If You Don’t Like Snakes, Don’t Click This Link (Or: Museum Taxidermy Behind-The-Scenes)

Rattlesnake

Travel, lodging, meet-and-greet with Mr. Snake and all other experiences provided by Buffalo Bill Center of The West.

If snakes creep you out – I’m sorry, but I tried to warn you! 馃榾 Mr. Rattlesnake here would have freaked me out in the wild, but fortunately I met him within the confines of his glass cage at the Buffalo Bill Center of The West. As we toured the five museums within the Center, we were lucky enough to get a peek behind the scenes at the Draper Museum’s lab. This area is not usually open to the public, and was very securely guarded. There were all kinds of fascinating things within, including Mr. Snake – much like their Raptor Experience, the Draper also puts on a live snake show, which sadly I missed. I did, however, get the opportunity to be rattled at within the lab.

I thought this little guy was cute – but he wouldn’t be very adorable if I met him in the wild!

The Draper’s lab area was fascinating, and I really appreciated getting a chance to see it. Because the museum features a lot of stuffed animals on display and also does research on specimens, there was a whole lot of taxidermy in this room. I’ll take this opportunity to remind everyone that the Draper uses specimens that have been victims of poaching, accidents, or natural causes.

Flesh-Eating Beetles

Right next to the rattlesnake was a tank of flesh-eating beetles. I recognized these right away as the insects which are used by taxidermists to clean off the bones of animals – see, I learned something from watching reality shows about taxidermy! 馃槈

Bird morgue

Our awesome tour guide showed us some of the things they were working on, including this section which I have dubbed “The bird morgue”.

Bird bones in takeaway boxes

Ziploc body bag for birds

In case you were wondering…it smelled about as fresh as it looks. The surreal humorist in me thought it was funny that the bird bones were in takeaway boxes! Hey, if these birds had already passed away, at least their bodies can be used for research and educational purposes!

Tub of bones

There were also tons of plastic tubs full of bones!

Heron taxidermy

I was amused by this incredibly creepy taxidermied heron. I’m not exactly sure what happened to it, but it’s clearly seen better days as it appeared to be getting some repairs.

Taxidermied birds

Speaking of taxidermied birds, we also saw this shelf of ducks and other fowl from the 1800s. We asked if these were going to be put on display and learned that they can’t be put out in public, because taxidermists back then used arsenic when preparing the animals! However, they are useful specimens for the Draper to keep secured so that they can refer to what ducks looked like during that time period.

Fur stoles

Finally, we saw one of the more peculiar donations the Draper has received: Our guide showed us this plastic container of fur stoles which had been sent to her. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with these!” she laughed. Apparently, the Draper receives some very bizarre packages from patrons wishing to donate specimens – I can only imagine!

Whether you find taxidermy to be interesting, funny, or a little creepy, we can all agree that the research and education provided to us by those like the staff at Draper is very important to society. I was very appreciative of our tour guide and all the staff of the museum for sharing their knowledge and anecdotes with us!

Would you enjoy a peek inside a lab like this? Or did you “Nope” right out of this post when you saw that snake?!

This entry was posted in Travel by Beeb Ashcroft. Bookmark the permalink.

About Beeb Ashcroft

I'm a British expat living on the north Oregon coast with my fianc茅, Jai. Journalist since 1997 & blogger since 2008, this is my personal blog where I share my life adventures & favorite things!

18 thoughts on “If You Don’t Like Snakes, Don’t Click This Link (Or: Museum Taxidermy Behind-The-Scenes)

  1. I love snakes and snails and puppy dog tails… no really! I grew up playing with them in the wild. Of course, some (like rattlers) should definitely be avoided. While your trip looks interesting, I don’t think I would like a taxidermy museum. I prefer to see the critters in the wild.

  2. This does look interesting. While I have an aversion to rattlesnakes in the wild, if they are behind glass it is fine. We’ve spent a lot of time in the herps houses at various zoos. 馃檪

  3. Snakes only bother me if they run across my path or are in the house or near me… on pictures or behind glass I’m totally fine with them… this looks like a super cool place.. thanks for sharing

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