You Have Your Elephant Permit! Now What?!

[Jfet]

I shot my elephant late in the day. The decision was made to wait until the next morning to start processing of the carcass. That night around the campfire Jacques Strauss, @Kowas Adventure Safaris asked me what I wanted from the elephant. I had no idea! That is what this post is about. I am going to document this process so that y'all can make decisions and have ideas before you leave for your elephant hunt.

My Namibian elephant is at Truelife Taxadermy in Granbury, TX. I brought back two tusks, 4 feet, two ears, and as much of the skin that is useful. I did not bring back the trunk. It cost $6500 in shipping for the elephant.

Truelife Taxidermy, http://truelifetaxidermytx.com/Index, has done marvelous work for me in the past. Most importantly they have an incredible office manager by the name of Katie. She is excellent about answering phones and working you through your taxidermy process.

Lessons Learned:

1. Who is your PH? This one is pretty obvious. The most important characteristic for me is that you can work with that person.
2. Who is your Importer? Like PH’s there are several good ones in the hunting industry. After you have picked your PH, now spend as much time researching and interviewing your Importer.
3. Who is your taxidermist? This is where the learning curve goes up for me. I have just finished a phone call with Katie at Truelife Taxidermy. Katie is now doing a bunch of research because Truelife has not done an elephant, especially elephant skin, in the 10 years she has worked there. I have full confidence that she will soon have answers to my questions.
4. Elephant Skin Questions
   1. Where to get it tanned in the U.S.
      1. This is a big question because many of the tanneries that did this type of work in the U.S. may not do it anymore because of the importation ban.
      2. There may be more options for tanning elephant skin in Africa.
   2. What thickness of leather do you need for:
      1. Furniture
      2. Bags
      3. Footwear
   3. Who makes these things in the U.S.
   4. Elephant Feet
      1. Bar Stools: I have enough skin to make four 36” bar stools. Who knew?
      2. End Tables
      3. Umbrella rack
      4. Ottomans
   5. Elephant Ears
      1. African Scene Painted on the ears
         1. Big 5
         2. Portrait of a favorite scene from Africa.
      2. Who does this painting in the U.S.
   6. Tusks
      1. Traditional: The tusks are attached to a wooden base and sit against the wall, maybe by the fireplace. This is not working with 5 English cocker spaniels occasionally running through the house.
         1. Simple Base: generally nicely finished wooden blocks holding the tusks up.
         2. Non Simple Bases: I have seen some amazing cast bronze bases at DSC.
      2. Hanging from the wall horizontal
      3. Hanging from the wall vertically. Right now this is the plan at our house.
         1. Base of tusk towards the ceiling
         2. Base of tusk towards the floor
      4. Exchanging elephant leather for labor in making objects
         1. Current answer is “May Be”
         2. The person giving me this information has declined to spend time in jail with me but has agreed to come visit me.
         3. This idea is a work in progress.

I have a great responsibility to make sure the skin of this elephant is used fully. The village in Namibia that cut up the meat used every morsel. They set a great example. As elephants start to be brought into the U.S, since Christmas I know of 6 permits for Botswana elephants have been issued, it will help to have a better idea of what you want from your elephant. Please contribute to this discussion. Go Hunt Elephants!

 

[Jfet]

Elephant Hair Bracelets: Thick or Thin
My Bracelets were made in Namibia. I asked for as many as possible. I got three. Two of the bracelets were thick and one was thin. There could have been more bracelets made if they were all thin. I guess I am going to have to go hunt another elephant to get more.

 

[bashaw]

Is it possible to make headband for cowboy hat with the tail hair?

 

[bashaw]

Is it possible to make headband for cowboy hat with the tail hair?

similar to the bracelet but big enough for hat

 

[Jfet]

similar to the bracelet but big enough for hat

I have no idea. Each strand of the tail hair is similar to electrical wire. It may be difficult to weave enough together to fit around a hat. However, there are very talented craftsmen in Africa. You maybe able to find some one who can do it. It’s an intriguing idea.

 

[Jfet]

Furniture:
At DSC Princess Bride and me talked to Mathew Tammen of Blue Heron Furniture,

Buy & Design Custom Leather Furniture USA - Great Blue Heron Furniture

We design & build custom leather, exotic & cowhide furniture from the frame up at our Texas factory since 1991. Our goal is to set the standard in quality & design for custom upholstered furniture from western & contemporary style by offering truly unique furniture with unparalleled customer...

greatblueheronfurniture.com

The leather they need to make furniture needs to be 1.6mm in thickness.

Belts/Slings:
Leather for these items will be thicker. I do not have exact thickness measurements for these items. However, if you are wanting leather for furniture and belts this will require you to specify different amounts of your elephant skin to be tanned to different thicknesses.

Question:
For those of y’all that work with leather to make belts, what is the thicknesses of leather that you use?