Taxidermy

Taxidermy is the practice of preserving an animal body, by mounting it over an armature or by stuffing it, usually so that it can be displayed or studied in a lifelike state. The word comes from the Ancient Greek for order or arrangement and for skin, and is used both for the process of preservation and for the finished piece, called a taxidermy mount. It is practiced mainly on vertebrates such as mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles, and occasionally on large insects and arachnids, and takes the form of hunting trophies, natural history museum displays, and species records for extinct or threatened animals, as well as the memorializing of pets. A person who practices taxidermy is a taxidermist, and taxidermists work both professionally, serving museums, hunters, and anglers, and as amateurs pursuing it purely as a hobby; the craft draws on a working knowledge of anatomy, sculpture, painting, and tanning. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/