Why Choose Us

Bakker Taxidermy started because of a passion for wildlife and nature in general.  I grew up in a family of hunters and outdoorsmen.  Even at a young age I was amazed by the grace and beauty of animals.  At the age of 11 through encouragement from my parents, I began to learn the basics of wildlife art.  It started with reading books and digging in and trying things.  The early projects were very hard and crude, but the passion to recreate a wild creature kept me going.  At the age of 20 I went through a taxidermy school, worked at the school for a short time and began doing projects for family and neighbors.  Our first showroom was in the front entrance of our home.  The shop was located behind the house, most projects were carried from the shop to the house and displayed in the showroom for customer pickup.  Now 17 years later our shop and showroom are divided but under the same roof.  I’ve been fortunate to be able to pass the love of nature and it’s creatures on to my own kids.  The oldest 3 have  harvested deer, pheasants and turkeys.  Each fall we enjoy hunting together.  My wife Lori and I have 7 children, our oldest 3 have become critical help to our business.

There have been many changes over the 17 years we’ve been in business.  In the beginning we mounted only creatures from our area.  We now specialize in big game from around the world.  So whether you are planning to hunt in New Zealand or South Africa, we have the experience to assist.  Whether you want just a shoulder mount Impala or a life-size African Lion in a custom habitat we can accomplish it.   We strive to stay on the cutting edge of what’s going on in the taxidermy industry.  One thing that hasn’t changed is our policy of continuous improvement!  Our passion is still to accurately pose and recreate nature, and there’s always room to improve.  We always encourage customers to share their expectations and ideas.  In addition to reading and learning from others in our field, we learn allot from our customers.

We hope you will consider trusting Bakker Taxidermy with your next souveniers from nature.  We love to build mounts to fit your space and can help you to create a pleasing piece you can enjoy for many years.  Your satisfaction is always our goal.

We follow your instructions and use a lot of reference photos to get the best finished piece for you. Thanks for considering Bakker Taxidermy!

– Josh Bakker