A Jaguar chasing red-and-green macaws – this exhibit shown in the current ARA exhibition at the by Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and prepared by the Museum’s award-winning taxidermists Robert Stein and Jürgen Fiebig as well as two fellow taxidermists from Stuttgart has been awarded the Taxidermists‘ Choice Best of Show Prize. An international board of adjudicators assessed 360 mounts submitted by 125 participants at the European Taxidermy Championships.
With its spectacular exhibits in an unusual setting, the current special exhibition ARA caught the imagination of more than 400,000 visitors. “It is a special joy and honour for us that not only one, but two of the exhibits of the ARA exhibition were awarded prizes at this year’s European Taxidermy Championships in Salzburg,” says Jürgen Fiebig, one of the prize-winning taxidermists at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.
“ARA puts the spotlight on sustainable conservation and taking responsibility in a constantly changing, globalised world, what options we have to act in the best interest of nature, reflecting on how we act as a society and how our behaviour must change. The fact that our exhibits provide food for thought in this process makes me particularly happy,” adds Robert Stein, multiple taxidermist world champion.
The most striking exhibit – a jaguar leaping up high in the air, trying to catch two large red-and-green macaws – was awarded the title “Taxidermists‘ Choice Best of Show.” The prize was awarded by competition participants, which reflects recognition from fellow taxidermists who acknowledge craftsmanship and high artistic standards. In order to finish the exhibits within three weekends, Robert Stein and Jürgen Fiebig enlisted the help of their Stuttgart colleagues and Jan Panniger und Marie Christin Scheinpflug. The particular challenge was to achieve a stable position of the jaguar standing on just one hind leg. A square iron was implanted into the body of the animal. The Jaguar is a subspecies of the Amazonian jaguar, which is particularly large. The animal lived in Berlin’s Tierpark. Including the macaws taking flight, the whole exhibit is 3.20 metres tall.
A mounted harpya, a large raptor, also shown with a macaw as prey, has been awarded third prize in the special Excellences category. Overall, the taxidermists from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin submitted 20 animals in 12 exhibits. These include a little pied cormorant and an African openbill. These were awarded 80 out of 100 points, which put them in second place in the bird group ranking. The third place in the same category was taken by the mounted blue whistling thrush and Stella’s lory by Robert Stein, with over 70 out of 100 points.
„Taxidermists study the specific characteristics of a bird species, such as their typical perching posture or the way their feathers are ruffled in certain situations.These define the artistic scope of the taxidermist,” says Jürgen Fiebig. We must understand what happens inside the bird and have a good grasp of its anatomy,“ adds taxidermist Stein. There is a lot of competition, and only the person who works with utmost precision right to the tip of the claws and feathers stands a chance of winning.” The accolades both taxidermists took home to Berlin show the level of perfection they have reached in their trade.
The special ARA exhibition at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, which was developed in collaboration with WWF Deutschland, the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots e.V. (ACTP e.V.) and the Verband der Zoologischen Gärten (VdZ) will remain open till the end of 2018, including the prize-winning jaguar and harpya exhibits.
Photos and further extensive information
Images can be found in the download folder below:
http://download.naturkundemuseum-berlin.de/presse/Best_of_Show