Everyone has some sort of hobby or activity that they love to do. For my Dad, it’s woodworking. For my Mom, it’s making cards. Me, I get all tingly with excitement playing with dead things. I get a thrill when I come across the skeleton of an animal in the woods and star in my own episode of “CSI: Philadelphia” to figure out what the animal is and maybe even how it might have died. At Briar Bush, I lovingly tend to a colony of dermestid beetles, a native species of beetle that can take a dead animal and clean it down to the bone in less than a week. I have also taken on a new hobby of study skin preparation.
Study skins are a kind of taxidermy, but instead of stuffing an animal and then arranging it into a life-like pose, the animal is laid flat, in order to be stored and displayed inside of a drawer. Biologists and other scientists use study skins to study anatomical features of a species when a life specimen is not available. At Briar Bush, these study skins will not only be used for display, but will provide an up-close and hands-on experience for visitors, something that the “Please do not touch” full taxidermy specimens cannot provide. The process of preparing a study skin can be meticulous and difficult, but it is always fun and educational! The animals that I prepare are ones that were found dead and were donated to Briar Bush by visitors, volunteers or staff members, who know that we possess all the required permits to keep these animals. If you come across a dead (but not decomposing) animal that you would like to donate to Briar Bush, be sure to let me know…you just may see it on display or in a program some day!
Have a question or a story of your own to share? Email me at kfisk[at symbol]briarbush.org!
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