PEOPLE & 



PLACES 



As the demand 

 for tanned skins 

 increased, the 

 methods became 

 more and more 

 sophisticated. By the 

 1700s, almost every 

 town had a prosper- 

 ous tannery business. 

 In the 1800s, hunters 

 began bringing their 

 game to upholstery 

 shops where workers 

 would sew up the 

 animals and stuff 

 them with rags and 

 cotton. "This practice 

 produced some 

 terrible-looking 

 mounts and gave 



taxidermy a bad reputation which still 

 haunts the industry to this day," according 

 to the Taxidermy Net Web site. 



In the 20th century, taxidermy 

 developed into a full-fledged form of 

 wildlife art. 



As taxidermy has become more 

 sophisticated, the demand for mounting has 

 increased. 



"It is not a dying art," says Ralph 

 Garland, a former taxidermy instructor at 

 Piedmont Community College. "There are 

 more taxidermists than there were 10 years 

 ago." 



In North Carolina, there are about 800 

 licensed taxidermists, according to Tommy 

 Hall, president of the North Carolina 

 Taxidermist Association. 



These taxidermists are using improved 

 products and techniques. 



"In the last 10 years, taxidermy has 

 changed a lot," says Garland. "There are 

 more products available that counter 

 shrinkage. Now, you can use injectable 

 fluid to stop the shrinkage in squirrels' 

 toes." 



Garland says that manufacturers also 

 are designing artificial animal parts that are 

 more anatomically correct, including duck 



Dave Gossett prefers to highlight a bird's most appealing feature. 



bills, feet and legs. 



By using an artificial duck's bill, a 

 taxidermist prevents shrinkage and makes 

 the finished product look better, he says. 



WATERFOWL TAXIDERMIST 



In Washington, Dave Gossett has 

 become an expert at mounting birds. 



On a recent day, a hunter had brought 

 Gossett a white swan with a six-foot wing 

 spread. The swan was lying on a counter, 

 waiting to be placed in a freezer. 



"I am working on at least 15 or 20 

 birds in various stages," says Gossett. "All 

 have names, tags and labels." 



Gossett' s mounts sell for $100 to 

 $800. "Birds in special habitats can run 

 even higher," he says. 



While standing near a table, Gossett 

 uses a small needle to preen the feathers of 

 a flying pheasant that has a "wood wool" 

 body, made from wood shavings. After the 

 bird dries, he will use an airbrush to color 

 its bill and feet a bright yellow. 



"Taxidermy takes a lot of patience and 

 knowledge of individual species," says 

 Gossett. "If you don't know about a bird's 

 anatomy, there is no way you can do a 

 good job." 



Gossett first 

 took a fancy to 

 birds while hunting 

 in North Carolina's 

 backwoods. "When 

 I first started 

 waterfowl hunting, 

 I thought the birds 

 were so pretty that I 

 hated to pull out the 

 feathers and eat the 

 bird," he says. 



He takes as 

 much pride in 

 designing realistic 

 habitats as 

 mounting birds. 

 One of his favorite 

 settings is a black 

 duck sitting on a 

 piece of driftwood in a frozen pond. 



"I like to do habitats because it is a 

 break from the routine work," he says. 

 "People like habitats because it brings the 

 outdoors into your home." 



Across the room, a blue goose sits in 

 a cornfield. The goose's bill is positioned 

 like it is eating a piece of corn. 



"One of the hardest parts of taxidermy 

 is positioning the bird in its natural pose," 

 says Gossett. 



Over the years, Gossett also mounted 

 a variety of game birds for state parks, 

 federal agencies and hunters — from wood 

 ducks to ringneck pheasants. 



He also has reproduced endangered 

 species, including hawks and owls. 



"I only mount endangered species for 

 parks and agencies," says Gossett. "The 

 most unique was a bald eagle that was 

 electrocuted in Nevada." He mounted it for 

 the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 



Gossett takes great pride in each bird 

 that he reconstructs. 



"All birds are mounted to show the 

 pretty part," he says. "I like to show off my 

 birds as best as I can. The male wood duck 

 is not pretty underneath. So I mount it to 

 show the pretty feathers on the back." □ 



22 SUMMER 2001 



