Mounting a Life Size Leopard

Here's what Garry has to say about this project. 

This leopard was collected in Namibia by a client. It was a very large cat, it was not weighed but it was one of the largest cats I've ever worked on. It was bigger than a 165 lb leopard I did a few years ago. I had to alter the largest leopard form I could get, to make it bigger and to fit the artificial tree branch it would be perched on. 

The leopard form was purchased from Research Mannikins Taxidermy Supply in Oregon. This form was sculpted by Bill Lancaster, who does great cats. 

Form before alterations

Fitting the form to the artificial branch. 

The branch was purchased from McKenzieTaxidermy Supply

Form before hip alteration.

I had to cut the form in half to alter the angle of the hips. 

Mounting a Lion-Pedestal Shoulder Mount

Finished Mount

Originally the client wanted this lion to be a life-sized mount. It was collected in Tanzania. After over a year of waiting to have the skin shipped from Tanzania, when it arrived from the tannery, there was a lot of damage to the skin. It's not possible to say where the damage took place. Therefore, we decided to do a pedestal shoulder mount.  

The photos below show the process of creating the mount. 

Artificial jaws are fitted to the manikin.

Jaws reattached and ready to mount.