32 NEBRASKAland • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016
In this way, stuffing and mounting
predators – O'Hare's specialty – and
deer is a puzzle with a similar process
to that of a bird's.
O'Hare, operator of O'Hare's
Taxidermy, began to master these
processes in a high school art class,
when he set about restoring his
grandpa's 50-year-old battered deer
mount that had been shot in Nebraska's
first ever deer season in 1951. He
grew up loving hunting and art, and by
meshing both together, taxidermy was
a natural fit.
Mammals with fur or hair are a
tag-team effort between taxidermists
O'Hare shows off his jaw and mouth molds, which he uses to add more texture and
realism to an animal.
A bobcat hide, tagged and treated, waits for its turn under Branden O'Hare's careful
eye.
