So long as the tanning goes well, I have every confidence in the final taxidermy job. I'm planning on a full-body mount with the bear stepping over a couple of rocks and pulling back with a half-angry, half-surprised look from a P.O.'ed wolverine that's got a dead fall-phase ptarmigan between its front legs. It's fitting, given that there were ptarimigan everywhere on that hunt, and wolverine tracks in the area (had a tag for one, but no luck). I ended up buying a suitable wolverine hide on my way home -- just have to source the bird now. It sounds pretty lavish, but I really wanted to put something in the mount that shows the bear's attention being drawn to something, and showing a real "moment". If I'm ever going to go over-the-top on a mount, this is the one to do it with.
The kicker is that I spoke with Ken Walker (yes, "the" Ken Walker -- former taxidermy guy for the Smithsonian Institute, now retired near Edmonton) and he's got me down for one of the handful of full-body mounts he does every year just to keep busy.
As much as I'm already wanting to see the finished product, it's going to be about 18 months away. I should have the tanned hide back from Alaska in January, then Ken said he'll need 10-12 months to complete the job. It's a bit of a wait, but I'm sure it's going to turn out to be a spectacular job from one of the best living taxidermy artists.
Thanks for sharing. 
