*Two of the taxidermied loons currently on display at the Loon Center.*

Taxidermied loons have been a part of the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation’s (ACLC) Loon Center in downtown Saranac Lake exhibits since we’ve had a showroom to display them. Visitors can see life-size (because they once were alive) loons in different natural poses – and one loon in the non-natural pose of standing upright like a penguin – in showcases throughout the Center. One loon sits on a nest, another hangs from the ceiling with its wings spread in flight, one dips its head as if to peer under the water, and two hold their wings open as if stretching.

These preserved loons offer visitors a chance to see a loon up-close, to examine the way light reflects in different colors off their feathers and the wrinkles on their feet. The most common comment we hear when visitors peer at these specimens: “Wow! I never knew loons are so big!”

Taxidermy has a long history as a staple in both educational and conservation spaces for these reasons. Since people first understood that species could disappear forever because of human behaviors like overhunting, taxidermy became a way to preserve representatives of a species for future generations.

*Coming soon: New loon models to replace taxidermied loons at the Loon Center.*

This led to decisions that appear contradictory in hindsight, such as when one-time trophy hunter William Hornaday set out to shoot some of the last remaining plains bison in the name of preserving them from what was considered inevitable extinction. In 1886, Hornaday shot and killed 20 of the last remaining bison – after seven months of searching and locating bands as small as four individuals (he shot them all) – to taxidermy and put on display in the National Museum in Washington, DC.

In what is considered to be the birth of the modern conservation movement, Hornaday went on to become director of the zoological park that is now the Bronx Zoo, where he championed raising bison in captivity to replenish the species. At one point, there was a proposal to release bison in the Adirondack Park. (The idea was not approved.) Conservation, at its beginning, was problematic (and in some cases still is) – it focused on the desires of hunters to preserve species most coveted for hunting, disregarded the cultures and rights of indigenous people, and was mired in the racial prejudices of the time. That, however, is another, longer story. (You can read more about the history of conservation in Michelle Nijhuis’s excellent 2021 book Beloved Beasts.)

Samples of species preserved through taxidermy have furthered the aims of conservation by helping us remember what is at stake (or what has been lost) and by introducing the public to species they might otherwise never see in real life. This is the goal of the taxidermied loons at the Loon Center — to provide an up close view of an iconic animal that many people only see and hear from a distance. Each taxidemied loon currently on display was collected after they had died in the wild and had been examined by the NY Department of Environmental Conservation. A permit is required to possess a taxidermied loon for educational purposes.

*Allen Aardsma in his studio, sketching patterns for one of the loon models.*

These specimens are getting worn out, however, and starting to show wear and tear - attracting insects and showing general degradation. To best preserve specimens requires the use of substances like arsenic, which has been largely banned from use because of its toxicity. Even big natural history institutions like the Smithsonian are reconsidering their use of taxidermy, and contemplating what to do with the old, degraded displays that have been in place since the days of Hornaday.

This has led the Loon Center to explore other options for its educational loon models, and to a partnership with Allen Aardsma of Pondside Studios in Jay, NY. Allen is well-known throughout the Adirondacks for his life-like wood sculptures of wildlife, from palm-sized wooden turtles whittled by hand to large, life-size black bears carved with an assortment of power tools and painted to reflect an animal’s natural appearance.

For the Loon Center models, Allen experimented with a different medium: foam. Using the same tools he uses to rend shapes from blocks of wood, Allen used large foam blocks to craft life-size, hand painted loons that will be more durable and long-lasting than their once living predecessors.

“I haven’t done this before,” Allen said when sketching out his initial ideas for the foam, “but I’ll learn from it.”

ACLC Director of Education and Communications Denise Silfee shadowed Allen in his studio for a day to see the first steps of turning foam into loons. Below is a photo gallery of Allen’s process. When they are complete, these seven new models will replace their taxidermied counterparts in the Loon Center exhibits. They will help the thousands of visitors who come through the Loon Center each year to see and learn and to marvel that, yes, loons really are that big.