Stuffing rare animals will provide opportunities for Bangladeshi students to learn the wildlife more and protect the fauna from extinction, experts said yesterday.
The wildlife specialists were addressing the inauguration ceremony of a month-long workshop on taxidermy, the art of filling the skin of a dead animal to make the animal look still alive.
At the programme, zoologists said taxidermy helps preserving animals that may otherwise have been lost by decay.
Bangladesh National Museum and zoology department of Rajshahi University (RU) jointly organised the workshop.
RU Zoology Prof Dr Bidhan Chandra Das said a lot of animals in Bangladesh die during cyclones and other natural calamities, which are simply buried.
“We can preserve those wildlife with taxidermy, which can be kept in zoos and museums can be used even in teaching students.”
He added that 27 RU students had participated in a workshop on taxidermy in March, who now are applying their experience in this field.
Only few birds and mammals in Bangladesh are being stuffed in the national museum now, he said, adding that the government should take steps for stuffing more animals.
Prof Bidhan suggested opening a natural history section in every museum.
Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad, the chief guest, said taxidermy is a very important subject nowadays, which helps conduct researches and teach students.
Dr Hasan Mahmud, state minister for environment and forests, said, “The environment is getting hostile towards us due to our attitudes towards it.”
Around 20 students from RU and other institutions will participate in the workshop to be conducted by Marco Fischer, a taxidermy expert from Germany.
