KATHMANDU: If your pet is dead you can still preserve its body, thanks to taxidermy, which helps give the dead animal a lifelike appearance.

“It is possible to give your dead pet a lifelike appearance by the use of taxidermy,” said Dev Chandra Shrestha, the only taxidermist in the country. Shrestha has been working with the Natural History Museum for over three decades.

The Natural History Museum at Chhauni, Swoyambhu, houses hundreds of such pecimens of animals and insects, including indigenous and endangered ones.

“It is important to keep the samples of these animals to create awareness about the preservation of these rare species,” said Dr Keshav Das Shrestha, chief, Natural History Museum.

Dev Chandra said it would be possible to use taxidermy at home after getting a simple two-day training and necessary objects such as blade, corn powder, cotton, alcohol, spirit, resin, scissors, knife, coir, needle, nylon string and glue.

“One of my students told me that she used this method and preserved her dead parrot,” Dev Chandra added.

Hari Prasad Sharma, lecturer at the Central Department of Zoology, Tribhuvan University, said taxidermy was a useful method to utilise the dead bodies of animals for various purposes. “We can decorate our house and also sell them for commercial purposes,” said Sharma. Sharma is getting training on taxidermy at the NHM.

The Natural History Museum, in cooperation, with the World Wildlife Fund is providing training on taxidermy for all interested persons.

“Twenty-four persons are getting this training at present,” Dr Shrestha said. He further added that the museum was capable of providing training to anybody interested.

“The trainees have to bear the expenses only for the required materials,” Dr Shrestha added.

The museum has so far trained about 1,000 persons.