Put on your creative thinking caps. Can anyone give me an idea for displaying a mature fox, bobcat and a pheasant in an action scene. The base will be 36" x 36" with the habitat being added by the customer.There is no height restriction. He is providing no suggestions on the layout. He trusts my judgement and wants to be suprised when he walks in the door. The easiest is for both to be leaping after the flying bird. I have thought of the bird in the cats mouth with the fox "laying and waiting" or the cat laying on a branch above the floor of the scene. Not much action there though. I don't know if a tug of war would happen in the wild but that came to mind. Anyone have any other suggestions?
Thanks for your help.
ks
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KS,I would have the pheasant laying dead with the paws of the fox on the pheasant and have him twisting his head to look behind him as the bobcat leaps or is running at him,hope this helps.
but I would have the pheasant dead and the bobcat hunched over it snarling with a paw in the air as if he was just done batting at the fox and the fox wheeling around to avoid it. Or have the bobcat making full contact with the fox and the fox turning his head with the eye closed on the side of the face that's getting smacked. Just a couple of thoughts. I personally don't feel it would be very natural for two different species to sneak up on one prey at the exact same time and leap into the air at the same time to catch it. Not saying it never has happened, just that I feel there are better options. Good Luck. Alan C.
Now i know George is gonna say i have been sniffing too many paint fumes, but how about the fox grabbing the pheadsant out of mid air, in front of a hollow tre base where the bobcat is yawning in amusement, Would look cute
Maybe I should have said action instead of drama. But the result is the same, a mount that gets boring to look at very quickly.
To illustrate a perfect mount, I will refer you to a mount at the 1982 NTA at Witchita KS. Two coyotes and a badger by Henry Wichers Inchumuk, no snarls, no fangs, no extreme poses. Sorry I can't tell you where to find a picture of it. All of the magizines have had the pictures and I run across it when I am looking for something in my old magazines. Everytime I see it I still love it. Anyone(oldtimers) out there who has seen it will know immediatly the mount I am refering to.
For your mount, here are two suggestions along the lines of the HWI mount. Both involve the animals coming along a trail and meetiing face to face(not literally), they are titled;
1. Fox in posession of dead pheasant "Oh crap"
2. Bobcat in posession of dead pheasant "What're you lookin at!"
I have seen the Henry Wichers Inchumuk mount. It is everything you say it is. I had thought of that type of scene but was unsure of the placement of the pheasant. I feel that the bird should not just hang from its mouth as they check each other out. Which one of the two mammals would be more apt to lay behind the rock or downfall with the pheasant in its possession. They are in winter coats so is food stashed for the winter months or is it consumed when it's caught?
This one is more difficult to plan than the raccoon/skunk scene I also need to do.
Thanks to all for your help.
ks
I would suggest to the customer that I might mount the fox running off with the pheasant stuffed into his mouth, with a SEPERATE base to be mounted a short distance across the room of the bobcat sitting up on its haunches watching the fox go on by. If a mount wont look right, I tell the customer Id rather not do it. Two predators like that just dont mix well, in my opinion...
........Do the three of them as dead game mounts hanging on the wall.
That is sure to ignite his emotions!
....have the pheasant perched on a branch eating a bag of popcorn while it's overlooking the fox and the bobcat playing poker or something else that they normally don't do.... like fighting or something :-)