I've been looking through pictures on here of different Cape Buffalo mounts and there seems to be quite an array of nose colors from a medium brown to black.

Is this a variation in the Buffalo or in Taxidermy technique?

Well, like everything else in Nature, nothing is exactly the same as anything else, including things like nose pad color, even eye and ear color. While all may look alike at first blush, each Buffalo, Wildebeest, Zebra, etc. in a herd is an individual, and as such has its own color or "style" though to look at them as a whole one would be hard pressed to find the differences ... but they are there!

So, if you see various shadings of similar colors on various Buffalo mounts or any other mounts, let it be known that within its species individual shadings do occur. And, in the spirit of not being boring or bored with the work, a Taxidermist will match nose pad color to the skin at hand and to the mount overall, inasmuch to be correct as to be interesting.

Even the common North American Whitetail Deer shows much variation on the color and shading of its nose pad, eyes and surrounding bare flesh areas, ear color, etc., etc.

Hope this helped!

John.

Years ago I was told by a true master to throw away my black paint. Very dark brown replaces it. Layers and shades of color are what God uses and what taxidermists must use to try and even come close. John B is right on.

well said John.

John is spot on, there is no "Standard" to any color in nature. I make the noses on my Buffalo the color the customer wants it to be. He's the one who's going to have to see it every day, so his opinion is the only one that counts.