#allis markham

Allis Markham is an award-winning taxidermist/nassologist based in Los Angeles, California

This is Peepers. He’s a one-eyed Kestrel who lives at the Vasquez Rocks Nature Center. Notice how he compensates by always having his remaining eye tilted and pointed at what he wants to see? (Mostly my camera on this day.) A bird of prey’s vision is their most important tool. And though Peepers only has one eye, he can still see better than you. Beyond great distance, clarity and night sight, Kestrels can see Ultraviolet light. This means they can see the scent and urine trails of their tiny prey, voles and mice. We can’t be sure how having one eye has effected Peepers’ vision exactly, but he seems to have no problem compensating —and also working in public education. Go you, Peepers!

Opossum family we created for the Museum’s Backyard diorama at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Many people don’t know that mama Opossums carry their babies around like this. We have 6 on her back, but I’ve been photos of some with 9 or 10!

The domestic cat taxidermy display, a couple of the better dog mounts and some really big farm animals at the Salzburg Haus Der Natur. I really liked the display of domestics here as human’s have shaped their genetics. Certainly they have a place in a museum.

A tiny how-to just for you! This short tutorial shows you how to make ear-liners for small mammals that are durable and transparent. The liners go inside the ear to keep it from curling but also allow light through. The ones I’m making are for a small rabbit. You can also use a heat gun rather than the machine shown here. The machine is more fun through, no lie. (Don’t mind my rough-painting. Once inserted they’ll look soft.)

How to blow dry your Pelican for Taxidermy. FYI this Pelican is for a diorama at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Flash-back to skinning this Mountain Lion. See how, even once dead, the claws are retractable. The skin has a sheath they sit in, while the claw actually retracts back next to the bone. That’s right, the claw sits NEXT to the bone when retracted. Simple stretching of the ligaments extends the claws. Amazing!

Here are some making-of photos from my Hummingbird cases. These tiny birds are difficult to taxidermy, but I think I pulled it off. The cases I created are replicas of the 1851 John Gould cases and part of the Visual Voyages exhibit at The Huntington Library. (It closes January 8th!) You can see where I stressed every detail ; from having the wood custom carved to learning how to weld the metal frame. Happily they will live on in perpetuity at The Moore Lab at Occidental College.