Our workshop has once again been filled with a massive taxidermy manikin. One of our current projects is not a small trophy — it’s a hippo, an iconic African thick-skinned giant, and at the same time a major taxidermy challenge.
In the photos, you can see how the manikin is gradually coming together as we refine the shape of the head, the expression, the mouth line, and the fine details around the eye. This is the stage where the most important things are decided: making sure the final mount looks natural, truly massive, and carries the real strength and character of the animal.
Preparing the skin itself is a job that takes many long hours, even for an experienced tanner. Not only because of its weight, but also because hippo skin is often heavily damaged, and imperfections from field preparation are quite common and must be corrected later in the process.
The teeth have not been set yet. They are a key part of the entire mount — not only technically, but also in terms of trophy value. Hippo teeth are highly prized, and for many hunters they are among the most valuable trophies brought back from an African safari.
The project is being handled by Zbyněk, who is responsible for the modelling and all key details. With a hippo, every single millimetre matters — especially when it comes to the final expression.
We continue step by step.
And we’ll be happy to share more behind-the-scenes details from Franc & Zugar Taxidermy. 🤝
