Taxidermy refers to arranging the preserved skin of an animal on a form to make it look alive again, only the skin is original to the specimen, everything else is made or sculpted.
How Much Does Taxidermy Cost In South Africa
| SPECIES | SHOULDER MOUNT | FULL MOUNT | SKULL MOUNT | SKIN TAN | SKIN FELT |
| Baboon | R7 245 | R11 760 | R1 575* | R1 150 | R550 |
| Blesbok | R6 460 | R17 640 | R1 470 | R670 | R525 |
| Buffalo | R15 250 | R68 040 | R3 360 | R150 / sq ft average 45 sq ft | R1 365 |
| Bushbuck | R6 615 | R17 640 | R1 470 | R650 | R420 |
| Bushpig/Wild Boar | R7 490 | R17 600 | R2 210* | R1 300 Leather | R525 |
| Caracal | R5 545 | R9 660 | R1 365 | R700 | R400 |
| Crocodile/Leguaan | POA | R80/cm min R4 000 | R80/cm min R1 400 | Leather – POA | POA |
| Duiker | R5 545 | R11 000 | R1 160 | R550 | R400 |
| Eland/Cattle | R13 860 | R69 040 | R2 660 | R2 680 | R1 260 |
| Elephant | R109 500 | POA | R11 400 | R175 / sq ft | – |
What animals are illegal to taxidermy?
Migratory birds pose the biggest legal challenge for taxidermists.
They need a federal permit to mount all migratory birds that belonged to other people.
There’s a law that prohibits people from possessing migratory birds without a permit, and that includes both dead and live birds.
Can I taxidermy a human?
As far as I know, it is illegal to taxidermy or mounts a human being in South Africa.
Human skin discolors greatly after the preservation process and stretches a lot more than animal skin.
This would mean that the maker would have to be very skilled in creating an exact body replica and painting and touching up the skin tone.
Can you taxidermy a dead dog?
Most taxidermists can’t, or won’t, handle pets because of the pressure to get it right and the lack of pre-made forms for each kind of animal. (A deer just has to look like a deer. Your dog has to look exactly like your dog.)
With only the eyes and organs are removed, your dog is returned more or less intact.
Is taxidermy hard to learn?
As for taxidermy, it tickles me how many think it’s some kind of voodoo artistic skill. It really isn’t that difficult if you take your time and have a good eye for detail.
Caping, turning, and fleshing the hide is the most tedious part, especially fleshing.
Are taxidermy real animals?
Taxidermy, or ‘stuffed’ animals, are specimens that have been specially prepared, preserved, and posed to show what the creature may have looked like in life, but real and not real here is tricky.
The animal itself is, or was a real animal – there are no taxidermy unicorns, for example.
What do taxidermists stuffed animals with?
After the animal is skinned, fat is methodically scraped off the underside of the hide. The underside of the hide is then rubbed with borax or cedar dust to help it dry faster. The animal is then stuffed with cotton and sewn up. Mammals are laid flat on their belly.