Unreal Wildlife

ROGERS, Ark. -- An African lioness, head erect, belly on the ground, appears to give you a glance as you walk into this big conference room at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center. But the big cat can't hold your eyes more than a moment.

This place appears alive with wildlife. There's a wild turkey gobbler fluttering over a diamondback rattlesnake, a spotted leopard walking across a tree limb, and a whitetail buck eating the fruit from a prickly pear cactus plant.

But the key words here are "appears alive." This was the site of National Taxidermists Association's 41st annual convention in late July. The "showroom," featuring some of the finest taxidermy in the U.S., was...