Bringing the Wild `Back to Life`

Bringing the Wild ‘Back to Life’
Longtime hunter creates permanent lifelike
representations of mammals, birds and fish
J
By Lori Russell
osh Petroff remembers the day
13 years ago when his guidance
counselor asked him about his
career plans.
The then-high school senior
responded with one word: taxidermy.
The choice seemed obvious.
“I grew up out on Fifteen Mile,
and I’ve been hunting as long as I
can remember,” Josh says.
4 APRIL 2008 Northern Wasco PUD
real education,” says
Josh, whose specimens
included not only
mammals, but birds and
Josh’s interest in
fish. “I had a lot of handscreating permanent
on experience doing it
lifelike representations
every day for a year.”
of wildlife took him first
Upon returning to The
to Missoula, Montana,
Dalles, Josh continued
where he attended trade
improving his skills, while
school, and later to
working full time on his
Portland, where he gained
family’s farm.
Josh Petroff
knowledge and skill
Last fall, he decided
working with renowned taxidermist
to return to taxidermy full time and
Rick Leach at Trophy Taxidermy.
opened Timbersports Taxidermy.
“Working with Rick was my
Much of Josh’s business comes
from local hunters.
“A lot of people want an animal
mounted for sentimental reasons or
because they like the way it looks,”
he says.
Most frequently, customers who
bring in elk, deer and antelope
request a traditional head or antler
mount. Josh says European-style
mounts featuring natural antlers
and a bleached skull are becoming
popular, too.
Examples of Josh’s completed
work line the walls of his shop:
a life-sized turkey with wings
outstretched; mallards in flight;
and head mounts of deer, elk and
antelope. A cougar rug—its amber
eyes wide and teeth bared—rests on
a table awaiting pick up by its owner.
“Receiving was crazy from
September through November
during deer and elk season,” says
Josh, who tags and catalogs each
specimen as it arrives.
After a hide is skinned and
fleshed, he covers it with feeder
salt to remove any moisture and to
preserve it before sending it to a
tanner in Montana or California.
Josh says he is meticulous in
his initial preparation of a hide—a
process that can take from a half-day
for a deer to a full day for a cougar.
“Some people might think that’s
a long time,” he says, “but the time
put in upfront makes things go
much easier later.”
When the hide returns from the
tanner up to six months later, the
real work begins.
The art of taxidermy has evolved
dramatically since the 1800s, when
hunting trophies were created by
stuffing animal skins with rags and
cotton. Today’s taxidermists must
be proficient in carpentry, molding
and casting techniques, as well as
sculpting, drawing and painting skills.
Prior to development of
commercially made mannequins,
taxidermists created each form
individually, incorporating the
natural skull with wood and fillers,
then adding muscle and vein detail
sculpted from clay or papier mache.
As materials and techniques have
improved, so has the quality of the
mounts. Wildlife experts now sculpt
lifelike models of various species and
mass produce urethane mannequins
from those models for use by
taxidermists around the world. The
lightweight forms incorporate the
anatomy of the muscles and veins,
come in different poses and can be
customized, as needed.
The only natural parts of the
animal used in a modern game head
mount are the skin, or “cape,” and
the antlers.
“It is like building a model,” says
Josh.
He begins each project by
selecting a mannequin that
matches the size and anatomical
characteristics of the specimen.
Because of slight variations
in the anatomy, each species
requires different mannequins.
Even within a species, there are a
variety of regional differences and
characteristics.
When making a deer head mount,
Josh first positions the natural
antlers on the mannequin and
attaches them with screws. After the
glass eyes are secured with glue, he
stretches the hide over the form,
positions and glues it in place, and
sews the incision closed.
After a few weeks—when the
mount is completely dry—the
finishing process can begin.
Josh applies putty around eyes
to fill in the shrunken tissues and
uses an airbrush to restore natural
color. He uses a paint brush for finer
details, like texturizing a nose, or to
Josh Petroff of The Dalles has worked
as a taxidermist for more than a decade.
Top, a rug Josh made for a customer from
a 170-pound cougar. Above, a turkey
mount. Opposite page, Josh puts the
finishing touches on a mule deer mount.
add a few drops of clear varnish to
whiskers on an animal’s muzzle to
simulate dew.
“I have a lot of tools at my
disposal that we didn’t have in the
past,” says Josh.
He considers each project
another opportunity to improve
his techniques and ensure quality
lifelike results.
“If I’m not getting better year
after year, I’m doing something
wrong,” he says. n
Josh can be reached at (541) 288-6786.
Timbersports Taxidermy is located at
2718 East 2nd St.
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