Taxidermy teacher gets Smithsonian specimens

CORINNA, Maine -- A teacher leading one of the nation's only high school taxidermy courses has come a long way since he once stopped to pick up road kill: Now he's getting specimens from the Smithsonian.

Howard Whitten, a Nokamis Regional High School science teacher, convinced the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., to donate $1 million worth of stuffed and mounted animals, tanned and frozen hides, skulls and frozen specimens.

More than 400 specimens were donated, including a pair of lions from Mozambique, bighorn sheep from Russia and a grizzly bear. The items were in a personal collection donated to the Smithsonian.

"Oh my God. He is so beautiful," said Jessica Lach, 19, of Chicago, referring to a deer specimen. "I've been looking forward to this for a long while."

Lach is a student at the College of the Atlantic, which will share the collection with School Administrative District 48, which includes Corinna.

Whitten took three students to the Smithsonian in 2001. "I planted the seeds. And although it took three years, this is the harvest," he said.

He no longer has to convince game wardens, sportsmen and museums to donate animals to his program. Instead, he hopes to create a library where schools and other institutions can borrow specimens.

-- From wire reports