Large mammals, such as elephants, antelopes and giraffes, offer extreme engineering challenges, due to their size. Meanwhile, very small animals test a taxidermist's ability to sculpt on a miniature scale, "like modeling an eyelid that's the size of a hair," she added.

Bécoeur is a well-known figure in the art of taxidermy, known for his arsenical soap that museums employed world-wide. Arsenic in museums collections has been prohibited since the 1980s because of the toxins.

Taxidermy involves dead animals so, by itself it appears to be morally neutral. The practice of taxidermy on rare and endangered species that were deliberately killed to be stuffed and displayed is criminal in some jurisdictions and unethical in many others.

Bones are often the focus of taxidermy. You can't do much with bones; they are what's left after the fur, skin, organs, and meat have been removed.