The future of taxidermy could get a lot cuddlier.
Chandra Ahlquist, owner of Sterling Fox Taxidermy in Loveland, Colorado, is bringing her latest projects to The Oddities and Curiosities Expo in Denver: The enormous "Mishka" and "Jefferson Starship," which she's selling as "the most realistic teddy bear you've ever seen."
They are taxidermized mounts of a gray wolf and a black bear, but distinctly different from anything on a hunter's wall or in a museum display. These mounts were created to be "the ultimate couch companions."
They're as posable and huggable as a plush toy but made from real predator pelts.
It’s a fresh take on the stuffed-animal concept, called soft-body taxidermy.
For hunters, soft-mount taxidermy is a different way to display and enjoy their harvests. For oddity enthusiasts, it’s a unique conversation starter.
“It’s a different style of taxidermy than what people think of as traditional taxidermy,” Ahlquist told Cowboy State Daily. “There’s a bit more technique than just stuffing an animal, but they’re literally stuffed with polyfill.”
Floppy Style
Traditional taxidermy involves stretching an animal’s pelt over a hard, pre-shaped form, usually foam. The mount is permanently set in one pose.
Soft mount taxidermy is the technical term for a handful of techniques that stretch a soft-tanned pelt and mount it on a flexible armature.
Ahlquist offers three types of soft mount taxidermy. Each is slightly different, depending on what the customer wants from the mount.
“We offer fully posable mounts, which have a full armature but because they're made in an articulated manner, you can move the legs and pose them all around,” she said. “Then there’s semi-posable, which has an armature in the legs and neck so the mount can basically sit and lie in positions with the head up.”
Then there’s soft-body mount, which Ahlquist called “the floppy style.”
A hand-wrapped armature is placed in each individual leg. When the pelt is sewn over those armatures, the rest of the body is filled with soft padding.
“They're tanned with the same process that fur coats and other garments are tanned,” she said. “It’s like a fur coat that you’d wear, except that it’s flexible. You can interact with it.
The result of soft-body taxidermy is a literal stuffed animal, made from the pelt of a once-living animal.
For Ahlquist, it’s a different way for people to enjoy and appreciate taxidermy up close.
“I feel like everyone has always wanted to pet taxidermy, and we're always told you can’t touch,” she said. “I want to create something that someone can really enjoy. '
"They can sit on the couch and pet their stuffed wolf or even have it sitting on a bookshelf where they can admire and appreciate it. That’s what I wanted to create with these.”
Cuddly Community
Ahlquist isn’t the first person to build a business around soft-mount taxidermy. She’s just meeting the growing demand for these unique creations.
She plans to meet many supporters and customers at The Oddities and Curiosities Expo. That’s her primary client base.
“A lot of people in the oddities and collectors’ sphere have never hunted, so they're not really in that realm,” she said. “They love the idea of having something that is handmade from something collected from nature.”
However, hunters are becoming increasingly curious about soft-mount taxidermy, too. Ahlquist is getting more pelts from hunters who want a more novel way to display their bigger trophies.
“I’ll occasionally get a coyote, bear, or wolf that a hunter wants for their personal collection,” she said. “They want something that’s a little different than the average taxidermized mount.”
The allure for hardcore and curiosity hunters is similar. Soft-mount taxidermy offers utility and flexibility that traditional taxidermy lacks.
“Most traditional taxidermy is very rigid,” she said. “You have a scene that’s set, and that’s what it is. I love the idea of having something that you can set in nature, repose, and admire from different angles.”
Size And Softness Matter
Not every animal is well-suited for soft mount taxidermy, especially a soft-body mount like Mishka.
Ahlquist said certain animals are better for soft-body mounts than others. She doesn’t think it’d be the best option for deer, pronghorn, or elk because they aren’t as cuddly.
“Something that has longer fur is going to make a better mount,” she said. “We don’t typically make soft mounts for short-furred animals. You could, but the anatomy gets a little bit wonky.”
Size is also an important consideration. Gray wolves and black bears are the biggest Ahlquist has made with soft-body mounts, and she can’t fathom doing anything much bigger.
“The larger the armature gets, the larger the gauge of wire you have to use, and then the less posable it is in order for it to sustain its own weight,” she said. “It’s a Catch-22: You can make it bigger, but then you can't really pose it.”
What was the biggest animal that could make a suitable soft-body mount?
“You could probably make one for a grizzly,” Ahlquist said. “Maybe.”
Ultimate Couch Companions
Ahlquist will have Mishka, Jefferson Starship, and 20 other soft mounts available for purchase at The Oddities and Curiosities Expo.
So far, most of Ahlquist’s clients have been private individuals, but she’s fielded interest from other organizations looking to find new ways to engage with people.
“A wildlife organization in Minnesota asked about having something made for educational purposes, that they could bring and show to people,” she said. “I haven’t gotten any calls from big places like museums, so most of the market is oddity collectors.”
Many people find Ahlquist’s soft-body taxidermy morbidly gauche, which is why she’s completely transparent about her work and pelt sourcing for her mounts.
The gray wolf pelt Ahlquist used for Mishka came from a wolf legally hunted in Canada for population-control efforts.
“I have a supplier that I work with who imports legally hunted wolves from Canada, and that was one of the ones in a batch that I recently bought from this supplier,” she said.
Traditional taxidermists have clients seek them out at their studios or websites. Ahlquist finds a lot of her clients through conventions and Sterling Fox Taxidermy’s Etsy page, which says something about how her work is perceived.
“People want a handmade art piece that is 100% unique,” she said. “You don't get more unique than having an animal that was one of a kind as the ultimate couch companion.”
Contact Andrew Rossi at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
