Feature: Argentine taxidermist turns love of animals into lifelong career

Argentina's Pedro Damonte says his love of animals led him to study and now teach taxidermy.

Damonte now is the director of the Higher Institute for Taxidermy and Conservation (ISTC), where he studied. Some 13,000 students have graduated from the program to date.

"It began as a hobby, because I liked animals, I was always fond of them," Damonte told Xinhua.

"I became more and more enthusiastic about it -- I think it happens to most people -- until there came a time when I could not get out of taxidermy, despite having a construction company," he said.

The heart of the institute, located in Carlos Spegazzini, a town in Greater Buenos Aires, is a workshop filled with furs, glass eyes, molds and animals in different stages of being stuffed and mounted.

"I love teaching, it makes me very happy, I'm privileged. A person who works at what he likes can get along with everyone, and if he gets paid for it, even better," said smiling Damonte.

Taxidermy, which combines science and sculpture, has traditionally been used to conserve animal species for museum exhibits or as trophies for hunters, but the beloved family cat or dog may get the same treatment.

Damonte said his work on wild animals, especially large cats, "for many people and for museums," has been the most memorable.

"I worked on a pair of leopards that I loved and that I thought came out the best. Then a pair of three-meter bears appeared, and I didn't want to hand them over to the clients, because I became so fond of the animals," said Damonte.

It may seem like solitary work, but Damonte says any client that comes to the institute "ends up becoming a friend." Enditem