New Orleans Taxidermy

05/26/2026

Like the vanishing animal species he re-creates, Tim Bovard represents the last of a lineage. The academic and artistic rigor behind museum taxidermy work cannot be overstated and should not be undervalued.

I hope that our collective reenchantment with authenticity, born of AI fatigue, will lead to renewed interest in, and support for, the deeply human discipline of natural history.

Tim Bovard, the last full-time taxidermist at any museum in the U.S., has amassed an encyclopedic knowledge of the natural world. Since 1984, he has worked at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, where the care and keeping of animals and dioramas is a responsibility he takes seriously and joyfully. He works only with donations from zoos, offerings from private collections or roadkill. https://nyti.ms/4u0Gtk7

05/21/2026

Excellent explanation of the bird taxidermy process https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17f9zzjx4h/?mibextid=wwXIfr

05/07/2026

While this timber rattler is well and truly beyond biting, its fangs and venom sacs can still transmit venom.

All animal that enter the studio are handled with care, and this impressive specimen certainly demands to be respected.

04/17/2026

Makeover Monday 💅 💄
Client bird seems to have taken a few knocks while in storage ❤️‍🩹
So satisfying to get this pretty boy runway ready again 🦚

03/12/2026

🦉 Honored to have contributed to the Audubon Louisiana Nature Center’s diorama of Louisiana flora and fauna.

❤️‍🩹 This particular specimen, a subadult barred owl, died in a car strike, and had significant damage from impact and heat exposure.

🎨 Fortunately, taxidermy offers techniques for managing flaws through strategic recoloring, posing, and feather placement.

💚 Redeeming loss in service of conservation is a special professional privilege.

🌎 Nature lovers, citizen scientists, familes, and friends of the bayou biome should be sure to check out the Nature Center’s upcoming Spring into Action event on March 28th!
bit.ly/2VlGfnze

03/01/2026

All-day owl day 🦉 😮‍💨
Morning in the studio grooming a tawny owl taxidermy mount for a raptor rescue and education program.
Afternoon with the kids at an owl public engagement and wildlife rehab event by LSU School of Veterinary Medicine at Longue Vue House and Gardens.

02/20/2026

Owls don’t have eyeballs.
Really.
Their eyes are ‘sclerotic tubes’- elongated cylinders supported by thin bone rings called sclera. Unable to shift in their eyes within the sockets, owls instead have an incredible 270 degree range of neck motion that allows them to precisely direct their powerful night vision.

Pictured: a reference cast of a tawny owl’s head with skin removed, skull, and sclerotic rings, alongside Katrina Von Burow’s indispensable visual anatomy book, The Unfeathered Bird.

Owl legally held for taxidermy, with paperwork, on behalf of a raptor rescue and public education program.

02/18/2026

The morning after

Personal project made in 2023. Taxidermy possum, faux asphalt, faux Jell-O shot, fried chicken bones, cigar butts, beer cans, roach, beads, whippit carts, chee wees, and other authentic carnival debris straight from the Saint Charles gutter

01/08/2026

New logo launch to start the new year.
Can you identify the studio’s animal emblem?

12/03/2025

🚫 GAME OVER! 🚫

As of 2026, I will no longer be accepting bucks, ducks, and other typical game for skin mounts.

There are already so many professionals in this area doing incredible tropy work, most specializing in a partifcular field, like fish, gators, or waterfowl. I’m always happy to make a referral!

I’m excited to be establing my specialty in molding, casting, and sculpting small/medium mounts from scratch. Moving forward, the studio will focus on domestics, exotics, film props, restorations, wearables, puppets, and other all-custom taxidermy projects.

Looking forward to upcoming work in this new chapter!