Trophaendienste Taxidermy

[enysse]

I got my animals that I took in Namibia in June 2008 back to my house on Wednesday. I had it ocean shipped to New York and then trucked to my house. Trophaendienste Taxidermy in Windoek, Namibia did the taxidermy. The animals were packed into garbage bags with bubble wrap around the ears. They were wrapped in plastic layers a few times. They were carefully put in two big cardboard boxes. and the inside of the cardboard box, had injected insulation between the plastic wrapped trophies to secure them. Then the box top was put on with some tape.

I went with ocean shipping and it took less than 90 days to get here from Namibia to my house.

The taxidermy work was pretty good, except the blue wildebeest, his right ear has a chunk broken off, it was brittle and when I unwrapped it, it was in black tiny, tiny chunks that fell to the bottom of the box. Other than that the oryx, red hartebeest, zebra rug, blesbok, springbok, kudu, and black wildebeest look good. I like that they put black felt on back of mounts. I wish too that the black wildebeest horns hadn't been painted so dark black too...because that isn't natural. I'll just leave the blue wildebeest the way it is and just get past the ear...because I don't want to get another cape and remount it.....it is what it is.

Now, I have to mount them on the wall. Sorry about no pictures. I have dial up internet and it's near impossible to upload pictures.

I thought I'd post this so people have some information to read about taxidermy and shipping on animals from Africa.

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Taxidermy Report

Enysse, Thanks for your report on this Namibian taxidermist and all of the information regarding the shipment. Sorry to hear about the Blue Wildebeest, do you think that the broken piece from the right ear can be somehow fixed? Just curious but did you give instructions to the taxidermist in regard to painting/treating of the horns? did you have all your animals shoulder mounted?

 

[LouisB]

Hi Eric good to hear that you got your trophy’s. I am sorry to hear about the wildebeest ear.

I would love to see the pictures if you get somewhere, where the signal might be better.

 

[enysse]

Hi Everyone,

I didn't give instructions on how to paint or compose the faces. I had everything shoulder mounted...except the zebra...it was a old mountain zebra and I had a rug mount done. I looked at my picture from Namibia and I took a lot of up close pictures and the blue wildebeest was in very good condition. The ears looked perfect. And the outfitter took very good care of my trophies because I was leary of having them mounted and shipped. The reason for my pause...is that I have seen african taxidermy mounts crack with time, because of improper care. My thinking is from studying taxidermy it that the mounts wasn't taken care of enough on the ear portion of the trophy....it was very brittle and when they shipped it...it broke. And since the wildebeest has hair in the inside of his ear and little fur on the outside...I'm not sure it can be fixed. The cape on the animal was very beautiful and I had thought of doing a rug mount...it was so pretty.

Who do you assign blame to the shipping company or the taxidermist for the ear being so dry? I had $12,000 in insurance on the mounts. But will anyone pay? The trophy fee for the animal was about $750 and the taxidermy mount cost $666...and I have no idea how to assign a value to the shipping because 12 other animals were part of the shipment. Fauna and Flora handled the shipping.

I guess I could call Fauna and Flora and see if some kind of insurance payment cold be made. And I will keep you everyone in the loop. I will try at some point to get the mounts on this website...but it might take a little time.

The reason I don't have them on the wall yet, is because I'm waiting on the next shipment of mounts from South Africa, and since I have limited room in my house, I'm not sure if I have to construct some more supports for all my animals. I would like to do it right and not have to paint and drywall holes more than once.

It's times like this that you wish you had a huge wall to hang stuff on so everything looked well spaced and planned....still I wanted the mounts and I'll make things work one way or another.

 

[browningbbr]

enysse

Please let us know how things go with Fauna & Flora on the insurance claim. I'm using them to bring back my stuff from S.A.

You might want to talk to my taxidermist in Stevens Point about repairs. He does a lot of African game.

Some day, I'd like to see how your mounts turned out. Maybe if we figure out when we can get to the rifle range...

- browningbbr

PS - I was able to fire a couple rounds out of the .416 yesterday. I didn't fire enough to find out how it groups yet, but feeding from the magazine is working well and I think that I got the neck crimp right - rounds in the magazine are not showing bullet movement upon firing. Barrel break-in takes a lot of time with cleaning after every shot, so I'm sure I'll learn more about hand loads as I go along. I loaded a few grains under "max" for the 1st ten rounds.

 

[enysse]

Here are some pictures of my Wildebeest.

 

[BryceM]

I can see the damage you are talking about. From the original post though, I thought the entire ear was off. I'd just tell people that it's a leopard bite and that it adds character. At first glance I probably wouldn't even notice it.

Really though, we're dying to see the other mounts, dial-up or not.......

 

[enysse]

The damage isn't too bad as you can see. I have to get a quote on the cost of repair so it looks like new from a taxidermist. Then I have to get all the shipping data together and send it over to Namibia.

While the damage isn't too bad....it is much a pretty animal...wish it hadn't been damaged.

When I get all the animals on the wall. I'll take some pictures of the other animals and post them.

 

[rgswildlife]

Repairs

Any reputable taxidermist will be able to repair the damage to the ear. And if you have the piece so much easer. Good Luck.

 

[enysse]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Be forewarned that getting any insurance claim processed is a major undertaking. They want the shipping slips, which you don't receive when you get your animals...just the bill :shocked:. And trying to get the shipping slips is near impossble. Looks like another added bill to the other pile of bills in my basket already.

 

[rgswildlife]

Repair to ear

That repair should only cost less than $150.00 which is what I would charge.
Good Luck.

 

[NitroX]

Well I had a terrible experience with Trophaendienste .

First they sent me a horrendously expensive bill for a dip and pack job, and SIX, note SIX warthog tusks mounted on a wooded board.

After some "negotiation", ie saying they could keep the trophies at that price, the bill was marginally reduced.

Note also everything was already packed in a box and sealed at this point in time.

When it arrived, the wooden board had FOUR not SIX sets of warthog tusks from a cull I had done. Also the trophy set of warthog tusks was missing altogether.

Yet everything was correct on the manifest. So basically someone stole those three sets of warthog tusks.

I assume the actual trophies, 2 gemsbok, 2 springbok, 1 hartebeest was actually mine and not switched, but have never compared to photos. Did not take any measurements in Namibia, so can't compare that. I'm in it for the hunting not score boards.

The reason I mention switching is I've heard of that happening to other clients.

I would never use Trophaendienste again, nor recommend them to anyone. Actually the opposite.

 

[BRICKBURN]

E, get the taxidermist to paint the edges and you can call your bull an old fighter.
Get a bigger house, so you don't have to plan the wall out. Add that one to the bill pile.

 

[NitroX]

Well I had a terrible experience with Trophaendienste .

...

Also the trophy set of warthog tusks was missing altogether.

Yet everything was correct on the manifest. So basically someone stole those three sets of warthog tusks.....

I would never use Trophaendienste again, nor recommend them to anyone. Actually the opposite.

BTW That means Trophaendienste sent to me a warthog skull, cape but NO tusks for a shoulder mount.

How incompetent does a taxidermist need to be, to not notice the warthog tusks were missing for a warthog shoulder mount?

I had to get an acquaintance to source another set from South Africa when he was on safari there, and bring them back for me, so my Australian taxidermist could finish the warthog shoulder mount.

I have been on seven safaris so am not a new chum. Used a number of different taxidermists, shipping agents, but Trophaendienste by far has been the worst, and simply IMO dishonest.

I will post a photo of the warthog tusk board, where it can be clearly seen there are only four sets of tusks. I have copies of my emails with the Namibian PH mentioning the prices which clearly show, the warthog tusk board as having SIX tusks.

 

[enysse]

Sorry to hear about your troubles NitroX.

I had my ear on the blue wildebeest fixed...it still didn't look right. It's one of those things...you gotta let go of and get over it. I have some more animals coming back this summer from a different taxidermist....so my fingers are crossed.

Things are a lot easier in North America, where you have the control of you animals after a hunt.

 

[Diamondhitch]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I would have simply left it and finished the edge to look like a natural scar that is so common on older animals. Also with regards to the dark horns, find yourself a good taxi who specializes in african trophies and he should be able to restore the original color. The horns tend to absorb fat and darken when boiled and this can be easily fixed.

 

[WST416]

This is why I think it is better to have mounts done here. You just have more control of whats happening and more avenues of recourse for holding someone responsible if problems arise.

 

[enysse]

I agree with you WST416, there is still the possibility of things being misplaced at the dip and ship or during the delivery process. I know plenty of people that have gotten ruined capes.

I think it's super critical to have the right PH and outfitter...along with the right dip and pack company or taxidermy business. Way to complicated to deal with when you are at home.

 

[PRO-DIP LIMPOPO]

When it arrived, the wooden board had FOUR not SIX sets of warthog tusks from a cull I had done. Also the trophy set of warthog tusks was missing altogether

USEFUL TIPS TO ENSURE YOU GET WHAT YOU'VE PAID FOR:

* Take good care of your skinner ($), and and he'll take good care of your trophies...
* Check that your trophies are "properly caped" each day, and not being stuck in the freezer to be skinned at a later stage ... This is very frightning to see, as the skinner might have tried to skin it, cut a piece off the ear by accident, and decided to leave it for the next guy to finish...
* Personally check your Tags on every trophy after the hunt, or after each animal was taken
* Make sure your trophy was skinned the way you asked for i.e. Fullskin and not Flatskin
* Make sure that the discription on the PH Register is corresponding with what's in the saltroom
* Take pictures of each trophy on the last day of the hunt, leave a copy with the Outfitter
* Curio's that have to be shipped with your trophies should be marked clearly or Tagged
* Take pictures of curio's and leave a copy with the Outfitter
* Make a note if you want your wounded animal (found afterwards) to be added to your shipment
* Make sure to leave a written copy of all the Mounting-instructions with the Outfitter
* Please make sure that your Outfitter has all your Shipping and Taxidermy details before you leave
* Remember to take your Original White Copy of the PH Register, as well as a list of all the "pieces" in the salt

"Please note" - "Make sure" - "Remember" - "Make a note" - Dear Hunters. Where possible, spend some time with your trophies in the skinning shed & saltroom. Unfortunately, not all skinners can read, and not all PH's have time to check that every Tag handed to the skinners are tagged right on the animal, and asume it would be right as instructed. Just like every Outfitter asumes that his PH would check the Tags, as that's part of he's job, during or after the hunt. If there's a big group, things get hectic and "little" mistakes like writing "Flatskin" instead of "Fullskin" on the Tags or PH Register, later become a BIG mistake...!

Please remember, that the Dip & Pack Agent / Taxidermy guys, can only send out what's written on the PH Register. We are not allowed to make any alterations, and might only realize with the packing of the crate, that "Flat & Full" skins were mixed up on the Tags, or a Backskin was not added on the paperwork although it was booked in, and it has to be left behind. If everything was tagged right from the beginning, things just have to go smoothly, don't you think?

Perhaps 2 of the 6 Warthogs mentioned were wounded, and were promised to be added "when found", but what if they were NOT found? Then the Dip & Pack Agent would have only received 4 Sets of tusks, and might not even know that the other 2 were "promised" if it wasn't written down somewhere..? Who would be blamed? Yip, it's much easier to blame it on the Dip & Pack guy or Taxidermist to keep the client...

We know this is how it works, the client should be happy at all times, so even if we haven't received a Skull, a set of tusks, or even a Baboons' hands and feet that were promised to the client, all Taxidermists and Dip & Pack Agents will try to send it to the client afterwards, preferrably with another shipment to save costs. If a wounded animal was found the next day, what are the chances of NOT having trouble with hairslip..? We as the Taxidermist or Dipping Agent, can only do with what we receive. The FIRST preparation of the trophies, is the most important part of all, and if you as the Hunter can be more part of it, it would help everyone, but most of all, yourselves. One has to remember, "there's always 2 sides of a coin"...

 

[kuduman]

sorry to hear about your mount. what did you pay for your zebra rug? i am leaving in a couple weeks and have recieved a quote of 1000 euro for a skin on felt and 750 euro for a tanned hide. i am knew to this and didnt realize a zebra rug was so costly. i have decided to have my skulls euro mounted. last trip i payed for dip and pack, which from what i saw is very close to euro mounts. if i get them euro mounted in namibia, then i will save the dipping charge on each animal. i payed 80 u.s for each animal for dip and pack last trip and euro mounts are 80-90 euro per animal.