Talk To Me, Oh Stuffed Ones

Most people don't know that taxidermy actually means "to arrange skin."

"A good taxidermist is a sculptor, artist and naturalist rolled into one," says Cook. A taxidermist measures the carcass from all angles, notes eye colour and other soft parts, removes the skin, sculpts a model of the body...and sews the skin back on. Anatomical knowledge and a feel for your animal-on-the-move is essential. "There's a lot of fieldwork involved," says Duncan Ferguson, general secretary of the Guild of Taxidermists. "Although nine times out of 10, the animal tells you what position it goes into."

What do your animals tell you?