NC, african safaris opens up a whole new can of worms. That impala might be the same size as a deer to the laymen, but wetaxidermists know all too well how much extra is required to mount that impala correctly. First off, little or no hair most of the time. The extra time and material we need to bug-proof horns and scalps from africa is pricey to say the least. Those jagged cuts all the way down the back of the neck are terrible, and need to be stitched and patched everytime. The natives dont take care of capes heading to North America, thats a fact. Tanning, forms and especially reference is much more expensive for all aspects of african game, so the price we charge must reflect that. Instead, we all hear how we as taxidermists just charge astonomical prices for african game because "the client can afford it if he goes to africa". That zebra you spoke of...the laymen has no idea how few tanneries will even accept zebras, and how they need to be cut on the round knife a different way, because, as horses, they have a tough hindquarter skin to protect themselves when the stallions fight by biting. Not many shavers know how to cut this properly, and we pay for that expertise. Sables need to be dyed, large horns often need to be chiseled out and repacked after cleaning, warthogs often have the mouth cut open, the list goes on and on.

All we can do is explain up front what some of these charges are for. The client will either understand and choose to have us do it, or shop for a price that might work, and might not. If he finds someone to do african work cheap, perhaps he feels he wins. That find MIGHT be a taxidermist new to african work, lowballs himself, and then fails miserably. That might reflect in the quality. Personally, Iassume the customer is knowledgable as a consumer, and will research his choice to some extent. We are all busy enough to not worry terribly about it, though. Thats why we also stay busy doing remounts, I suppose. I just like having the opportunity to explain to these guys why we do what we do, if theyll hear us out!