Late last May I took a mature Lion in the Kalahari region of the North West Province of South Africa.




Due to the hot weather during midday, and the fact that I shot an exit hole the size of Texas in his right front muzzle, I decided to get it to Life-form Taxidermy in Mpumalanga right away. Fearing the worse, I was reluctant in believing much could be done to repair the large hole. However, Cecil & Jerry assured me they would repair it and they had ample Lion parts on hand. I must commend Life-form on their excellent communication as well. Sharon Billson kept me informed constantly and answered any questions I had promptly. I am extremely satisfied with what I see. I expect to receive my mount within the next 6-8 weeks, as I am shipping via sea cargo instead of airfreight.
Good hunting,
David

another really beautiful mount from Lifeform.... but when I saw who had done it, I expected nothing less.

Many other taxidermists could learn a lot from studying those pictures.............

looks like a 1st class job - I shipped via sea freight once, it took just 30 days and cost less than 1/3, and everything came in just fine

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that is what a good lion mount should look like people!

Shakari, I was overjoyed to say the least when I saw the pics this morning. I expected a decent job but not this good. The repair is un-noticeable (right side of muzzle). The exit hole left by a 300 grain Swift A-Frame was the size of an American Silver dollar. I hit my Lion 3 times; once in the chest, once through both lungs (behind the shoulder) and lastly in the left side of his neck, which exited out his right muzzle. I left basic mounting instructions but continued to tweak over a period of several months. Sharon Billson acknowledged my requests each time with an email. She is a jewel!
Butch, your right. With jet fuel skyrocketing, sea cargo is the way to go. All my clients agree to use it, and it saves big nowadays.
Good hunting to all,
David

LDK,

Their work is always impeccable - note especially how they've got the ears angled correctly......... most taxidermists, esp American taxidermists lay the ears the wrong way......... Large African cats lay their ears forward or backward, but not down. I guess American cats lay their ears down, and they copy that........ they're wrong to do so.

Absolutly no-one does work as good as Lifeform....... esp cats.

Beautiful cat and fantastic taxidermy.

Now thats a Cat , God do I need to find a bag of Money

THAT is a wonderful mount. Well done indeed.

L. David, are YOU happy with it? I take it you're delighted and that's all that really matters. That is one exceptional trophy and the mane is almost ridiculous. Gorgeous creature.

Thanks all. George, from what I can see, yes, very happy. When I toured Lifeform's studio, I noticed the mounted big cat's all had a high gloss to their mouth. I asked mine not have that. I will "muss up" the mane a little when it arrives, but great googly moogly; if you should have seen the hole I put in the right side of his face! It was huge (exit from a 300gr A-Frame after it passed through his neck, skull then out the right muzzle. Very happy with the repair. It is the stalking pose I asked for and received. Normally, I would bring a cat home for mounting, but hot weather, lack of enough salt and a large hole in his muzzle left me little choice in the matter. Lifeform did an excellent job with communication and all other facets of the worry game. Incidentally, I had 3 other trophies that were not mounted, rather prepped for shipment with my Lion. I'll have them mounted here.
Cheers,
David

good one David who did you hunt with ?

David, excellent lion and very well mounted, congratulations. You must be very anxious to receive it.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a better maned trophy animal than that bruiser. Glad they got the repair done well, but I'm sure you had other thoughts on your mind when you pulled the trigger. LOL

David,

Your trophy picture leaves me in awe over the incredible mane and massive size of your cat! I am glad for you, that your taxidermist was able to do a nice job repairing the face. I am anxious to see some different angles of the mount when you recieve it.

Congratulations on a fine trophy animal!

Kind regards,
Mary

That is a gorgeous lion with very striking colors. I would love to see some side shots of the mount when he arrives.

If he were mine, I couldn't wait to mess up that mane and get it snarled and raised to look like the kill photo. Congratulations on an incredible animal and memory!

This is the third attempt to post this. I keep getting booted right before I post pics...damn!
Thanks everyone for the nice compliments. As mentioned, although I'm a big fan of our Taxidermists, Life-form Taxidermy in Mpumalanga did the work, and I'm pleased.

375 fanatic, Charl Van Rooyen-Infinito (one of the Outfitters I book for). I will "muss" his mane up when it arrives. I like a natural look and I asked them not to slick it down.

Ahmed, yes, very anxious to get it home. Will my little dog (Mountain Feist) be surprised! He raises total Hell-o everytime he sees a Squirrel

Mary and MC; here's more. Can't tell a lot but I'll post some down the road. David

That Lion has a mane that just won't quit, boy is he beautiful. I guess your through lion hunting Keith. You'd be hard pressed to do better than him. Congrats.

David,

What can I say.........he is worthy of building the trophy room around if not the whole house!!

Well done on all fronts!

Congrats,

Bob

Thanks again fella's. If I could afford to, I'd hunt Lion every year. Everyone has their own idea of what the ultimate hunt is, but mine has always been Lion. I love Leopard, but if a big cat is going to jump your bones, I wouldn't want it to be a Lion. They are my "King of Beasts." Hope everyone enjoys the summer/winter where ever you are.
Cheers,
David

David, beautiful trophy. I was curious if you have a picture of the exit wound so we can better appreciate the work that was done.

Sorry Prewar70, we didn't take any. Charl and I both agreed it would be in poor taste. Mind you, having been a Taxidermist myself, normally I might have done such for my own records. However, it was just a moral decision we both agreed 100% on, so we didn't. I can tell you it was bad. As large as a silver dollar in diameter. 300gr A-Frames do their work to say the least. Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it. Good hunting, David

Looks great David! I can't wait to come see it in person.

L. David, I have a newfound respect for you in that last thread. THANK YOU. You're a class act, sir.

Thank you George. As Sportsmen and Women, we should all have the utmost respect for Wildlife, ourselves and although hard sometimes, our fellow man. Good hunting, David

David, A very nice lion indeed. I read that you have a Mountain Feist dog. I have had three over the years, and my black male was the best dog I ever had. Sure do miss him! I have a young female lepard cur dog, and would love to get another feist. They are not to common in Ohio.

Hi Bo,
My pup came from a local Breeder. He was the single male out of a litter of 3. Due to work, the Breeder had to sell all of her dogs as she found herself without enough time to devote to them. He has been an absolute blessing to my wife and I. He is a nut about guarding the home and yard, plus a natural Squirrel dog. He almost get into it with a Black Racer (King snake) the other day. Fortunately, he was on his leash.

I did have a world champion bloodline black Lab puppy, but he got away from my wife while I was in Zimbabwe last year and ran into the street, where some low life ran over him (and nearly hit my wife). "It" sped off leaving my dead pup in my wife's arms; their bumper was ripped off from the impact. Nice country we live it. They didn't bother slow down, or come back to see what they'd hit.
Here's the little man when he was just weaned:

I know where there are some Jack Russell's out of my South African Outfitter's kennels living south of me in Murfreesboro, TN. And we have another male Mt. Feist in the family out of another bloodline, but he's a mess and needs a hunting family to live with. His owners haven't a clue and he greets people by peeing on their legs and shoe's. Uggh! I won't go there
If you ever want another Mt. Feist, let me know. I'll look around.
Good hunting,
David

David, That looks like a fine dog!! I'm sure you will enjoy him as much as my Wife, and me enjoyed our feists. If you run accross a black Male I would be interested. Thanks, Bo

Congrats, David; what a gorgeous animal. Very impressive taxidermy work to my eyes, as well. Thanks for sharing.

KG

where did you hunt this lion David

Bo, I've never seen a black Mt. Feist. That would be a new one for me, but I'll gladly ask around.
Thanks KG.
375: Up in the NW Province along the Botswana border. I enjoyed the area and hope to return. I'm amazed at RSA's topography. Beautiful country and full of so much flora and fauna. I could live there and die happy!
David

Very beautiful lion..

Congratiulations from here

Thanx jens, I took him in the NW Province.
Good hunting, David

Nice looking lion L. David. I like the pose. If it matters to you, you should ask them if they could match the sand color in your photo. Looks like it is a gray color on the habitat mount and more like kalahari red sand in the hunt photos. Not a hard change to make. Looks very nice though.

Nah, I'll fiddle with it when I get it home. If I asked them to replace something at this point their heads might explode. It's already in the crating and shipping department. I found a local craft store (Michael's) that carries a large inventory of dried flora and the like. I'm thinking I'll do the final spin once he's under my care. I'm still in shock over the repair job they did on his face. Thanks G.

Hello David

That is a gorgeous lion and the pose you selected is what I like best. The Taxidermist has done a very good job.

Regards
Aziz

Thanks Aziz. It was difficult to decide on as I thought of so many choices, but finally I made my decision and went with the stalking pose.
Good hunting,
David

Beautiful work on an amazing lion. I can see why you're excited about the repair work...what repair?

Thanx YD. It worried me a lot. Being a former Taxidermist, my main concern was loss of surrounding hair due to trauma and where in the hell do I get another lion muzzle area? They (Lifeform) assured me they would take care of it and obviously they did. I would have had no concerns about bringing it home and having the work done here in the States if not for the damage. Good hunting, David