A day in the life of a taxidermist
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Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. He is seen here posing with some of them at Bishan Park. -- PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
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Award-winning Singaporean taxidermist Ken Mar will be tasked with preserving Sheba, the female polar bear that was put to sleep on Nov 15, 2012. According to Mr Mar, modern taxidermists do not stuff animals, but glue their skin onto a mannequin instead. The process to preserve Sheba will take about four months. Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), which owns the Singapore Zoo, said that Sheba will be displayed in the zoo’s auditorium and used in educational programmes such as Rolling With Pandas, in which visitors can learn about the eight species of bears in the world. -- PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
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Award-winning Singaporean taxidermist Ken Mar using industrial glue to fix the skin of a dead leopard, which has been converted into leather, onto a new 'body'. The whole taxidermy process takes several months. After the taxidermy, the specimen can be displayed. It will not be susceptible to insects or bacterial infection. -- PHOTO: KEN MAR
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Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. -- PHOTO: KEN MAR
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Taxidermist Ken Mar, who is working on a lioness for the zoo, in his Jalan Wangi shop on Nov 26, 2012. Polar bear Sheba will be preserved and displayed the zoo's auditorium for educational purposes. -- PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
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Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. -- PHOTO: KEN MAR
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Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. He is seen here posing with some of them at Bishan Park. -- PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
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Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. He is seen here posing with some of them at Bishan Park. -- PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
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Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. He is seen here posing with some of them at Bishan Park. -- PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. He is seen here posing with some of them at Bishan Park. -- PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Award-winning Singaporean taxidermist Ken Mar will be tasked with preserving Sheba, the female polar bear that was put to sleep on Nov 15, 2012. According to Mr Mar, modern taxidermists do not stuff animals, but glue their skin onto a mannequin instead. The process to preserve Sheba will take about four months. Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), which owns the Singapore Zoo, said that Sheba will be displayed in the zoo’s auditorium and used in educational programmes such as Rolling With Pandas, in which visitors can learn about the eight species of bears in the world. -- PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Award-winning Singaporean taxidermist Ken Mar using industrial glue to fix the skin of a dead leopard, which has been converted into leather, onto a new 'body'. The whole taxidermy process takes several months. After the taxidermy, the specimen can be displayed. It will not be susceptible to insects or bacterial infection. -- PHOTO: KEN MAR
Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. -- PHOTO: KEN MAR
Taxidermist Ken Mar, who is working on a lioness for the zoo, in his Jalan Wangi shop on Nov 26, 2012. Polar bear Sheba will be preserved and displayed the zoo's auditorium for educational purposes. -- PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. -- PHOTO: KEN MAR
Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. He is seen here posing with some of them at Bishan Park. -- PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. He is seen here posing with some of them at Bishan Park. -- PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Taxidermist Ken Mar, 54, works out of a HDB flat and his showroom in Macpherson. He is one of the few here who ply the trade. He is seen here posing with some of them at Bishan Park. -- PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Over a few days in early September, Ken Mar drove from the Singapore Zoo to his HDB flat in Bishan with different parts of a lioness carcass in plastic containers in his van.
The 54-year-old is a taxidermist and the zoo had commissioned Mr Mar to preserve the lioness after it died in a scuffle with some younger lions.
This week, he is putting the finishing touches to the lioness - which measures around 2.4m and was aged 16 years when it died. Its preserved form stands in the middle of his living room.
It is all in a day's work for the full-time professional taxidermist who, over the past 18 years, has preserved more than 60 creatures, ranging from beetles and scorpions to large animals such as deer and bears.
