page_title: Conservation and restoration of taxidermy
section_title: Types and uses
hierarchical_section_title: Conservation and restoration of taxidermy / Types and uses
caption_attribution_description: English: White Memorial Conservation Center, a natural history museum and nature preserve in Litchfield, CT. It is supported by the White Memorial Foundation.
context_page_description: The conservation of taxidermy is the ongoing maintenance and preservation of zoological specimens that have been mounted or stuffed for display and study. Taxidermy specimens contain a variety of organic materials, such as fur, bone, feathers, skin, and wood, as well as inorganic materials, such as burlap, glass, and foam. Due to their composite nature, taxidermy specimens require special care and conservation treatments for the different materials.
context_section_description: Traditional taxidermy specimens are cleaned and preserved animal skins that have been mounted over a form. Full mounts are the entire specimen, while shoulder mounts only include the head, neck, and shoulders. Study skins are another form of taxidermy in which the skins of small mammals and birds are stuffed with cotton, wool, or synthetic fibers in order to support the skin and original body shape. These are typically used by researchers rather than put on display.
  Taxidermy has a robust history, and specimens can be found in a number of public and private institutions, as well as personal collections. Natural history museums, zoos, science & nature centers, historic houses, art museums, and children's museums are examples of institutions that may have taxidermy specimens in their collections.
  While it may not be necessary to conserve mounts or skins of commonly occurring animals beyond educational use, some taxidermy mounts represent extinct or critically endangered species. The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History houses Martha, the last passenger pigeon and a some collections still have Great Auk specimens, a bird species that went extinct in 1844.
caption: Display with different examples of support forms
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