Tragic Taxidermy 1

Please, sir, can I have some more?

Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis)

May 2014

I think this was in that "World's Worst Taxidermy" thing that I posted awhile ago.

I am currently about halfway through the book "Kingdom Under Glass" (2010), which is a biography of the famous taxidermist Carl Akeley. The man who helped stuff Jumbo and also create the legendary African Hall at the American Museum of Natural History would be horrified to see a photo such as the one above.

Here's the link to the entertaining and informative book:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Under-Glass-Obsession-Adventure/dp/080509282X/ref=la_B001KIQFDM_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401512950&sr=1-1]Kingdom Under Glass: A Tale of Obsession, Adventure, and One Man's Quest to Preserve the World's Great Animals: Jay Kirk: 9780805092820: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

DavidBrown said:

I think this was in that "World's Worst Taxidermy" thing that I posted awhile ago.

Click to expand...

It was, although by the looks of it several of the other specimens in this museum actually are worse!

My least favourite comment to hear from zoo visitors is their complaining that animals look 'sad'; however, in this case, those complaints would be valid. Giant otters normally appear to have a real joie de vivre; this poor fellow looks like he's just been told that his parents have both run away to join the circus.

I looked at this photo and for a split second imagined that I was looking at a tortoise. Enough said...

Tortoise, or E.T.?

I've found this five plus years after its posting and it's brought me untold joy. Thank you, sir.