Check out page 17 in the current Safari Magazine. Could such a creature exist in the wild? Does anyone know the particulars about this cat?

In a park. Probably has a groomer too.

sure.........in a zoo.

It raises the question as to why any reputable agency (as these folks are) would promote this type of hunting. This cat had to be in the can.

Page 17 is unmarked, so I'm assuming it's the ad for Leading Edge Taxidermy?

This is totally off your original question, but I don't think I've ever seen but a handful of lion mounts that look right. Something about that face on that big bugger doesn't look right. I don't know what it is, but something is wrong. Anybody else notice this about lion mounts?

They must be really hard to do.

Mark,

I always reckon that the way to tell a really good taxidermist is to look as his Lions & Leopards as they're the hardest to get looking right and the easiest to stuff up!

This is most likely a pet that died of natural causes, and was mounted for the owner! this cat has lived in a carpited house someplace! Ngagi is right this is not a well done mount. The muzzle is made too blocky, and the lower lips on the sides do not sag enough! The leg positions are not correct, either! This lion has not one scar on his face, or rump, from growing up, and makeing his way in the wild, and the belly mane has never been close to a thorn bush! I'd say it is a leap to automaticly say this lion was canned, however! I doubt it was hunted at all, and was only mounted at the pet owner's request, or for display in the Taxi shop!

Shakari is right, the cats are the test for a real taxidermist. Taxidermy is an ART, and cats are the hardest to get right on a form, or on canvas with a brush!

The photo was from a taxidermist's advertisement in the magazine. Most of the animals that taxidermists have in their show room to advertise their work are either trophies they have taken themselves or they have bought the hides and mounted them up. This is obviously a zoo animal or pet that was put down, and the taxidermist mounted it for himself. I don't see anywhere that he claims that it is a hunters trophy. If however I were to see this animal in someone's trophy room, I would have to assume that he had bought the hide and was using it strictly for room decor, and was not claiming to have taken it in a fair chase hunt. Just go to ebay and do a search on taxidermy, you will see hundreds of hides and horns for sale, so obviously there is quite a market out there for these items.

It looks like a big poodle. Pathetic. When I saw that ad it made me wonder what kind of an outfit would use this to advertise. Question #2- how much did someone pay to shoot it. Notice I didn't say hunt it.

zzz

Is there anywhere I can see this thing on the net?

I haven't seen the picture but you don't have to be a lion expert to know that extremely heavy maned cats exist. I've seen plenty of pictures of zoo lions that have not just tremendous manes but full belly hair too. Go to any large zoo and you will see a great mane. I do know that lions in the wild will have their mane hair pulled out by thorn bush but I did see a documentary about the small nat. park just outside of Nairobi in which there was a tremendous maned lion. However, I think that particular park is nothing more than a glorified zoo on a large scale.

Is there a picture available on the net. Does the Taxidermy have a web site where the same lion could be shown? Curios to see the pic. Its' not a secret though that canned lions in Southern Aifrica do have incredible manes.....but then they are bred and grown in captivity and never face the rigours of living in the wild.

The photo is an add for Leading Edge Taxidermy who is associated with a hunting consultant company named The Trophy Connection. Leading Edge is located in Cody, WY and is my taxidermist. They do outstanding work with very short turnaround time. You need to see the animals in person and at varying angles to appreciated the the quality of their craftsmanship.

I have seen the lion in the photo in their shop and the owner, Ray Hatfield, told me it was a zoo animal that died. They mounted it at the request of a museum. Their web page is: www.leadingedgetaxidermy.com

When my African animals arrived in San Francisco one month after my hunt, they were notified, paid the bill on my behalf to avoid storage fees, and finished my mounts within 6 months of taking possession.

One of my most treasured books is an autographed copy of "Where Lions Roar".

On the cover is the fore-end of a most impressive lion. On the back of the book is a view of the same lion from behind. I have always wondered where that beautiful animal was, and how they got the pictures.

The best I've EVER seen.

My taxidermist in NC also has a full mount lion in his showroom. It was a zoo lion that died, and has no front claws.

Rick.

I have looked at quit a few wild Lions and I think it is an outstanding job of taxidermy..The Lion has been cleaned to look his best and He looks like a Lion to me, except for the skin rot Lion envaribly have, but who wants a mount with blood oozing from pus infested wounds and nicks and flys crawling all over it??? One has to shake realism to some degree if one wants it in their home!