What do you look for in a taxidermist?  Experience?  Quality?  Creativity?  Attention to detail?  You’ll find all of this and more at Wildlife Encounters Taxidermy.  Our award winning taxidermists have the vision and imagination to create a piece of wildlife art that makes you relive your wildlife encounter everyday.  Whether it’s North American game, African game, exotics, birds, fish, rugs, life size or shoulder mounts, we do it all.  Wildlife Encounters was created to service the affluent sportsman as well as the local hunter and everyone in between!

Our staff of taxidermy experts will mount your trophies to your specifications.  We modify our taxidermy forms to achieve poses that cannot be achieved with stock materials.  This allows us to recreate your dream hunt or create taxidermy art.  Anything is possible.  We only use quality materials, and when you combine these with an expert taxidermist and imagination, good things happen. You get a quality taxidermy mount that will last generations.

We are professional full-time taxidermists, not hobbyists or part-timers.  We devote the time needed to produce only high quality products, a piece of art that both the outdoorsman and taxidermist will be proud of.  Can there be a greater disappointment than delivering a beautiful specimen to the taxidermist and receiving substandard taxidermy in return?  After the cost of the equipment, the travel, the guide, why take a chance on your memories?  When you look up at that majestic whitetail buck, bull elk, or moose, we want you to be satisfied that you received the best taxidermy there is to offer.  We want to hear you say “that’s exactly what he looked like when I saw him.”  One of the greatest compliments a taxidermist can receive is “Wow, he looks alive.”  Our goal is to hear that from every client.

What goes into making a quality taxidermy piece?  Well, only quality taxidermy materials to start.  We use quality forms that our taxidermists customize to achieve the pose you desire.  At times the condition of the hide may make a particular pose more desirable.  Our taxidermists will council you on what may work best.  This is where our expertise comes in.  Knowing what can be done to make your trophy look its best and modifying the materials to make it happen.  Custom eyes, the best open mouth parts, we won’t skimp on materials.  This is one of the many reasons we have a loyal following.

The next thing that goes into making a quality taxidermy piece is expert taxidermy craftsmanship.  That is exactly what we have.  Our staff is experienced at African, Asian, Exotic and North American game.  Our safari work is second to none.  Whether it is a lion, a leopard, an elephant or Plains game, Gemsboks, black buck or Kudu, we have the taxidermy experience.

What about turn around time?  As a full-time taxidermy studio, we are able to minimize your wait for your trophy.  We do not believe in mass produced taxidermy, but you will not wait a long time for your piece.  Our expert taxidermists give each trophy, from small mammal to elephant, the attention it deserves.

Do you want a shoulder mount?  Whitetail, mule deer, zebra?  We can do it all.  In fact, our taxidermists are among the best in the country and we have the awards to prove it.  But maybe you want something more unique.  Our taxidermists can work with your imagination and create a unique piece you will be proud to display.  We do pedestal mounts that are truly works of art.  We have standard pedestals or they can be custom made in rich hardwoods.  How would you like a life-sized mount with the games natural habitat reproduced with such detail that it brings you back to your “Wildlife Encounter”?  We can even do dioramas with multiple mounts and appropriate habitat scenery, painted by our artists, as a background.  We’ll design your entire trophy room if you like.  Big horn sheep, dall sheep on a Marco polo Ram on a rocky slope.  Maybe a grizzly bear or Alaskan Brown Bear fishing in a stream for trout or salmon.

Wildlife Encounters Taxidermists are located in upstate Hurley, New York.  In the beautiful Hudson River Valley, at the base of the Catskill Mountains, just minutes from Kingston, NY. 

We’re just five minutes off the New York State Thruway at exit 19, Kingston.  It is about 1 ½ hours from the New York City and Long Island area.  It is even closer to Northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  About 1 hour is all it takes from the Albany/Capital District area.  If you are from Utica Rome, or even Syracuse and the Finger Lakes region it is an easy Thruway ride to reach us.  In fact, New York’s Adirondack Mountains, the Berkshires, Western Massachusetts, Southern Vermont, and Eastern Connecticut all surround the Hudson valley and take less than three hours to drive. 

We feel that we are worth it.  You won’t be disappointed that you trusted us with your trophy. 

All of you hunters and fisherman closer to home in Westchester county, Delaware county, Dutchess county, Columbia county, Greene county and Orange county including Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Middletown have no excuses not to give us an opportunity to be your taxidermist.  You’ll be glad you did.
 

Jim Brown is our chief taxidermist.  Born in upstate New York and raised in High Falls, NY, he grew up loving the outdoors.  He spent his formative years fishing the Ashokan Reservoir, (a part of the New York City water supply system), for walleye, smallmouth bass and brown trout.  He especially loved fishing the famous Esopus Creek for rainbow trout and brown trout.  He continues to enjoy fishing today.  He hunted for whitetail deer and the less common wild turkey on the ridges of the nearby Shawangunk Mountains and the Catskill mountains.  Of course small game, predator and waterfowl hunting were all part of his growing up too.  We were lucky to have plenty of rabbits, red fox, grey fox and coyotes to occupy our time in those days.  Geese and ducks (especially wood ducks) were plentiful also.  Although Jim loved to hunt and fish, taxidermy was never really on his mind.  He spent his early working years as a skilled laborer but a rod and reel and a firearm were never far from his hands.  Jim traveled on outdoor adventures to Saskatchewan Canada for big whitetail deer, and Alaska to fish for salmon.  Still being a taxidermist was not on his mind.  It wasn’t until about sixteen years ago when the opportunity arose by chance to start doing taxidermy.  Jim had given a whitetail buck to a friend to mount.  He was a taxidermist that supplemented his income by doing carpentry.  As Jim waited for his deer, his friend was becoming a full-time carpenter.  Eventually he became too busy and suggested that Jim try taxidermy for himself.  Intrigued, Jim did some reading and bought some taxidermy videos.  That first deer got him hooked!  He began studying wildlife anatomy in depth and taxidermy became his passion.  Jim had found his calling.  God has blessed Jim with a talent for creating wildlife masterpieces.  This gift blossomed quickly in Jims hands.  He began competing in taxidermy competitions on the state and national levels.  With accolades and encouragement from the likes of taxidermy icons such as Bill Yox and Rick Carter, his passion for wildlife artistry grew.  To be a great taxidermist, one must be extremely familiar with anatomy, dissection, sculpture, tanning, and painting.  Jim is adept in all of these areas.  Jim credits the teaching seminars that he took at taxidermy competitions and the critiques of the taxidermy masters Bill Yox and Rick Carter with advancing his skill level greatly.

Jim was the owner/taxidermist at Summit Taxidermy in High Falls, NY for several years.  He left taxidermy for several years to battle a serious illness and with God’s help he was able to persevere and return to his passion.  He then worked for a large taxidermy business and gained valuable experience with less common wildlife such as large bears, sheep, rare exotics and a great array of plains and African game. 

But he loves to do North American game, and if you ask him what his specialty is, the answer is deer, specifically whitetail deer.  Jim has won many awards for his whitetails including the prestigious Joseph Bruchac Memorial Award, Master of Masters.  Another top award winner was a caribou shoulder mount that garnered the coveted Wasco award for most artistic entry.  If you would like to see an example of his artistic genius, look in the Bass Pro Shops in Denver Colorado.  He did the grizzly swiping at the salmon.  Jim supervises our taxidermy staff and brings his passion for wildlife art and taxidermy to Wildlife Encounters Taxidermy.  We are lucky to have him.

Over 60 - 1st place entries 1999 Northeast Wildlife Art Show, Stow, Vermont Grey Fox, 1st Place, Best of Category Best Life-size mammal 1st Place – Best of Category Black Bear 2000 United Taxidermists of New York 1st Place, Best of Category, Open Mouth Whitetail 2000 Joe Coombs Award Judges Choice, Best Professional Whitetail Mount 2001 United Taxidermists of New York Convention – Syracuse, NY 1st Place, Best of Category, Whitetail 2001 Whitetail Specialists Award Best Whitetail Shoulder Mount 2002 United Taxidermists of New York Jonas Bros. Award Judges Choice Best Gamehead – Masters Division Best of Show Commercial Mount Whitetail Wasco Award Most Artistic Entry, Pedestal Caribou 2002 Safari Club International Award Best Gamehead – North America, Pedestal Caribou Joe Coombs Award – Trophy Whitetail, Best W.T. Masters Division Garden State Taxidermy Assoc. 2001 1st Place Whitetail, Open Mouth Best of Category 1st Place Black Bear, Open Mouth 2002 1st Place, Best of Category Whitetail Pedestal, Masters Division 2004 National Taxidermy Association National Convention      Huntsville, Alabama 1st Place Masters Division, Pedestal Whitetail 2004 United Taxidermists of New York Buckeye Manikins Award Highest Scoring Whitetail, Masters Division Buckmasters Award Judges Choice Best in Show Whitetail Joseph Bruchac Memorial Award Best Whitetail, Masters Division Masters of Masters Judges Choice Best in Show Masters Division, Whitetail Deer 1st Place – Gameheads Black Bear 1st Place – Gameheads Axis Deer

Jim also has an interest in passing his knowledge on to the future taxidermists.  If you are considering Taxidermy school, call to get information on a Taxidermy workshop with Jim.  This is an opportunity to learn from an award winning wildlife artist.  Housing is available.