Bryne was the first trainer ever killed by orcas at a marine park. It took Sealand employees two hours to recover her body from Nootka, Haida, and Tilikum. They had stripped off all of her clothes save one boot, and she had bruises from bites across her skin. “It was just a tragic accident,” Al Bolz, Sealand’s manager, told reporters at the time. “I just can’t explain it.”
Emphasis added. From The Killer in the Pool.
Well, not all of it – some of it is legitimately awful taxidermy. But some of the entries at Crappy Taxidermy are clearly trying to do something other than simply mount the remains of animals in order to preserve a lifelike appearance.
Did you go there yet? OK, admittedly, a lot of it is just awful. If you’re patient, though, you’ll see some weirdly wonderful things in there.
Claire Morgan makes astonishing assemblies of taxidermied animals and other materials, meticulously placed with nylon strands. She uses many kinds of animals and insects, as well as fruit and leaves. I don’t have any idea what to make of any of it. I can’t decide whether I love it or would never want it in any space I occupy, even briefly (I or the work). Lots more photos of many installations over the last seven years at her website.
The history of London Zoo is revealed in images published online for the first time, including this shot of a bear meeting a tiger cub, dated April 1914. More pictures at the BBC.
I generally think of Mike Mitchell as the creator of the stricken ice cream cone, having tasted itself, wailing “MY GOD, I’M DELICIOUS!!!”
But there is so very much more. Batman, Mickey Mouse, Mario. And a variety of birds and skulls. Go there.