Wild Heritage Taxidermy 2013 competition piece.

[Ghosthunter]

Very nice work! Congrats

[WildHeritageTaxidermy]

That's a great job Dale. I really like your work. I have had a mountain lion in the freezer for over 4 years. Do you thing it's any good to have mounted?

 

 

TJ

TJ, how long an item can stay in a freezer with out damage from freezer burn depends on a couple of factors. The most important are freezer type and how the specimen is packaged. An older freezer will freezer burn slower than modern frost free models. Freezer burn occurs when the moisture inside the skin is removed causing the cellular structure of the skin to collapse. It is difficult if not impossible to get moisture back into this area. The delicate facial areas like lips, nose and ear tips are the most susceptible. Your skin will need to be thawed to see if it is damaged and if so to what extent. This needs to be done at the taxidermist, because if it is still usable it needs to be fleshed and salted at that point. It would be risky to refreeze. We recently had a Mtn. lion come in that had been in the freezer for four plus yrs. It had some freezer burn, but we were able to use the skin and the mount will come out fine.

For everyone, the best thing to do is to bag your skin well, press as much of the air out of the bag as possible, and then bag it again. Always cool the skin before bagging, by laying it out on plastic in the freezer until cold but not frozen. Do not put newspaper around the skin as it will assist with pulling moisture out of the skin. If you think it may be in the freezer for an extended period of time, fold the delicate parts inside the rest of the skin. If you plan to have the skin to your taxidermist in about eight weeks or less then we recommend that after cooling, you scrunch or accordion the skin, then double bag. This will allow the skin to freeze and thaw quicker, further preserving the quality of the skin.

[CouesWhitetail]

Great info Dale, Thank you!

[tjhunt2]

Thanks for the information Dale.

 

TJ