For my free inquiry project, I have decided to explore various methods of preserving bugs and animals. I currently care for eight tarantulas, a scorpion, a giant vinegaroon, two cats, and a 5-foot long ball python. My deep love for animals makes me very sensitive to the idea of any creature suffering. However, I’ve come to realize that instead of feeling sad when encountering dead animals, I want to appreciate that they are no longer in pain. My goal is to honour these creatures by either creating art with their remains or burying them so they can return to the earth.
I have a small amount of experience with preserving animals. I first started after one of my tarantulas passed away from old age. She was a Aphonopelma Seemani (Costa Rican Zebra tarantula).I learned how to taxidermy her by following a YouTube tutorial.
Three years ago, while riding horses with a friend on ranch lands where I grew up, we discovered a cow skeleton. We picked up the skull and tied it to my saddle. It sat in my backyard for years, drying out, until three weeks ago when I decided it was finally time to degrease it. The skull is currently submerged in a large tub of soapy water. My next step will be to bleach it using a hydrogen peroxide and water solution, which I plan to document this week.
Recently, a different friend and I were riding in the forest when we found a diseased bear. Since it was on her property, she is keeping the bear to process its skeleton, but she generously let me take one of the claws. The claw is currently in my freezer until I figure out how to preserve it, which I aim to do this week.
A few years ago, I had pet rats that all passed away from old age. They were sitting in my freezer until last month, when I decided to bury them in my backyard alongside a robin I found by the side of the road. I plan to dig them up in a year to see how challenging it is to reconstruct the skeletons.
Just last week, while driving home from a barn where I train horses, I came across a dead baby deer on the side of the road. I hated that it was just laying ant the side of the road so, I decided to do something. I picked up the deer and carried it down a ravine that leads into a forest. There, I found a pile of branches and debris and covered the baby deer to keep it hidden while it decomposes. In a few months, I’ll return to check on its decomposition progress.
For my free inquiry project, I have set the goal of learning how to pin and preserve bugs, mummify a mouse, and hopefully teach myself how to taxidermy a rat.