Taxidermy Lessons I A few things I learned from a hunter and a taxidermist today. African porcupines are much gnarlier than their New World counterparts. Their skulls, though, are about the same. Eyeless, like. A musk ox is a beautiful animal. Go ahead and kick the head off a manikin lying on the floor. You can always reattach it. Turkey heads can cost $80 each to freeze-dry. Then there's painting. These belong to a not-impossible number of deer to mount between seasons.