Wayne City, Wisconsin — Hannah Stolz, 20, of Wayne in Washington County was named the top model at the National Taxidermist Society Convention, held July 20-23 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The convention featured 103 competitors from 25 states who entered a total of 245 mounts into the competition. These numbers were better than the 2022 convention, which had 85 competitors and 189 mounts.
Stolz’s crowned crane, a species native to Africa, has received awards in the Breakthrough Best of Show, Best Bird in the Masters and North American Champion categories.
Stolz has been practicing taxidermy for seven years. He is essentially self-taught.
When she was 13, Stolz shot a turkey with a bow. She mounted it but wasn’t joyful with the result.
“Do you think you can do better?” her dad asked her.
“Yes, let me try,” was her reply.
Her mother began collecting roadkill pheasants for Stolz to practice on. As her skills improved, she worked with several other taxidermists and eventually began getting paid to work for clients. She entered her first competition in 2019 and has competed regularly ever since.
Stolz obtained the crowned crane for the contest from a friend in Massachusetts who breeds many species of birds. The crane was venerable and had died a natural death. The crane’s body was frozen, wrapped in insulation, and rushed to Stolz’s shop overnight.
“It was the most perfect bird,” Stolz said. “That bird was spectacular, perfect. That’s why I chose that one. Just the uniqueness of it.”
Stolz estimates she spent 60 to 70 hours assembling the crane. The most tedious part was reconstructing the head.
“A lot of time went into the face,” she said. “I sculpted it all by hand.”
Stolz said the facial tissue shrinks significantly, and the nature of the skin makes it virtually impossible to preserve.
Transporting the crane to Sioux Falls was a challenge. Stolz placed it in the back of a car and carefully secured the bird with plastic wrap to the seat.
“Once you stopped and started, it didn’t shake too much,” she said. “That was probably the most nerve-racking part.”
The Breakthrough Best of Show award was particularly satisfying for Stolz. For this award, the judges looked at every horse entered in each category and selected the most outstanding of all the entries.
Stolz plans to enter the Word Taxidermy Competition next year, but she is not sure where the competition will be held.
“They say it’ll be late August,” Stolz said. “Usually it’s in Missouri.”
A crowned crane and at least one other mount will also be taking part in this competition.
“I haven’t decided what else I want to put on it yet,” she said. “I think it might be a duckling, and I also have some Senegalese thick-kneed drake, which is a small wading bird. Kind of like a mini crane.”
Stolz is a full-time taxidermist who runs Windy Hills Taxidermy. She also breeds more than 100 species of birds, which she sells to zoos and sanctuaries.
This National Taxidermists Association is headquartered in Missoula, Mont. It was founded in 1972 by Charlie Haynes of Popular Bluff, Mo. According to its website, the group’s mission is to promote the art of taxidermy, protect the freedom to hunt and promote wildlife conservation.
