Carl Akeley was a man considered to be the father of taxidermy and is well known for his contributions to the American Museum of Natural History. Though Akeley was considered to be a conservationist and a lover of nature, after reading through the “Teddy Bear Patriarchy” one’s view of his stance towards nature might be seen in a different light. Many of the animals that Akeley preserved and provided to the museums were animals that he personally hunted and collected in the wild. Though used for the purposes of education and allowing those who would not get the chance to see one of these creatures up close to fulfill that desire, killing and stuffing these animals does not seem to fit Akeley’s supposed view towards nature. In this text, it is stated that Akeley’s justification for his hunting was his “quest to embody” the vision of “jungle peace”. One could argue that the idea of “jungle peace” is one that does not exist except in the museums in which these creatures remain frozen in a pre-planned surrounding environment. In the animals’ natural environment, peace is rarely obtained due to their necessity to survive in a hostile environment. Akeley’s depiction of nature through his suspended and false display is merely a snapshot of nature, which does not accurately describe the always moving and nearly chaotic jungle life.

Killing, stuffing, and putting these animals in a museum is doing nothing more than creating a real life snapshot of a scene that could occur in nature. If it is necessary to murder these animals in order to create this still shot of them in nature, why not just take a picture of them in their actual natural environment? In the text it states “Akeley believed that the highest expression of sportsmanship was hunting with the camera.” Though Akeley did take many pictures while on his hunts and though he may have believed this, it did not prevent him from killing countless numbers of gorillas, elephants, and other creatures of the like. Akeley seems to be placing himself above the rest of human society by seeing himself as “an advocate for ‘nature’ in which ‘man’ is the enemy, the intruder, the dealer of death.” Akeley himself frequently “deals death” to countless numbers of creatures and not always for educational purposes. Akeley once shot an elephant in order to settle his question of his morale after being viciously attacked by an elephant. To me, it would seem that someone who is portrayed as being so close and so loving of nature would never want to intentionally harm or destroy it.

This week we also got the chance to look at Amy Stein’s series Domesticated. In this series, Stein’s photographs show natural elements of nature intertwined with human’s “natural” environment. This series is very interesting for it is able to show our effect and interference with what was once a natural environment. These animals now must adjust and live with our creations, whether it is a bear trapped inside of a plastic bag or a wolf howling at a false moon. Through these photographs, one does not just have to merely imagine what kind of impact we are having on our natural world, it can be seen and will hopefully inspire change.

-Justin Japinga