My Uncle recently passed and left a Tiger skin sealed in a large drum. The skin is over 40 years old and extremely stiff. I need to know how to soften it so it can be removed from the drum and desplayed to it's best advantage. Any help at all would be appreciated by myself and my aunt. e-mail reply is best.
Thank you in advance,
Terry Duerr Shorecat1@aol.com
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40 years old - Wow! Do you know if it was tanned, or simply salted raw and dried? However, either way - it could simply fall apart upon soaking it, even with the best protection and care. If it doesn't, then it could be tanned, or retanned, but it should be done by someone that is knowledable about tanning. Try to contact a Taxidermist in your area that tans his own skins. Keep in mind however, that the age of the skin, even if its tannable, is detrimental, and you may not get as soft a skin as you may normally expect from fresher skins. My own thoughts are - your skin may be beyond soaking and tanning, and may not make it. Older raw salted and dried skins tend to slowly lose any water in the tissues, the fibers collapse, and they glue themselves together.