Taxidermy Humor

Sometimes we turn to humor during times of chaos. This natural coping mechanism--one which I've relied on heavily since earlier this spring--sent me down a rabbit hole on a particularly stressful day this week. After that long evening of scrolling through photos of distorted foxes, horrendous monkey faces, and other terrible taxidermy, I thought back to some oddball taxidermy work in our own collection. 

A little known fact in the museum community is that we all have at least one cherished piece of "terrible taxidermy." Now, I would never dare to describe specimens in our own collection as "terrible," but, between you and me, some honestly are a bit goofy. The following are few of my favorite examples of specimens that occasionally require me to stifle laughter as I walk by. 

1. Squirrels with Walnuts
We took an expedient approach when finishing off most of our in-house work on squirrel mounts. Notice that no matter their size or personal preference, each squirrel poses with a full walnut (which both red and gray squirrels do eat--although usually not straight from a bag). 

2. American Woodcock

Evolution shaped American Woodcocks into strange little birds. A long beak allows them to probe deep into soil for earthworms, and eyes arranged far back on the skull help them to remain alert while doing so. However haphazard this specimen's anatomy may appear, it's actual quite accurate and well crafted.

3. Bill of a Crossbill

This nerve wracking taxidermy job was completed during our annual training week with summer interns. As we began work on this particular bird, it quickly became apparent that body had sat in our salvage freezer long enough to suffer from freezer burn. Skin tore, feathers fell, and our excellent interns made the best out of a tough situation. However in addition to some damaged skin, a less than perfect beak (injury from a car collision) is also rather noticeable. 

4. Groundhog

Disapproving? Smug? I'm not exactly sure what emotion I should imagine this groundhog is feeling. Odd expressions like this are usually the result of skin drying improperly over a a taxidermy form. 

5. Plains Pocket Gopher

I don't mean to direct the majority of my critique towards the rodents of our collection, but I couldn't leave this example out of the list. Their cheek pouches are externally located in a manner that's quite laughable. These are used to carry food as the gopher forages.