[Nhcoll-l] [EXTERNAL] Collections move and storing of full body and shoulder mounts of mammals

[Dahlberg, Elisa L]

We had a similar move a few years ago and did the same - wrapped our large mounts in plastic and used ethafoam or Styrofoam to fashion ear protectors or "hats" soas to not mat down fur and whatnot. If you seal them good enough it should deter most pests - we stored ours in a less than Ideal facility during our construction and didn't have any pest issues.

Best,

Elisa L. Dahlberg
Lead Biologist | Collections Manager
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | Office of Law Enforcement
National Wildlife Property Repository
6550 Gateway Road, Bldg. 128 | Commerce City, CO 80022
https://www.fws.gov/program/national-wildlife-property-repository

"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman." - Virginia Woolf


________________________________
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Amanda Bremner <Amanda.Bremner at nbm-mnb.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2023 11:02 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [Nhcoll-l] Collections move and storing of full body and shoulder mounts of mammals




 This email has been received from outside of DOI - Use caution before clicking on links, opening attachments, or responding.



Hi all,

The New Brunswick Museum (Canada) is embarking on a major building expansion that entails moving all collection to temporary off-site quarters for several years. The NBM Natural History Department houses a sizable collection (>400) of full body and shoulder mounts of mammals.  It has been suggested that these all be wrapped and taped in plastic sheeting as a pest control measure.  However, there is  concern that wrapping will damage ears, vibrissae, some tails, and habitat elements added to some mounts (grasses in particular).  Furthermore, sealing mounts in plastic will make it nearly impossible to undertake routine checks for pests (we have not had any significant issues with these in the past).  We would be interested in knowing how others are storing taxidermied mounts long-term and whether there are any opinions on wrapping mounts. Curatorial preference is to freeze each mount prior to movement, store on enclosed shelving unwrapped, and then monitor regularly for pests.



Thanks,

Amanda



Amanda Bremner M.Sc.

Coordinator, Natural History Loans & Databases; Curatorial & Research Technician Botany & Mycology Section

/ Coordinateur, prêts et bases de données d’histoire naturelle; Technicienne de conservation et recherché botanique et mycology

Department of Natural History / Département d’histoire naturelle

New Brunswick Museum / Musée du Nouveau-Brunswick

277 Douglas Avenue / 277, avenue Douglas

Saint John, New Brunswick / Saint John, Nouveau-Brunswick

Canada E2K 1E5

Tel: 506-566-1545

Amanda.Bremner at nbm-mnb.ca<mailto:Amanda.Bremner at nbm-mnb.ca>


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20230718/fceb4296/attachment.html>