Cline Taxidermy

Tell Ken Cline your wish list and he makes dreams come true

A buffilo head for less than a months rent

The CZC went on the road and drove south, crossing the ominous American border for a field trip to New York State. We stumbled upon Cline Taxidermy in Belmont NY. Along a twisting rural road in the heart of draft horse country, an unassuming ranch-style house holds the creatures of the forest. The shop was large, full of local animals. Karen Cline gave us a tour, we talked moth prevention and prices. I think I just might have to place an order for half of a horse.

Dreams can come true, look at me babe I'm with you.

I am pleased to announce that I Morgan Mavis have been accepted to the University of Toronto’s Master of Museum Studies Program! I have been waiting with baited breath since I sent in my package in mid December and the wait was unbearable. Summers in London internship at the V&A here I come! Now I need to acquire a tweed high waisted skirt and a pair of heeled oxfords U of T won’t know what hit them.

Yann Martell talks with the CBC and National Post in the CZC

Author, Yann Martel spent the afternoon in the Conservatory having cookies, talking taxidermy and being interviewed  by the CBC for a television spotlight. Martel’s new book Beatrice & Virgil explores taxidermy and the holocaust. Read More about Saskatoon’s darling in The Province and watch the interview on CBC.ca As well you can see the photo-shoot and interview in The National Post

Yann Martel The National Post Photo by Tyler Anderson

What to do with your dog when he dies

What is a girl to do? When you spend your days buying and curating your personal taxidermy collection, what do you do when your beloved hairless dog dies? Thankfully Colonel Sanders is alive and kicking but everyone always asks “Will you  have the Colonel Stuffed?” This is a more perplexing question then you would think. My worry is that even an expert taxidermist would transform the Colonels human-like skin to the slick plasticity of  trophy pike. After a road-trip to New York and a visit to the MOMA my worries were solved. Not to stuff the Colonel, but to strip him! When our favourite companion and Conservatory greeter sadly dies we will have his bones stripped and reassembled in a glass domed jar with brass plaque. Taxidermy done well can convey charter and evoke emotion. I think I would prefer to remember him alive but am too sentimental to hide him under ground.

All I want is a horse skeleton, is that too much to ask?

The Conservatory’s wish list of  specimens includes  a peacock,  a narwhal and a horse. Alas none of these delightful creatures have graced our home yet. The problem with collecting  and preserving taxidermy is the despicable moth. I might have found the only way to defeat the insatiable winged devourer. A horse skeleton! If anyone out their would care to donate skeletons, I would be thrilled. All I want for Christmas is a dead skinned horse.

On the weekend I went to an auction to stake claims on a small but beautifully crafted crocodile. I waited for the crowds to settle and the auctioneer to get underway. When lot 11 came up, I raised my hand to bid and was disgruntled to learn 3 others wanted my prize. The price went up up up and I went home with no reptile companion.

Morgan Mavis & the Honey Ark

I always like to think of the story of Noah and the flood. Noah built the first natural history museum. The CZC is following in his footsteps preserving animals two by two. The Contemporary Zoological Conservatory has been honoured by local left wing farming initiative in Fergus, Onario, with a hive named after me! Morgan Mavis’s Honey Ark. I am simply delighted. Now in the tradition of Noah, we must stock pile that honey. Acquiring jars two by two. Photo documentation of a honey field trip to come in June.

A generous donation of  a small Caiman turned out to be no Caiman at all! Annunziata Morant bestowed the Conservatory with a 4 foot 4 inch standing Alligator. We are just delighted with this gift, the largest reptile in our collection. I pose a challenge to all out there: Who can donate a larger specimen?

For a  collection that started off  as fur and feathers  now the reptiles have their day in the sun.

Iguana iguana, Trachemys scripta, Caiman crocodilus,  Alligator mississippiensis, Paleosuchus palpebrosus.

What a wonderful week. First the arrival of a novel, Stuffed by Sarah Junkin arrives in the mail. A present to me and the CZC from Sarah herself!

Then today a Toronto philanthropist Annunziata Morant donated a standing caiman. This vintage chap has a marble for an eye and is a dandy of a donation.

Thank You