Gredos Ibex

The Ibex is a species of Wild Goat. There are a number of sub species of Ibex which inhabit only mountainous areas, from Europe to Central Asia (Siberia) and also North Africa. The Gredos Ibex (Western Spanish ibex, ‘Gredos’ is the name of the Mountain Region in Spain, from which they come).  A big male (Billy) would be about the weight of a small fallow buck at about 100 kg (260lbs). Both sexes have horns but it is the males which carry the impressive horns. Females are very much smaller than the males.  The herds are highly managed on many large mountain estates in Spain, where hunting is a tradition going back many generations. Consequently numbers there are healthy and stocks are high, to allow for a number of the older Billies to be taken each year as part of the anual management cull. Ibex are also hunted for their venison.
Further reading here:
http://www.arkive.org/

Gredos Ibex taxidermy

A fully grown mature male Gredos Ibex is a spectacular animal and, if space allows, they certainly make a stunning full mount provided are presented to compliment and show them  in the most aesthetically advantageous manner. Standing one on a flat square base on all fours at floor level is, in my opinion, a total waste of money on a full mount and would be better displayed as a floor pedestal or a wall shoulder mount. Raising the mount up off the floor, to eye level, brings the mount into the room at a height which will hold the gaze of the viewer and therefore a better appreciation of the Ibex.

The Gredos Ibex is a consummate mountaineer, capable of the seemingly impossible in its agility and fearlessness on even the most inaccessible face of a sheer cliff, we wanted to portray something of this by placing the Ibex up off the ground, as if standing atop the exposed the tip of a limestone crag, surveying his surroundings. To create this scene we designed and constructed an artificial limestone crag outcrop for the Ibex to be standing on.
To create a unique mount such as this requires the designing, engineering and constructing of the bespoke rock base specifically for this Ibex.

The height, shape and angulation of the rock are all designed to present the ibex at the optimum height and lift the mount from the floor by making its connection to the base minimal, allowing for plenty of “air” beneath the Ibex. A bespoke made solid state rock construction like this one is time consuming to create and that will be reflected in the cost to create it.We mounted this Ibex on a standard commercial form which required a 15% all over size reduction. Reducing a form in proportional size is more work than simply altering the position.

This completed mount consists of the following separate components:

• Full mount Gredos Ibex, mounted on a substancially reduced commercial form.
• Bespoke made highly detailed artificial limestone crag outcrop
• Habitat on base.
• 5” high Oak long Octagonal Base surround.
• Mounted on four discreet casters to allow it to be easily moves around the display area
• The ibex lifts easily from the base and the horns are removeable for ease of shipping and transport.

THIS MOUNT IS A COMMISSIONED PIECE AND IS NOT FOR SALE.