I have a 35-year-old bear skin and a 25-year-old zebra skin that are both looking as if they need some refurbushing and have parts detaching--what should I do to keep them looking good and preserve them?
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Patty, When you see "parts detaching" on tanned skins it usually means there is bug damage or the hides were not properly neutralized at the time of tanning- that is to say the acid used to pickle the skins was not completely stabilized and has "eaten" away at the skin itself. Now, no way I can say for sure since I can't see what you have but if it's the acid the situation will continue with the skin being very fragile and easy to tear. If it is bug damage (little guys that eat the hair causing it to come off in patches) you can stop that by killing what's there and spraying about every 3 months. To kill off any critters now in the skins you can freeze them (use a chest freezer set below o degrees F) for a week or so, remove for a week and then refreeze for another week to get any eggs that hatch. Then completly spray with a killer/repellant like Mountshield (get it from your local taxidermist). Treating each 3 months should prevent further bug damage but as for what's already damaged the taxidermist can cut out bald areas and sew the skins as needed or sew in patches of new skin if needed. Nothing about the modern taxidermy process guarantees that bugs will not damage a skin. It is disappointing to lose pieces to insects but hopefully you will be able to save these. If you have specific questions and I can help you with this email me substituting @ for the AT in my email address. Good luck, Aaron H.