Be it known that the things that squirrels in movies or in television shows do are far from what they actually do in the real world. These cute and furry little animals might have made it big in Hollywood but the opinion of those who have experienced at least one squirrel "attack" in their entire lifetime will definitely not change to favor them that easily. Although we do no discount the fact that these rodents can be really friendly in real-life, their foraging and nesting behaviours still give them away as pests that need to be controlled and eradicated.
But, even though these animals are considered as pests, people still find a good use for them (but only after they are killed). For example, many restaurants are already serving squirrel meat; some super markets are already selling raw squirrel meat too. Squirrel fur is also use in different textile application. High quality furs are made into expensive jackets and other clothing items while some squirrel pelts are processed to become home decorations. Even the squirrel's tail has been used for different applications. Some use the tails as fishing baits while some use them to make fine make-up brushes. On the other hand, art enthusiasts make use of squirrel tails in their art projects and creations.
However, squirrel tails also need to go through a process before they can be used in any of these applications. The tail can't be made into a fishing fly or a fly tyre if is "fresh" and "unpreserved. Tackle-making hobbyists and artists can't make use of such tails either. So, this article will be about squirrel tail preservation. I will teach you how to make a perfectly preserved squirrel tail whether with the bone intact or not.
Preserving Squirrel Tail with the Bone Intact
There are many reasons why you would want to preserve the squirrel tail with the bone still in place. For one instance, the tail bone would make it easier for you to use the tail for fly tying. This method of tail preservation is way easier than the boneless one as it takes three steps only. These are:
1. Cut off the tail from the squirrel's body. Now that you have the tail, remove all the flesh attached to the tail bone but leave the bone intact in the tail.
2. Get a handful of borax and rub it throughout the squirrel's tail. Get enough borax to coat the end of the tail that exposes the bone.
3. Put the processed tail in a warm and dry place. The tail should dry-out in 7-10 days. Until then, do not remove the tail from where you placed it.
Preserving Squirrel Tail without the Bone
A boneless tail has more application. These are the tails that are used as baits and as make-up brushes. These are also the same tails that usually find their way on art works and creations. The process is a bit complex but it is very doable even if it is your first time to do it. The steps are:
1. Just like what you did in step one above; you also need to cut off the tail from the squirrel's body. In order to not damage the tail, you should cut the tail starting from the underside of the tail. Make an incision in this area using the tip of a sharp knife and slowly slide the knife upwards until the entire tail has been cut off.
2. Next, you need to run the tip of your knife between the skin and the bone of the tail. The skin and the bone are held together by a thin membrane. Cut this membrane down to about 1/3 of the tail so that you can distinctly make the separation between the bone and the skin.
3. Now that 1/3 of the bone is skinned, you will have enough space to grab the bone with your one of your hands. You need to slowly pull the bone while holding the skin in place with your other hand. Pull until the remaining 2/3 of the entire skin has been removed.
4. Expose the flesh-side of the skin and rub a generous amount of salt into this side. Make sure that the entire exposed surface is already covered by salt before you leave the tail for 8 straight hours.
5. After 8 hours, you will have to wash away all the salt from the tail. Use paper towels to remove all the excess water in the tail.
6. Next, you need to rub borax all over the tail skin before you lay it flesh-side up on the board. Use Brad nails to hold each corner of the tail in place, make sure that nails are evenly spaced. The nails are important to keep the tail from twisting as it dries.
7. Before you set the nailed tail aside, rub some more borax into the tail. Make sure that you place the board in a warm and dry place. Do not touch the tail for 3-5 days (even more in some cases when the temperature and humidity is not cooperative). Once dry, you can now unfasten the skin from the nails and brush off the excess borax on the tail.
More Ideas
You can pursue squirrel tail preservation as a mere hobby or as a business. There are many people who do not want to go through the trouble of processing the tails but are fond of using squirrel tails in many different applications. However, preserve squirrel tails are not readily available in hobby shops or in crafts stores. You can actually make a good living out of these tails by buying squirrel tails from restaurants and super markets that sell squirrel meat (the tails considered as waste), preserving these tails on your own and selling them in an online store.
Reminder
Of course, there are squirrels which are protected by the law because of their scarce population. Make sure that you don't kill these squirrels for their tails.
