MAMMAL TAXIDERMY

A Champion's Formula for Competition Quality Ears
CASTING THE EARS
by Ken Walker

Editor's Note: At the 1999 World Taxidermy Championships¨, Ken Walker captured Best in World Mammal with a running wolf. The wolf, running alongside a companion wolf, also earned the coveted Judges' Choice Best of Show as the best entry at the competition.

Sixteen months later, Walker entered an ecstatic, energized ringtail cat at the 2000 National Taxidermists Association competition and proved to all that his 1999 feat was no fluke. The mount captured eight major awards, including Judges' Choice Best of Show, North American Champion, and People's Choice Best of Show. Although every facet of this superb art piece gleamed from the artist's touch, the transparent and natural appearance of the ears brought Walker the most attention.

It is our pleasure to present this proven process by one of the world's most gifted taxidermists. Ken's process was developed for small- and medium-size mammals, but can also be use to produce custom earliners for larger mammals. This article was photographed and written by Ken Walker during his preparation of a red fox family composition, titled "Sibling Rivalry."

As I flew home to Alberta from Lubbock, Texas, after the 2000 National Taxidermists Association convention and competition, the three-hour flight gave me a little time to reflect on the previous few days. NTA conventions are always a delight and this oneÉ well, you probably heard the story by now so I'll cut to the chase. I tried to explain my ear casting process so many times I was literally losing my voice, so I ended up promising to do an article. It looks like they're going to hold me to it!

Before you start any project you must have certain goals in mind, and with this one I wanted seamless ears that showed veins when light passed through. With this process, which will remove much of the hair from the inner ear during the molding process, the first set of ears out of the mold will be competition-quality, meaning the hairs will be intact in the interior lobes. Subsequent liners from the same mold will work well for...