PHOTO PROVIDED
Area taxidermist Cameron Ream, of Julian, recently won a silver medal for his reproduction of an alligator catching a crawfish at the world championship in Iowa.
JULIAN — A local taxidermist took home silver at a world championship event recently.
Cameron Ream, of Julian, Pa., has been a taxidermist since 2011 and has been steadily growing his skillset.
Though it has been a few years since Ream has competed in any competitions, he recently drove 15 hours to compete in the World Taxidermy Championships taking place in Coralville, Iowa.
The World Taxidermy and Fish Carving Championships are held every two years and the competition is open to any aspiring taxidermist who wishes to participate.
“It’s a free for all. It’s not like the Olympics where you have to qualify — you can just show up and compete. I kind of follow a 6-3-1 rule. Amateur you can look from 6 feet away and know that’s a striped bass. You get 3 feet away for professional and yeah, it looks like a striped bass, but the fin junctions are bad and the eyes are the wrong direction. Then the masters level you get one foot, your scales are missing this detail,” said Ream.
PHOTO PROVIDED
Area taxidermist Cameron Ream, of Julian, recently won a silver medal for his reproduction of an alligator catching a crawfish at the world championship in Iowa.
Over 700 mounts made by taxidermists from around 16 countries and 45 states were displayed in the competition room for visitors and other competitors to see.
There are three main levels to compete in based on a taxidermist’s skill level such as the Novice, Professional or Daster division; each entry is judged numerically rather than judged against other entries.
In each of those divisions is 18 categories, including medium-small mammals, large mammals, game birds, non-game birds, warm and cold water fish, reptiles and numerous ‘reproduction’ categories.
Ream entered a reproduction alligator mount depicting a small alligator posed to look as though it were swimming to catch a crawfish into the Master’s division.
“The alligator looks like he was swimming on the bottom of a swamp with the crawfish,” he said, explaining the scene he set.
With a reproduction mount, the entire animal is crafted by Ream and there is no real animal skin used.
“If it’s done well you’d never know. I’d rather do a reproduction than a scale mount,” said Ream, “They have two judges for each mount and they average the scores. The judges are allowed to walk up to (the mount) and pick them up, flip them over and touch them.”
Ream’s scoresheet on the mount read, “A truly wonderful (reproduction!) I enjoyed your work. If I were to say one thing if I may, I’ll say look at your own reference regarding the eye size.”
“The best in the world and I were tied with a 97. They had a cool mount — it was a gecko with a sandmound and a rattlesnake sneaking up on it. They had more than one reptile on their mount whereas I just had one. The judges decided theirs was nicer — they had a cooler composition,” said Ream.
Though the next world championship isn’t until 2026, Ream is already making concept sketches of his next entry.
“I look through old magazines (for inspiration.) You can mount the best stuff there is. You can find a picture online of the exact pose. When it comes to winning a world title, a lot of it is art and design. It sets a scene, tells a story, has a flow to it. It’s not just a duck on a rock. It has to have movement to it. I’m pretty confident I’ll do well (next time.) I know I can make it even better,” said Ream.
You can see more of Ream’s work and his pricing on his website, taxidermybycam.com.
