuck, blue wildebeest, red hardebeest and waterbuck arrived in excellent shape. I am still happy with my mounts but wonder how this can be avoided in the future. Are these animals prone to hair slippage? If this happened at home, I would blame myself for not caring for the hide prior to getting it to the taxidermist. So would this be on the PH and his crew? Or is this just to be expected when getting animals back from Africa? Thanks.

to AH

Hide care starts with the outfitter....

 

[Rare Breed]

Just me, this is why I get all my taxi done in Africa,ALL. The reason is slippage cannot be hidden by the very reputable Taxis I have used in Africa versus dip and pack that might be a problem when they get to US. Many people say you can’t do anything if a problem exists after taxi done in Africa which is simply not true if using a reputable taxi like Bullseye or Collette. These people rely on their reputations and cannot afford a bad post. I will never use dip and pack for that reason not to mention the almost twice the time to finally get your taxi due to dip and pack then normal US taxi time, no thanks. Just me

 

[Rare Breed]

Just me, this is why I get all my taxi done in Africa,ALL. The reason is slippage cannot be hidden by the very reputable Taxis I have used in Africa versus dip and pack that might be a problem when they get to US. Many people say you can’t do anything if a problem exists after taxi done in Africa which is simply not true if using a reputable taxi like Bullseye or Collette. These people rely on their reputations and cannot afford a bad post. I will never use dip and pack for that reason not to mention the almost twice the time to finally get your taxi due to dip and pack then normal US taxi time, no thanks. Just me

Here are all my Africa taxi…not disappointed in a single one and getting them all back within 9 months versus if I had used dip and pack…no thanks

 

[Scott CWO]

Old reused salt usually and I don’t know what it is about some outfitters being so cheap. Salt isn’t exactly the most expensive commodity in the world. Also, most use rock salt which isn’t the best and granules too big.

 

[JimP]

Then there is the release from liability that even taxidermist here in the US have you sign even for a animal that you shot in your backyard that says they are not liable for such things as hair slippage.

There are way too many variables on which way to point the finger.

 

[Hunter67]

Thanks for all the responses. Sounds like this likely started with the outfitter, which was my thought as well. I am not looking to point any fingers. Trying to learn so I can be proactive on my next trip.

For those of you who suggested I have the taxidermy done in Africa, I am assuming that because they are in Africa, if they get a hide in poor condition, they have access to replacement hides? And just an overall familiarity with the animals.

My taxidermist did an excellent job hiding what he could and did amazing things by painting the areas with no hair. Friends and family will likely not notice it, but I do. It doesn’t diminish the memories but I want better moving forward.

Thanks again for your responses.

 

[Rare Breed]

Your right easy for a reputable Africa taxi to get a replacement anything. Using a US taxi good luck with their ability to get a replacement hide

 

[3chunter]

Just me, this is why I get all my taxi done in Africa,ALL. The reason is slippage cannot be hidden by the very reputable Taxis I have used in Africa versus dip and pack that might be a problem when they get to US. Many people say you can’t do anything if a problem exists after taxi done in Africa which is simply not true if using a reputable taxi like Bullseye or Collette. These people rely on their reputations and cannot afford a bad post. I will never use dip and pack for that reason not to mention the almost twice the time to finally get your taxi due to dip and pack then normal US taxi time, no thanks. Just me

I was in Namibia august 2024. My taxidermy in the USA already has mounted three of my animals I took on that trip. Awaiting custom forms for the rest. That’s 10 months.
With that being said my kudu hide from 2022 trip started rough and ended rough. So did my Impala hide and both were dipped and packed but were here and being mounted within 1 year.

 

[JimP]

I was in Namibia august 2024. My taxidermy in the USA already has mounted three of my animals I took on that trip. Awaiting custom forms for the rest. That’s 10 months.
With that being said my kudu hide from 2022 trip started rough and ended rough. So did my Impala hide and both were dipped and packed but were here and being mounted within 1 year.

You're lucky. Even if my taxidermist here in the US got the hides within 6 months and the tannery got them back to him a month later he is still 15-24 months out. So at a minimum I'd be waiting 2 1/2 years before something was hanging on my wall.

 

[buck wild]

OP, as you alluded to, all 3 of the animals you mentioned are notorious for hair slippage. Most are not as hairy as you probably remembered them anyway. During the tanning process, most of the "slip" actually comes from the top layer of epidermis, which contains the color pigment of the hide; thus, you end up with the very noticeable bare spots. But likely a ton of hair didn't slip, but the flaking outer layer did. And yes, these are the areas that are painted with various mediums to try and replace the lost epidermis color. On Kudus, often the front neck mane will slip. There's a very thick area, almost cartilage-like in that spot of the hide, and either not thinning it enough during salting or thinning too much during hide prep for mount can result in additional hair loss here.

IMO, and maybe as a US taxidermy, I'm biased but I try to stay neutral, either an African taxi or taxi in any other country will have the same issue. Nothing about an African taxi is going to stop that from happening to them either.

I'm a little surprised to hear your bushbuck didn't have issues. They are in that top category for slippage but again, it's usually the colored layer along their necks that is basically hairless to begin with.

 

[samson7x]

I’m not a taxidermist but have tanned hides. It’s very important to get them skinned, cooled, and salted as quickly as possible. Temperatures in Africa make this even more difficult as bacteria can grow very rapidly in hotter climates.

 

[Philip Glass]

Just me, this is why I get all my taxi done in Africa,ALL. The reason is slippage cannot be hidden by the very reputable Taxis I have used in Africa versus dip and pack that might be a problem when they get to US. Many people say you can’t do anything if a problem exists after taxi done in Africa which is simply not true if using a reputable taxi like Bullseye or Collette. These people rely on their reputations and cannot afford a bad post. I will never use dip and pack for that reason not to mention the almost twice the time to finally get your taxi due to dip and pack then normal US taxi time, no thanks. Just me

And then there is no pointing the finger between the African outfitter/taxidermist and the US taxidermist on whose fault it is for the hair slippage. Been there!

 

[Philip Glass]

I believe this is primarily the skinners fault. The hides must be fleshed and salted very well and very quickly.