TAXIDERMY is the art of preserving and mounting animal specimens. It is a combination of two Greek words – “taxis” and “derma” – which mean the arrangement of the skin. This is one of a museum’s special methods of preserving the skin of dead animals and mounting it on artificial bodies to make it look as realistic as if it were in its natural habitat.

A taxidermist must understand animal anatomy and be skilled in skinning, tanning, shaping and stitching the skin that has been preserved. Preserved animals are useful for exhibition, education, research and referencing.

Taxidermy work requires permits from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

More than 75,800 specimens of floral, faunal and geological collections are still held by the Department of Museums, some dating back to the 1890s.

Despite all efforts to establish a natural history museum since 1989, Malaysia has yet to establish such an institution, unlike neighboring countries such as Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Nancy Shukri.

Almost every nation in the world has a natural history museum to educate their societies about the variety of flora and fauna present in their respective countries. – May 9, 2022.